ArtWorks! Sangai Khelaun, Sindhupalchok 2018-2019

Thangpalkot, Nepal

January 19, 2018
Art Works! Sangai Khelaun is a program designed to bring art education to marginalised communities -- whose language and cultural heritage are different from the mainstream cultures reinforced in schools. There is a need to create a system of learning that places children’s cultures and personal interests at the center of the learning process. After three years of piloting workshops in Gorkha, Rasuwa, Mugu, Nawalparasi, Sindhuli and Sindhupalchok, a partnership with Babu Lal Tamang led to a three year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the local government of Panchpokhari Thangpal Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchok. The plan is to establish a self-sustaining Teacher’s Professional Development Program for teachers from Class 1 to 5 with 29 schools to identify concrete localized teaching methods that engage students in meaningful learning through the arts. ArtWorks! uses methods that involve teaching ‘core’ subjects such as math, science, social studies, language arts (different languages) through creative movement, visual arts, writing, and music. Across three years we are developing a teaching resource manual authored by the teachers from the rural municipality with support from arts educators, a writer, and a documentation team. In this process, we participate in the rural municipalities’ discussions on what learning should look like within their school improvement plans.

Sharareh Bajracharya, Niranjan Kunwar, Sanjeev Maharjan, Sunita Maharjan, Manantuna Jyapoo, Priyanaka Singh Maharjan, Subima Shrestha, Nabin Tamang, Muna Gurung, Larisha Shrestha, Nasala Chitrakar, Nirajan Tripathi, Preejol Nepali, Saurabh Chalise, Agrim Lama, Sugam Deshar, Sarin Bajracharya, Kishan Shrestha, Laxmi Prasad Dangol