By Sameena Shaikh | Consultant - Donor Relations
This report highlights the impactful activities and achievements of the Media Arts Lab program from January to March 2025. During this period, we continued our commitment to fostering creativity, digital literacy, and self-expression among children and educators through various media art forms.
Our core program, Cohort-2, commenced with enthusiastic participation from 333 children across 7 schools. The sessions, which concluded in the last week of March, provided a rich learning environment where young minds explored and produced over 65 diverse productions. These included captivating animations, thought-provoking short films, imaginative storybooks, engaging audio stories, and compelling photo stories, showcasing the breadth of their creative talents nurtured through the program.
Beyond the cohort activities, the Media Arts Lab extended its reach through specialized workshops and events. We hosted day-long media sessions for children visiting the Agastya Campus Creativity Lab, offering them a glimpse into the exciting world of media creation. Furthermore, dedicated stop-motion animation sessions were conducted for students from Patashala School, Chennai, and NEFL School, Bangalore. Across three batches, these young animators spent approximately 3 to 3.25 hours in the lab, resulting in the creation of 13 unique animations, demonstrating their growing skills in this art form.
Expanding our engagement beyond animation, a cyanotype printing session was organized for children from Akshara Arbol School, Chennai. Three sessions held on February 14th introduced the children to this fascinating photographic printing process. Additionally, we extended our training to educators, conducting a stop-motion animation session for 18 B.Ed. teachers from Mysore. These teachers collaboratively produced four animated films on diverse themes, highlighting the potential of animation as a pedagogical tool.
Our team also actively participated in the Aha! Kollective program in Bangalore, where we proudly exhibited three installations based on children’s productions, bringing their creative work to a wider audience. We celebrated a significant achievement when the cyanotype project created by the children won the 3rd prize at a district-level competition held at Apollo University, Chittoor, on February 28th. Yukshitha, a dedicated former Young Instructor (YI), represented the project and received a cash prize of 2,500, a testament to the quality and impact of the children's work.
To further amplify the reach and impact of the program, the Media Arts team organized five mini fairs at various schools: Zilla Parishad High School – Adavibuduguru, Thimmarajupalli, Nayanuru, MPUPS Redlapalli, and GHPS Bodenahalli. These fairs provided a platform for 233 Young Instructors (YIs) to lead and for 1,937 children to showcase their media productions to their peers, teachers, and parents, fostering a sense of accomplishment and community engagement. We were also delighted to have the participation of 47 community members in these events.
Community fairs were also successfully conducted at three OV centers—Gudichembagiri, Avulatippanapalli, and Salachinthanapalli—on January 18th, 2025. These events saw the enthusiastic participation of 102 children and 72 community members, further strengthening the connection between the program and the wider community.
Finally, we observed World Water Day on March 22nd at MPPS Mittoron, engaging 200 children, 9 teachers, and 12 community members in activities that likely incorporated media arts to raise awareness about this important global issue.
The data from January to March, as presented below, further quantifies our reach. The significant engagement of 6,360 individuals (2,871 boys and 3,489 girls) in our programs during these three months.
In conclusion, the Media Arts Lab program has had a vibrant and productive start to 2025. Through our diverse initiatives, we have empowered hundreds of children and educators with new skills and creative outlets, fostering a deeper engagement with media and the world around them. We are grateful for your continued support, which makes this impactful work possible.
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