LAHORE: Aangun - the Centre for Learning and Culture Aangun - arranged an exhibition of visual arts and calligraphy and camps for children to shoot films and photography in June.

Children also performed theatre and music pieces. The showcase was a result of a monthlong creative camp by The Little Art for children ages 4 to 13 years. They were led by seasoned artists and educators in a studio setting, where the focus was to create art with children through the process of learning.

Children as young as eight years old were part of the theatre class that aimed to build their confidence in public speaking and performing perspective. The central idea of the performance was developed by the children themselves, which revolved around how animals live in a jungle, where there is music and how an evil witch comes to destroy the peace. The animals join hands and fight back together for their jungle.

Two films - one documentary and the other fiction - were also made by children. The documentary focused on their day at Aangun and the most interesting things that happened there. Children conducted interviews with the staff, trainers and interns. The fiction film showed how a child lives with magic under a table where her stuffed toy bunny comes to life as a human sometimes.

Umair Mushtaq, co-founder of Aangun and The Little Art, said,” We opened doors for audiences in June and had an amazing month. The response of the children and parents has been great as we put together a lot of efforts to design the courses and the pedagogy to engage children to create a variety of art.”

Aangun is a playground for children and youth to explore their potential through creativity, imagination and the arts. Its audiences include children and young people under the age of 18, youth under the age of 30, families, teachers and anyone interested in such activities. These programmes are broader in their areas of engagement and have multiple offerings and interlinks.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2022