Schoolchildren learn to bring art to life

Children clapped in awe as their simple drawings came to life at an animation workshop held at the Hindustan Times Kala Ghoda Arts Festival on Friday.The one-hour session was conducted in association with animation and arts company Motion Media Arts (MMA) and the Akanksha Foundation.

Children clapped in awe as their simple drawings came to life at an animation workshop held at the Hindustan Times Kala Ghoda Arts Festival on Friday.The one-hour session was conducted in association with animation and arts company Motion Media Arts (MMA) and the Akanksha Foundation.

Children-attend-a-motion-media-arts-and-animation-workshop-by-an-NGO-where-you-get-to-make-your-own-movie-in-one-hour-using-just-a-small-notebook-and-pencil-at-the-HT-Kala-Ghoda-Arts-Festival-in-Mumbai-Kunal-Patil-HT-photo

Though organised for 27 Class 7 students of the Abyudaya Nagar Mumbai Public School, which is part of Akanksha’s network, the session also witnessed spot participation by 10 children visiting the fest.

Hosted by expert Natalli Miller, head of MMA Australia, the workshop was based on the concept of a flip book, where students were taught to create animation by simply using a pencil and book.

“Animation is an art that allows you to explore your imagination and give life to it,” said Miller, 41. “A flip book is one of the easiest ways to create animation. One can easily develop an expertise in this skill by regular practice.”

Prerna Sinha, 37, a blogger and homemaker, signed up her son for the event, which was organised as part of ZeeQ Children’s workshops section of the festival.

“My son Eshan loves art and he likes to learn creative things. This was a great platform for him to learn basic animation skills,” she said.

Eshan can’t wait to tell his friends about his new skills. “The workshop was very interesting. I will practise at home and teach my classmates and friends,” said the enthusiastic nine-year-old.

Event curator Tasneem Rajkotwala said animation was an important form of art in modern times. “Helping children learn something new through simple and affordable means in an interactive workshop, and taking art to a whole new level was one of our main agendas,” she said.

Naval Shaik, 28, assistant art teacher at the Akanksha Foundation, added, “The idea behind organising the workshop was to introduce children to the world of animation, which is popular in today’s time.”