Arts4All
What is it? 
The NGO Schools Artists Outreach programme addresses two distinct needs for children, focussing on creating these opportunities for children from underserved communities.
- The UN Convention of Rights of a Child, Article 31 states that ‘every child has the right to engage in play appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts’. Participation in cultural and artistic activities are necessary for building children’s understanding, not only of their own culture, but other cultures, as it provides opportunities to broaden their horizons and learn from other cultural and artistic traditions, thus contributing towards mutual understanding and appreciation of diversity.
- The National Education Policy by the CBSE board has also laid out Art-integrated learning to promote joyful learning in classrooms that address & develop multiple intelligences in children and enhance classroom learning outcomes through the arts.
Future Hope
30 March, 2026
Artists: Dakshayani Athalye and Mandar Karanjkar
Student Participants: 20
Dakshyani and Mandar from Baithak Foundation, Pune visited Kolkata for the first time and we caught them for a workshop at Future Hope. And they were elated as this is what they love to do. Baithak has been working continuously for the accessibility of music to marginalized children as they believe art can help anyone to create a meaningful life. And that completely aligns with our objectives of Arts4All. This time though it was not directly about dance, the children went through the experience of how sounds are made, how the body creates sound or controls it, swaras, taal, differences between music and noise and science of music.
Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy / tanzbar-bremen
March 2025
Artists: various artists from Delhi, Calcutta and Bremen
Student Participants: 50+
Pickle Factory Dance Foundation collaborated with tanzbar_bremen and the Goethe-Institut in Delhi and Calcutta to create Can You read my Body? for ‘Holding Space: Pickle factory Season 6. Founded in 2003 and operating as a non-profit since 2009, tanzbar_bremen is Germany’s first dance company to provide permanent employment for an inclusive team, and has fostered inclusive collaborations among diverse professionals, creating dance performances, workshops, and educational programmes.
Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy has been working with people with cerebral palsy for over 50 years. Punam Bind, one of the students of the institute, was one of the performers for Can You Read My Body? Excerpts from the piece were performed for the students and staff at IICP on
4 March 2025: following a short warm up session with the students conducted by one of the artists, Denis Barwa. The short afternoon was met with applause, laughter and an intriguing discussion on the possibilities of arts becoming a steadier vessel for people with and without disabilities, without patronisation.
PACE Learning Centre
18 and 19 Feb, 2025
Artist: Solène Weinachter
Student participants : 29
Solène Weinachter conducted a workshop with 29 students from Classes 6 to 11 of PACE Learning Centre in Piyali. Solène had designed a series of energetic and care-driven workshop games, based on contemporary dance methodologies that facilitated students to exercise and discover the following:
- Self thinking about movement, and moving away from simply copying choreography
- Awareness and use of space
- Awareness of one’s own body with special emphasis on listening to one’s own body
- Building a vocabulary of body movement
- Awareness of other people’s body and choices in space
- Making quick decisions based on the awareness & vocabulary built
Thus, in a non-threatening, fun & body-led way, the students expanded their non-verbal understanding of themselves, others and were encouraged to make autonomous choices.
Dakshini Prayash
5 to 7 Feb, 2025
Artists: Vinay Kumar and Nimmy Raphael from Adishakti, Auroville
Student participants: 50
Vinay Kumar and Nimmy Raphael of Adishakti Laboratory for the Performing Arts, Auroville conducted a 3-day workshop for 50 students of classes 6, 7 & 8, delving into rhythm & mathematics with high energy games that built focus, challenged and sharpened cognitive thinking skill.
23-28 September, 2024
Artist: Vandana Alase Hazra
Student participants: 20
Our ever knowledgeable Vandana Alase Hazra along with her student Srijita Maity in her unique workshop deftly enabled the students to have maths, science, history and geography related discoveries through exploring concepts natural to Bharatnayam!
Talk about fun kinaesthetic learning!
13-15 February, 2024
Artists: Nejma Larichi and Azahara Sanz Jara of cieLAROQUE, Salzburg-Austria
Student Participants: 20
A new partnership was forged this season with another NGO school Dakshini Prayash. As part of their performance Hear and Now, CieLAROQUE engaged 20 students between the classes 6 and 8 to explore and practise choreographic phrases in the style of contemporary dance. Conducted by Azahara Sanz Jara and Nejma Larichi, they discovered storytelling through movement of the body with these 20 children . The culmination of these 3 days of workshop, choreography and spontaneity was showcased at the New Town Community Centre as a part of LEAP!: Pickle Factory Season 4.
Ek Tara
The Ek Tara partnership was a series of immersive workshops and performance experiences designed for students and burgeoning community leaders. Its mission to empower through arts education, particularly within marginalised communities, was realised over the course of one year.
13-15 February, 2024
Artists: Uwe Brauns, Jolyane Langlois of cieLAROQUE, Salzburg-Austria
Student Participants : 20
This three-day workshop on contemporary choreography was a masterclass in artistic empowerment, leading to an energizing showcase which was a part of the performance of Hear & Now during Weekend 2 at New Town Community Zone, during LEAP!: Pickle Factory Season 4.
The Ek Tara partnership gave students a glimpse of the rich and diverse range of movement expression in the world, delving into artistic and cultural histories and crossing national and international borders. The workshops attempted to give them heightened sense of focus, discipline, inter and intra-personal awareness, connection across borders & joy inspiring a new generation of dance-curious youngsters and community leaders.
3-6 October, 2023
Artist: Surjit Nongmeikapam
Student participants: 80+
Moderator: Gulan Kripalani
From the city of Imphal, artist Surjit Nongmeikapam infused the Yangshak dance with his innovative vision. His workshop brought new challenges for the participants as they found new avenues to share the weight of a steadily moving bamboo scored with mathematical counts, culminating in a specially unusual showcase that foregrounded teamwork, focus, structure.
In the post showing discussion thoughtfully moderated by Gulan Kripalani, student audiences gave voice to deep social commentary that stirred in them after watching the piece.
19-22 July, 2023
Artists: Shashwati Garai Ghosh with her Angashuddhi ensemble
Student participants: 80+
Moderator: Dr. S. V. Raman
Our local luminary, Shashwati Garai Ghosh, along with her Angashuddhi ensemble, led an evocative 4-day workshop and performance series delving into the foundational principles of Odishi dance, its mudras, taal and decorative expressions through the exploration of Nritta and Abhinaya pieces. The final showcase, deftly moderated by Dr. S. V. Raman, drew lovely responses from parents and guests about the students’ journey.
Rainbow School
8 April, 2023
Artist: Joshua Sailo from Aizawl
Student Participants: 10
In April 2023, dancer Joshua Sailo worked with a group of dancers to train them in the nuances of performing In C, the new choreographic work by the acclaimed German choreographer Sasha Waltz. As part of the public presentation, we invited a group of young people from the NGO Rainbow School to enjoy the intricate, energetic and joyous performance. This programme was organised in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Kolkata.
Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy
5 December 2022
Artists: Joel Brown, Eve Mutso-Oja, Susan Hay from USA, Estonia, Scotland
Student Participants: 25
111 – a powerful duet between paraplegic dancer Joel Brown and ballerina Eve Mutso-Oja – was part of Pickle Factory’s third international Season in December 2022. Their first interaction on their visit to Calcutta was a movement workshop conducted with a mix of disabled and non-disabled students at the pioneering Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, which transcended the barriers of spoken and body language.
Calcutta Rescue
15 November, 2019
Artists: Vaishnavi Mannava and Greeny Francis from Delhi
Student participants: 20
Vaishnavi Mannava and Greeny Francis brought their piece Cat’s Cradle to ‘Widening Circles: Pickle Factory Season 2 in November 2019. One of the performances was a special show for a group of young students from the NGO, Calcutta rescue. The programme was organised in collaboration with ThinkArts.
