This is the story of how

Akanksha Childrenfound their Colours…

Long, long ago……

…in an Akanksha …

Didi realised there were children…

…who did not know about colours

So she walked in one day

with a big book of activities,

crayons, paints and lots of paper

Using a special curriculum, Didi taught the children

how to imagine,

showed them how everyday things could look different.

They could now see outside…

…and see inside.

Talking about what he sees within him, Arun says “one side is nice. I don’t like the other half.”

They learnt about different forms of art in India…

(Gond painting)

And about the great artists of the world

Taslim’s (10 yr old)version of

Van gogh’s sun flowers

They learnt to respect things around them.

They saw themselves as special.

Art was changing something inside each of them

This was not enough so Didi started Art Labs

where her children learnt how to create interesting products,

Develop their own unique styles,

they learnt how to market their creations

and teach ‘privileged’ children through

workshops

The world could not believe how beautiful didi’s children were.

Didi saw her

children learning how to

stand up on their

feet.

Children were having fun & talking about themselves….

. . . And exploring art as a career option.

Minu &

ShakeelaWith

AnandPanchal

Art Auction,Nov, 2003

Art class became their world away

from the world

Children were having fun….Each piece of art that Didi saw, seemed to shine

It’s much more than art.

It’s art that tells a story-Stories of incredible lives.

Didi saw her children

dreaming…

…in colours brighter than those she saw them use

She smiled because she knew….

…the Akanksha children

had found their

colours!

Art for Akanksha empowers children from low-income communities with a powerful art education, provides art-related career opportunites for

Akanksha alumni and generates revenue through high-quality products.