Ghasiara Vidyapith (HS)

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA will engage seventh to 10th grade students of the Ghasiara Vidyapith (HS), in Sonarpur, South 24 Parganas district. In this 15-month project titled The Infinite Sky Beyond Books, the school hopes to demystify difficult subjects and enhance the educational process by integrating art forms like music, multimedia, theater, painting, and sculpture into the curriculum. In addition, the school wants to make educational experiences enjoyable through promoting individual creativity. For this project Biswajit Naskar, the headmaster of the school, is the signatory, and Gaurav Das, an art teacher will be the Project Facilitator.

In South 24 Parganas, Ghasiara Vidyapith (HS), a co-educational institute, is situated in a Peri-urban area. Students from various social groups and cultural backgrounds make up the majority of the school's student body. Although the majority of the pupils at the school are native Bengali speakers (around 80%), there are also kids who speak Bodo, Assamese, Santali, Mundari, Hindi, Odia, and other languages. The school has been working with arts integration and enriching education for many years. Given their experience, Ghasiara Vidyapith (HS) is best placed to be the Project Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA.

Two parallel initiatives will be executed to carry out this project. Teachers and students will collaborate to explore the prospect of integrating art into classroom instructions while the school will also invite local artists to provide curriculum-based workshops. The school wishes to promote empathy and encourage exploration of cultural heritage. It will facilitate creative participation by encouraging students to initiate spontaneous debates, participate in art and science exhibitions, and make zines. These exercises strengthen their critical thinking and communication abilities in addition to inspiring their creativity. 

The project extends itself to empower neuro-diverse students through carefully planned art therapy sessions, addressing gender discrimination by creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment for all students, and stimulating students' awareness of the environment. For instance, the concept of deforestation will be introduced by engaging students in small skits about the Chipko movement, followed by discussions with environmental activists. Integration of lessons on sound will include Bhatiali songs. The use of variable frequencies and resonances in these songs creates a vivid auditory representation of the river's ever-changing moods, revealing the intricate relationship between music and nature

To improve the literary abilities of students, a series of brief lectures on the various factors that influenced the writing of Tagore along with reading sessions will be held. Experts will be asked to discuss how Tagore's literary masterpieces were influenced by the natural beauty of Bengal, the sociopolitical environment of the times, and his own introspective nature. The Purulia Chhau mask-making and movement workshops and the puppet-making workshops introducing Bongo-Putul (old Bengali puppetry) will enhance the curriculum of social science and geography. The school also  intends to host workshops with regional artists from across West Bengal on the rich history and legacy of the state. The project collectively aims to create a dynamic and supportive learning environment that recognises and nurtures the individual strengths of each student. 

The outcome of the project will be a series of performances, exhibitions and in-house discussions. The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be photographs, and video documentation of the entire project.

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Education programme in the manner in which it attempts to connect students and schools to the cultural knowledge of the places they inhabit. 

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees.