Kalashala: A School of Art: A community-led art project in collaboration with COHAS

Kalashala – A School of Art is a community-led art initiative that will work with a group of children and adolescents from the Nehru Nagar Adivasi Camp over the course of one year, to create a safe and creative space where young people can reflect on their lives, their relationships, and the community they live in. Through discussions, creative exercises, and art-based activities, participants will explore their interests, talents and relationships, and extend these inquiries into their community and shared public spaces.  

The project will gradually lead towards the creation and activation of a community art space that is open and accessible to the larger Nehru Nagar neighbourhood. This space will act as a platform where people can gather, express themselves, share stories, and learn from each other. Kalashala’s greater aim is to create hope, dignity, and opportunity through art.

The Nehru Nagar Adivasi Camp is a migrant urban slum, established around 40–45 years ago, with around 200 families from Rajasthan, Bihar, and Nepal, largely belonging to Scheduled Caste communities. Known for their crafts and puppet-making skills, the families and especially the children, are engaged in selling their art and performing with dhols at weddings across Delhi.  

This project is lead by Ankush, a theatre practitioner and art facilitator based in Delhi.

He has worked with children in Nehru Nagar for over four years, using storytelling and theatre as tools for engagement and learning. Ankush co-founded COHAS (Community of Hope and Support), an NGO which works with children and youth around constitutional values and climate change.