An art class is to relax, copy what’s on the blackboard and maybe get in a quiet gab. While we may wish this weren’t the case today, in most Indian schools, art education is still outdated. But art is about observation, cognition, concentration and so much more,” says Vidya Shivadas, director of New Delhi-based Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA), who will be talking about why we need to update our approach at the first edition of the Indian Art & Design Educators Conference in Mumbai next month. “Art and design improves perception and integration skills, it helps children learn to think out of the box, to innovate; it’s a process-oriented exploration,” explains Sara Vetteth, founder of the Indian Art and Design Educators Association, which is organising the conference. “Besides learning about the elements like line, shape, colour, space, texture and form, children must also learn art history.

Source: The Hindu January 19, 2018 09:00 UTC