Art report
Ms. Hajin Jun


Teaching an art class wasn’t something that had been planned my arrival in India, but something that came organically out of a discussion with Govind about skills/ hobbies I have to possibly offer the girls here. To be honest, I was a bit hesitant at first about teaching the class. I came to India to learn about women’s empowerment, and I wasn’t exactly sure how an art class might fit into that. I had to reflect and ask myself, what does it mean to be empowered? How does one empower another person? And even, what is art, what has art meant to me in my life, and how might learning art benefit the girls at Sambhali?

A friend of mine referred to the works of Naila Kabeer, a prominent women’s rights activist, and according to Kabeer, empowerment is the ability to make choices—the power to choose one’s livelihood, habitation, and perhaps even thoughts and worldview. I am not yet sure what empowerment looks like in the context of Rajasthani culture, how exactly the two are reconciled to better the lives of women, but my understanding is that empowering another means helping the person develop and realize the means and skills necessary to make the important decisions in life.

The question remains, how can art help? What place does an ability to draw have considering the very real and sometimes daunting challenges these girls face every day in their lives? Does it not seem a bit frivolous? Would not something like English classes be more practical? Personally, learning about art changed the way I perceive my environment and the outside world. It has made me aware of the beauty often hidden in ordinary things, plain things, overlooked things. And learning how to draw gave me the sense that not only can I perceive beauty, but that I can create it. So is it possible that through art classes I can help these girls also see beauty in their surroundings and in themselves? That even despite the challenges they face, they can find and create beauty in their lives as well. I hope that by learning art, the girls will be able to create things they are proud of and build confidence in their own abilities.

In my classes, I have taught lessons on lines, shading, texture and perspective. I have used materials and resources that are readily available here: the girls’ own hands, a piece of cloth, cups and bowls from the Guesthouse. The main point I have been trying to stress to the girls was to draw what they see, not what they think they see. However, I willingly admit that things haven’t always been easy or triumphant. The difficulties in trying to teach with a language barrier are considerable. It is hard to gauge how much of my instructions and explanations are really being understood. The girls seem to understand my demonstrations, when I physically point out the different shapes and lines, and draw it on my page, but I think they still need to develop the skills and the confidence in their skills to draw. They like admiring what I draw, but I seem to have a hard time communicating that with practice, they too can do.

Despite these challenges, there has definitely been improvement from the first day. In the very first class, the girls were unsure even how to go about drawing their hands (some tried stealthily to simply trace their hands on their papers). Even if it is difficult for them to translate what they see to what they draw, the girls who have been coming regularly to class do seem to now at least be able to recognize the shapes and lines they see. The girls are also trying very hard. I assign homework every day, and most students actually do complete the assignments each day. In fact, my favorite part of class is collecting and reviewing their homework.

The art classes are good even for my development. I’ve had to overcome my own anxieties about teaching (I had never taught art before, even in English) and constantly think of new ways to communicate and get around the language barrier. For instance, when I was teaching about shading and values, I learned the Hindi words for dark and light (gera and fica, respectively), which I constantly mixed up and started fits of giggles among the girls. Art class has also been a place of intercultural contact and exchange, where I can really interact with Indian girls. I have been learning a lot, and the relationships I’m beginning to develop mean a lot to me.

Perhaps one of the biggest personal lessons I have been learning through teaching is adapting and being resourceful. It is through teaching that I come to fully understand that I am indeed in India and not America, and things are different. Not better or worse, but different. No, there isn’t a table on which the girls can draw, but they have been learning to draw with books propped on their laps. No, there aren’t charcoal or soft ebony pencils, but there are pencils. Things don’t have to be perfect. Everything is a process, and even if the girls don’t become Van Goghs or Vermeers, that’s ok. If I can just communicate to the girls that they are beautiful, wonderful people, and they can create beautiful, wonderful things, I will have achieved what I aspired for at the beginning of these classes. I don’t think I have achieved it yet, but it’s a process.