A joint project for children’s creativity lead by ThinkArts, Kolkata and Barking Gecko Theatre, Perth

“ThinkArts, Kolkata has been working on creating engagements for children that bring out their creativity during these uncertain times. We’ve recently wrapped up a project and are set to launch another soon, in collaboration with Barking Gecko Theatre, Australia!

Get Creative started on March 19, 2020, as an initiative to encourage children to keep up their artistic spirits amidst the coronavirus lockdown and encourage children to spend some time away from the screen. Every morning, three prompts were uploaded on the website, one for each age group (6 to 9, 9 to 12, and 12+). These prompts were lines from children’s books or notable artworks, all taken from the collection in The ThinkArts Corner. Children then created their own artwork or wrote a piece in response. Get Creative received nearly 300 responses over the course of the month, all of which were uploaded on the ThinkArts Instagram and Facebook pages.

Responses came in from across the country, from Delhi, Gurgaon, Chennai, and Bangalore. It was received positively by the children as well as their parents. Prakhar was one of the regulars in Get Creative, and his mum, Smriti, sent a lovely message one day, saying, “I am so enjoying looking at the topics every day with my son! Makes me spend quality time with him! Thank you team THINKARTS!”

Get Creative wrapped up successfully and its month-long run ended with a special treat. The prompt for April 19 could be chosen by the children themselves. There were more than 20 entries with prompts from a variety of sources – from Satyajit Ray’s Sonar Kella to J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter. It was a fitting end to Get Creative as an attempt to keep children engaged creatively during these dire times and help fill their lives with a little colour.”

The Get Creative Facebook album: https://www.facebook.com/thinkartskolkata/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2619533298293028

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“Barking Gecko Theatre, Australia in collaboration with ThinkArts in India has created a new digital initiative Isolate > Create > Connectto highlight the similarities and differences that children are experiencing right now across the globe. This will become a lasting record of how life in isolation during COVID-19 was experienced by young people.

Through a weekly video delivered by teaching artists from BGT and ThinkArts online, children aged 5 to 17 are set a creative task inviting them to create a small artwork capturing their perspective on the world right now. Once their creation is complete and uploaded, a digital scrapbook of children’s creative responses will be created to reflect this unprecedented time in history.

At a time where children don’t have access to the connection we crave, this project is designed to keep children connected to their creativity and encourage them to find expression through whatever tools they have at their disposal in their homes.

The 10-week program starts on Wednesday 29 April and children are welcome to join in at any time until its conclusion in the last week of June.”