The Art1st Educator Grant was awarded to Kripa for the year 2023-24.
About Kripa
Kripa is an illustrator and writer based in Mumbai. The characters in her books are real people derived from her association with the grassroots. Her art is rooted in her engagement with her city Mumbai, it’s children, people and their problems. She is committed to making books accessible to children from all walks of life by helping communities set up libraries. Kripa took up teaching Art and Design after completing Fine Art from Sir JJ school of Art. She has been an Art educator for over 19 years, and worked with institutions like Srishti school of Art design and technology and is currently working with Ecole Intuit Lab.
Engagement with Har Mandir Primary School, Coorg, Karnataka
Kripa engaged with teachers from Har Mandir Primary School in Madikeri, Kodagu, Karnataka which is a free part-residential school rooted in the local traditions and ecosystem for underprivileged children. The program comprised two phases. In the first, teachers explored themes like caste discrimination and gender biases and also had interactive sessions integrating art with subjects like Maths and Science. It included a six-day onsite visit and monthly online sessions. The second phase, focusing on water, involved collaborative design with teachers and a six-day physical visit, supplemented by online sessions. Activities included exploring the River Kaveri, gathering stories, observing biodiversity, and interviewing experts.
Through the program, we have managed to achieve some meaningful collaborations with environmental organisations in Coorg such as Coorg Wildlife Society and create some Social impact by reaching out to media people, activists and artists thus inviting them to the school to meet the children as well as enable children to create posters for various causes. Her method has been a disruptive pedagogical intervention by enabling counterintuitive approaches and unlearning strategies.
