UGC Policy on Kala Guru (Part 2) – Experts Speak

In this two-part series on UGC guidelines for empanelment of Kala Guru (Artists / Artisans In-Residence) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Chinha presents the Second part to understand the nuances of its implementation through the views of expert educationists and academicians in Art & Design field about this policy.

As the Kala Guru policy was recently introduced, this is the right time for the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to deliberate on it and to work out the possible modalities for its effective implementation. Chinha’s aim is to encourage such deliberations amongst the Art and Design community. For this, Chinha team attempted to decipher the policy and its ramifications in higher education scenario in India with the help of expert academicians, and educationists active the fields of Art and Design. Every expert contributed their views on the policy, possible modalities for implementation and its possible impact on higher education.

Prof Mahendra Damle – Principal, Rachana Sansad Academy of Fine Arts and Craft, Mumbai 

Prof Mahendra Damle expressed that this is a good initiative on a policy level. It will help institutions to formally engage a personality from visual as well as performing art field in the undergraduate level courses. This policy helps the institutions, as they can plan, budget, and create introductory engagement to students if they wish. However, the details of this policy need to be studied. As how government has created the levels of the Kala Gurus. How will be the economic compensation and workload level, what kind of program guidelines will be declared to engage the Kala Gurus of various levels, needs to be worked out. NEP (National Education Policy 2020) is a good change but unfortunately our universities and institutes are in slumber and not ready for it. They need to be more flexible and understand henceforth content and delivery is going to be key in business and growth of institutions and universities. 

—–

Prof Nitin Kulkarni – An Art & Design educationist based in Navi Mumbai, with over 30 years of experience. 

Prof Nitin Kulkarni stated that the UGC’s proposed norms to Introduce practitioner artists as Kala Guru in existing educational set up is a welcome move at a broad policy level.

The possible role of Kala Guru needs to be ascertained in various educational domains, because it might vary drastically depending upon the Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) of each educational program and its planned outcomes. Art & Design domains have already defined master artisan’s role in academia.

To ensure its effective implementation, educational institutions must align this input with their overall institutional objectives. These may range across various objectives such as creating professional skills and knowledge, securing a professional career, holistic development encompassing individual and societal needs and the like. Each institution needs to visualize what could be the possible role of a Kala Guru in their course curriculum. This needs to be thought through thoroughly before implementation. 

He elaborated that developing a mechanism to absorb an external resource person into their existing educational framework will also be imperative. Most often, practitioners may need some assistance to be effective in their role in education, along with sensitization of students for positive reception of their inputs. Prof Kulkarni further suggested that there might be a need to adopt a ‘co-learning’ approach to ensure effective learning with an external resource. He also pointed out the dilemma of institutionalizing a practitioner to make them an effective educator, wherein both are more likely mutually exclusive categories. 

He added that prominent art and design institutions do have a practice of involving art practitioners in educational programs. However, their roles and expectations from them are seamlessly weaved into the overall fabric of the course curriculum and the ethos of the institution. So, in a way, the present recommended practice is not entirely new. 

Prof Kulkarni indicated that educationists and institutions need to delve deeper into this and similar provisions of NEP (National Education Policy 2020) to visualize their all-round ramifications on future generations of students and then fine tune their institutional policies, while contributing to policy implementation at the national level. 

—–

Geeta Castelino – Art & Design Educationist / Advisor – Textiles & Fashion Industry & Universities for Curriculum Development / Strategic Planner – NGOs & Paramparik Karigars / Executive Director- Kala Ghoda Association / Consulting Psychologist, having experience of more than three decades.

Madam Geeta Castelino expressed her views through the following points:  

The study should focus on educational strategies that improve a students’ understanding of design and its relationships with various fields and professional industry. Courses should be exclusively focused not just on the art & design aspects but soft skills, entrepreneurial skills as well as traditional & contemporary’s versions on skill base education. Communication and interaction should be developed through presentation skills, seminars, conferences, industry visits as well as professional interactions like extra mural classes.

Design, marketing & advertising: This should be discussed from the very beginning of the academic year, so the student gets the hang of how to sell his or her creations rather than struggle once they graduate which also demotivates the student and the student loses confidence how much ever talented and creative they are.

The classes should engage with design on multiple levels, from the highly conceptual to the deeply practical, with a strong culture of innovation, experimentation, and debate. Programs should be supported by faculty with reputations in world-leading research, teaching, and practice.

To develop key opportunities within specialist programs, to encourage different student cohorts to network, test new ideas, evaluate, take risks, and even fail, thereby allowing successful design practice to be significantly elevated. These are critical components to building confident, mature, diverse, and self-aware future design leaders who will be ready & prepared for evolving global challenges within their chosen disciplines.

To collaborate with industries, if need be, to partner with agencies & also across subject areas to allow strategic opportunities for multidisciplinary teaching and project development to enhance and ensure student mobility, independent learning, and interdisciplinary activity.

She emphasized that, no matter the course of study, the curriculum should place an emphasis on undertaking avant-garde ethics, design research and business innovation. Exploring experimental cut and contemporary streetstyle. The future is on display, to stand out and make a difference. Beauty also comes from the inside, from how and why things are made, from responsible design and business innovation. In other words, how well the students incorporate the cardinal concept of the current times: sustainability, to be given importance.

Madam Geeta added a practical idea, that the HEIs should also think of having tie ups with NGOs working with craftsmen, wherein the students could do documentation of these crafts. Reviving dying crafts plus using the rich heritage by using the strong base to create what market can be captured and give these NGOs / artisans hope to have a good livelihood.

—–

Prof Nikhil Purohit –  Artist, Art Educator at Amity University, and visiting faculty at NIFT, Whistling Woods. He is an expert in subject areas of Art History, Aesthetics, Visual Communication, Advertising Theory, and other areas including Craft Documentation, Art and Design Aesthetics.

Prof Nikhil Purohit states that the proposed model of empanelment of a practicing artist for Higher education is welcome with a pinch of salt. The policy primarily focuses on enhancement and empowerment of the Craft traditions of the country and largely upon the performing art types where the Guru-shishya (Mentor-Mentee) culture is prevalent since times unknown. While this format is suitable for time-based art forms, plastic arts if devised well could have a positive impact primarily to establish good innovation with simple economic structure. 

In view of Visual Arts institutional approach in inviting significant industry members across fine and applied arts where the students would get to work with not just one artist or expert type but multiple resource persons. This empanelment could include studio artists, art scholars, art writers, archivists, art administrators, museologists, gallerists, curators, IPR specialists, art consultants, and sensitive art economists who would over the duration impart exposure and or deeper understanding of one or more of the chosen domains within the Visual Arts umbrella.
Prof Purohit identified some challenges in defining as follows:

1. Deciding the worth of the artist for empaneling: Many internationally acclaimed artists may have never been acknowledged by the national organizations viz. Lalit Kala Akademi or IGNCA etc for their contribution proving them unfit to the position. Institutional autonomy in inviting worthy artists based on their merit than award.
2. Fewer National Awardee artists, availability of such dignitaries in every region of the country where institutions are present. Their willingness for long academic engagement, and their ability to synergize with academic learning methodology or scope. 
3. Conceptual Outcome: the dynamics of Visual arts demands almost independent learning after initial years, especially in the wake of contemporary practices where the notion of art and non-art is significantly blurred/challenged. How would the Guru impact/formulate new learning keeping the structure open-ended?

The contact points should be designed by a mentor and the student where duration is OBE (Outcome-Based Education).

—–

In conclusion, the policy is a positive and useful change in the education sector. However, for its effective implementation, various modalities need to be carefully worked out at every level – institutional policy level, academic curriculum design level and administrative level. Chinha team is hopeful that these inputs by experts would be useful for artists, artisans, as well as for art educators in Art and Design domains. We welcome our readers to actively deliberate on this policy amongst their educational circles and share their views with us. 

******

Vineel Bhurke

—–

To know about the provisions of the UGC Policy on Kala Guru, click here… 

UGC Policy on Kala Guru (Part 1)