A creative space called the Art Loft has opened in Bandra. The tiny 700 square feet gallery-cum-workshop space has been founded by French-Indian art therapist Leila Tayebaly to help individuals connect with their inner selves through art.
The gallery opened on Saturday with an exhibition of watercolour paintings by girls from a Dharavi rehabilitation shelter.
The Art Loft offers a range of paid-for creative courses, lasting for one month to a year, for children and adults. These include art therapy (helping people balance their emotions and overcome negative feelings through art), fine art in a range of mediums, scrapbooking (allowing you to record personal memories), photography and acting. Heeba Shah, Naseeruddin Shah’s daughter takes the acting course.
Getting artistic
Apart from creative courses, there are workshops on how to appreciate fine wine and shiatsu. Even deep tissue massages are offered.
The Art Loft also has a mobile charity arm called the Art Caravan, which will travel around Mumbai and offer free art workshops to children and adults from underprivileged backgrounds.
Says Tayebaly, a graduate from Central St Martins College of Art and Design, London, “Unlike others, none of our courses are certificate-led or academic, they are about people using the material of their own lives in art. There is a range of choices for those who want to be creative, plus art therapy is a great curative for depression.”