The personal and public benefits that flow from arts participation
are most likely to be realized when exposure to the arts begins at a
young age. Benefits of the arts include the intrinsic (for example,
the pleasure from an artistic experience, or the growth in an
individual’s capacity for empathy) and the instrumental (such as
educational, health or economic benefits). Realizing most of these
benefits requires sustained engagement with the arts.
While instrumental benefits are most often used to justify support
for the arts, it is the intrinsic benefits that are the triggers for
realizing those instrumental benefits and that keep people coming
back for more beneficial experiences throughout their lives.
Childhood experiences are the most effective gateway to lifelong
participation in the arts. And for children, direct involvement in
making or performing art is the most powerful in its effects.
We are working with selected arts organizations and state arts
agencies, other community organizations and individuals including
providers of arts learning, both in school and out to form a
conclave that helps create and promotes practices that enhance
participation in the arts. The conclave is also the feeder for the
two floorboard programs at the village level, in school ‘Masti ki
Paathshala’ and out of school, ‘Chaupaal Chowkdi’.
The goal, first for Kalasthali, is to help children gain the basic
“vocabulary” of arts concepts that would allow them to enter into
the broad realm of arts experiences and gradually begin to make more
informed and discriminating choices. Second, we want to support arts
organizations and others in broadening the opportunities for
children to delve more deeply into their particular artistic and
cultural interests, skills and talents. In sum, we plan to begin
working with a select number of villages to find creative new ways
to link school and non-school providers to deliver high quality arts
education to our stakeholders. And third, Kalasthali will also
research and develop lesson plans and SOPs on infusion of art, play
and activity into academic curriculum.
