Ramgiri Police Patil
Grant Period: One year
Ramgiri Police Patil is a visual arts practitioner trained in The Ideal Fine Art Institute in Kalaburgi. He has showcased his works in art galleries and exhibitions at many places. He has been recognised for his work by institutions like Gumbaz Art Association, Tasmiya Art Society, Karnataka Lalita Kala Akademy, Manav Sanket Akademy, and Gulbarga Akademi of Fine Arts.
Patil has selected Government High School in Pethsirur, Chitapur Taluk, of Kalaburgi district which consists of 20 students from class one to class five. He wants to expose children to the cultivation and ecology of the Tuver dal, a significant crop of this region through an arts programme.
Kalaburgi has rich cultivation of Tuver dal. While this means that the economy of the region depends on its farming and marketing, it also fills the cultural landscape of songs, dances and stories. This project will involve students learning about the cultivation process of Tuver dal, its physical features, the environment and soil conditions, and the calendar of farming and processes of marketing. They will also learn the songs and stories around the crop and the grain. The workshops will involve farmers, artists and marketeers who will share their knowledge and experience with the students. Further, since most of the students come from agricultural families, they could also involve their families in this knowledge gathering.
Once students have studied the grain, Patil will facilitate them to draw pictures, create clay models and narrate stories of various stages of cultivation. This would make the children curious and interested in nature and its beauty which in turn makes them more responsible in protecting the rich natural resources around them and spread the awareness.
The outcome of this project will be an exhibition. The Grantee’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be audio-visual documentation of the workshops, images, and a ten to twelve minute video document of the entire project.
This grant is made possible with support from Citi India.