Symposium
A two day symposium Setting the Ground, followed the opening of the exhibition, offering a multidimensional examination of the dynamic nature of the art of clay. It resulted in a lively, critical and scholarly discourse around ceramic art practice in India. Each speaker came with a deep insight and experience in various aspects of the material. The symposium is a critical component of our education program. It was attended by over 200 people including artists, scholars and students from across India.
Schools Outreach
Arts for All, an initiative by Akshara Foundation of Arts & Learning, organised workshops and programmes to expose children to a wide variety of clay art over the 10 weeks of the festival. The workshops were facilitated by artists: Aditi Saraogi, Kate Malone and the Balls Pond Studio, Kaveri Bharath, Rashi Jain, Reyaz Badaruddin and Ruby Jhunjhunwala.
The Jaipur schools that participated in these workshops were Disha Foundation, GUPS Lal Kothi, GUPS Vasundhara Colony, The Palace School, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans Vidyashram, and Ryan International School.
“Having come to India many times I have met individuals who love clay. Now they reappear as artists and organisers of this beautiful event. Honoured that we have added a few drops to this cup of nectar. The seed is planted. We were there for the planting. I hope it will grow and blossom to a wider group of participants and audience.”
“The arts are integral to learning and they nurture the young to become sensitive and compassionate adults. The children’s programme ‘Arts for All’ at the Triennale was an all-inclusive programme to encourage opportunities in the arts amongst public and private schools. The workshops were very popular and the children showed great enthusiasm and creativity.”
Masterclasses
Hands-on practical workshops for professionals were conducted by specialists in the field. These were open to the public and encouraged discussion on material and technique against the backdrop of the exhibition. The workshops were facilitated by Ange Peter, Jane Perryman, Kate Malone and the Balls Pond Studio.
Critical Writing Workshop
The ICT hosted a critical writing workshop facilitated by Skye Arundhati Thomas and R Sivakumar in collaboration with TAKE on Art magazine as part of the TAKE on Writing Series conceptualised by Bhavna Kakar, an outreach initiative to foster the practice of critical art writing in India. Priya Pall was invited as a respondent. This workshop was supported by the Raza Foundation.
Internship Program
The internship program is another vital component of our education program. Students and emerging artists had opportunities to engage with an incredible line-up of artists. They were given an insight into what it takes to put together an event of this scale. We hope that they will take those connections, learning and networks forward and will be inspired to continue working in the arts.
In future editions we would like to expand this program further involving more artists and students in the making of the event.
More information on how to volunteer
Curated Walks
Through the duration of the event several walks were conducted for various groups of lay and specialist audiences by the curators of Breaking Ground.In the tours the curators discussed the curatorial process and the various themes running through the exhibition, as well as the artistic process and the development of the work in the show.
Catalogue
To record and disseminate information about Breaking Ground, a full colour print catalogue was produced after the installation of the artworks was completed.
