Dr. Pawan Sudhir, HOD Education in Art and Aesthetics, NCERT, Delhi

Dr. Pawan Sudhir is Professor & Head of the Department of Education in Arts and Aesthetics, National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT), Delhi, India. She has spearheaded several projects during her carrier of 28 years, in teacher education and educational administration. She is originator and the project head of ’Art Integrated Learning’ programme of NCERT. She has represented India at many international forums, including UNESCO, as an active researcher and an expert of Arts Education. She is an elected member of the In SEA (International Society for Education Through Arts) World Council (2014-17).

A global perspective on Art Education & Creativity and Culture

Dr. Nigel Meager, Artist, Author and Educator, Cambridge, UK

Nigel is currently a Doctoral researcher at University of Cambridge. Nigel has published books with the National Society for Education in Art and Design(NSEAD), the BBC and Harper Collins which support generalist school teachers teach art. In education Nigel has worked: as an education officer in art galleries, an artist in school, an arts project director, a classroom teacher, an Initial Teacher Training lecturer and a Continuing Professional Development trainer. For his doctoral research in Cambridge, he has been awarded a full scholarship by the Arts and Humanities Research Council for doctoral study into filmmaking as method to research children’s experience as they make art in school.

Creative processes in Art making

Jenny H. Kim, Art Educator, USA and South Korea

Jenny began her studies in Art & Design at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), eventually earning a BFA in Art Education from University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). She lived and studied in the U.S before returning to South Korea, where she taught IB MYP and DP Visual Arts for 9 years at Taejon Christian International School (TCIS) and is currently an Assistant professor of International Education at the International Graduate School of Nam Seoul University. Jenny also has a MA in Educational Ministries from Wheaton College and an Ed.D from USC (University of Southern California) in Organisational Change and Leadership. 

Working with everyday objects

Shilpa Gupta, Contemporary Artist, Mumbai

Shilpa Gupta’s work engages with the defining power of social and psychological borders on public life. Her work has been shown in Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Daimler Chrysler Contemporary, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Mori Museum amongst others. She has had solo shows at the Museum voor Moderne Kunst in Arnhem, Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati and many more. Shilpa Gupta lives and works in Mumbai, India where she has studied sculpture at the Sir J.J.School of Fine Arts.

Making Metaphors in Language and Art

Maya Thiagarajan, Founder Director, Tree Learning, Chennai, India

A global educator, Maya has lived and taught in the US, Singapore and India. She earned a BA in English from Middle bury College and a Masters in Education from Harvard University. She is the author of “Beyond The Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age,” In addition to teaching and writing, Maya has conducted numerous teacher training workshops in Singapore, India, and the US. She started TREE with the larger goal of re-imagining teaching and transforming education, one teacher at a time.

Roobina Karode, Director & Chief Curator, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art

Roobina Karode has curated several acclaimed exhibitions at KNMA, since its inception in 2010. Karode specializes in Art History and in Education and has been involved with the teaching of Western and Indian Art History (1990-2006) at various institutions mainly The School of Art & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, The National Museum Institute, College of Art and the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. Karode was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship in 2000 and was placed as a Visiting Scholar at Mills College in California, where she curated Resonance, an exhibition on California Painters and Sculptors from the Mills College Art Collection. As a critic, she continues to contribute thematic essays and reviews to art journals and the Art India Magazine.

Museums for inquiry based learning

Mansa Pande, Teacher Educator, Pune

Mansa Pande Graduated in Japanese Honours from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, a bachelor’s degree in Education and a postgraduate degree in English Literature from JNVU, Jodhpur. An educational consultant specializing in ELT, pedagogy, assessment and life skills. She conducts training programmes to promote inquiry-based, experiential learning that incorporates 21st century skills. Believes that art ignites creativity and fuels engagement, the two important elements for effective learning. Has done two online courses with MoMA, New York on how museums can serve as an important educational tool.

Using puppetry to explore science

Usha Venkatraman, Storyteller and Educator, Mumbai

Usha Venkatraman is a professional storyteller with 23 years experience performing traditional stories, folktales and myths for children and adults. Usha is an award winning storyteller and Mumbai’s leading Spoken Word Artist and a self taught Puppeteer. She uses puppets as an educational tool. Her interactive story sessions, filled with drama and music both educate and engage her audience. Her repertoire includes a range of Indian folk-tales, stories from Indian Mythology which lets you sample our ancient heritage.

Climate Change Action through Art Education

Amala Aiana, Program Director at RainbowFish Studio, Chennai

Amala has a Visual Communication degree from Madras University and has extensive experience teaching the visual arts and design in elementary and middle schools across the country.  In 2016, she represented RainbowFish Studio at the National Art Education Association Convention in Chicago, USA. She has conducted workshops and training programs for art teachers in her role as School Art Program Director at RainbowFish Studio and heads the video production of RainbowFish course content. Amala is also a passionate sustainability advocator, photographer and kuchipudi dancer.

Technology in the Classroom – Stop Motion Animation

Pankaj Patil, Artist, Animator and Educator, The Somaiya School,  Mumbai

Pankaj Patil has been the Head of the Visual Arts Department for 7 years at the The Somaiya School, Mumbai. Pankaj is an artist, an innovator, an animator, a graphic designer and  a photographer with a keen sense of aesthetics and an eye for detail. He has several years of experience in animation and  visual arts. Has worked in a corporate environment for eight years. Pankaj has made 2D mythological movies, created e-learning softwares, and has worked in the gaming industry. Has also been the Head of Design for creating and designing educational software

Power of Collective Creativity

Manisha Lal, Art Educator, Shiv Nadar School, Gurgaon

Manisha Lal, a certified IB DP Visual Art facilitator with Shiv Nadar school (Gurgaon), was selected as the finalist for the TGELF’s The Education prize’ 2018 Creative classrooms. She was the coordinator of Art connect program 2017, organised for art students in Berlin and Amsterdam. She worked on various projects with graphic design house, before engaging full-time as an art facilitator with Bal Bharati Public school. Actively engaged in curriculum designing, she anchored the students’ educational tour to NASA in 2013. With a drive to instill Art appreciation and promote creativity amongst students, she pursued certificate course in Art Appreciation, Masters in Painting and English

Sriram Ayer, Founder NalandaWay Foundation

Sriram was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2006 and has been ranked among the ‘Top 50 Social Entrepreneurs in India’ by Outlook magazine. Also the recipient of the ‘Architect of the Future’ Award by Waldzell Institute in Vienna. As Founder & CEO of the organisation, Sriram believes in using the power of the arts to change the way education is perceived and delivered to children from low-income groups in India. Nalandaway Foundation’s purpose is to improve learning abilities, reinforce positive behaviour and help children soar high by enabling them to be creative and express through Arts

Arundhati Gosh, Executive Director India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), Bengaluru

Arundhati has received recognition from several quarters for her work in the non-profit sector. In 2010 she received the Global Fundraiser Award from Resource Alliance International, the same year IFA won the ‘India NGO of the Year’ award in the medium category. She is a recipient of the fellowship under Chevening Clore Leadership Awards, in the UK in 2015-16 and has worked with the National Theatre, UK. She is also a recipient of the Chevening Gurukul Scholarship for Leadership and Excellence at the London School of Economics, London in 2005. Arundhati was selected as one of the top three leaders in the city of Bangalore under the ‘Lead India’ campaign of The Times of India in 2008.

Learning Beyond classrooms

Blaise Joseph, Art Educator, Kochi (Speaker & Panelist)

Blaise Joseph, is currently the Program Manager Art by Children, Kochi BiennaleFoundation.Blaise was a student of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit) in Patna, inspired by the arts, joined the famed Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda. As a Jesuit scholastic and a student of Art he used to engage with an indigenous community in Bihar, the Muzahars, who were one of the most oppressed, illiterate and landless labourers in the region. This led him to his real calling, to understand creativity and learning by taking up art based engagements with children as well as adults of the less fortunate, marginalised communities in society.