Threadless Artist Mathiole has rightly said, ‘Art speaks where words are unable to explain’. Saturday Art Class works on the same principle: providing kids with a platform to express themselves through art’s universal language. Working primarily with children from low-income groups, the non-profit organisation was founded by Manasi Mehan and Chhavi Khandelwal with a common goal of solving a prevalent issue in the education system of most government schools―the unavailability of resources to teach kids the significance of social and emotional learning.

“At the age of 20, I joined the Teach For India fellowship in 2015 as a class teacher for Grade 2 in a local government school in Mumbai. Over the course of my interactions with students, I realised that they learned academic subjects, but very little on how they could combat the pressures they faced on an everyday basis in their communities; from violence to difficult financial situations at home, poor nutrition, and for some even, child labour. The lack of expression of these issues affected their performance academically. The school lacked resources to not only provide them with a safe space to voice their feelings but also build skills like awareness, compassion and empathy so that they could uplift the current state of themselves and their communities,” shared Manasi.

Chhavi Khandelwal and Manasi Mehan

“I realised that maybe Art could be the medium through which I could address the lack of expression in my classroom and was on the lookout for an art teacher. I came across Chhavi (an architect by profession) who wanted to teach kids value-based art for the same reason and jumped at the opportunity of being a volunteer on Saturdays as an art teacher. Soon, our students started looking forward to Saturdays and started calling it Saturday Art Class,” she added.

Ever since its inception in 2017, the NGO has come a long way. The team has worked with over 5700 students, 50 organisations and built a strong network of over 1300 volunteers. In a chat with ELLE, Manasi and Chhavi tell us all about how they are using the principles of art to bring a positive change to the lives of innocent minds and how much they’ve grown in their journey during the pandemic.

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