GAE – Global Art Exchange
With the assistance of Louise Saunderson, ECDO’s VSO Volunteer from the United Kingdom, in 2006 ECDO launched a ‘Global Art Exchange’ project, between Manipuri children and children from two primary schools in England, King James and Roughem. As art is a universal language, the aim was to aid cross-cultural understanding and provide the stimulation for people in England to learn about the Manipuri, and vice versa.
In the United Kingdom, Roughen and King James primary schools exhibited the work of 24 Manipuri children in the summer of 2006. The theme of the exhibitions was Manipuri culture and heritage, and they attracted many people from the local area who wished to learn about the Manipuri peoples. The artwork received high praise, and was seen as a valuable addition to cultural understanding in the UK.
ECDO arranged a Global Art Exhibition in Sylhet on 22nd and 23rd September 2006. The exhibition was inaugurated by Honorable Mayor of Sylhet City Corporation, and 97 art works were exhibited by Manipuri children and 31 from Roughem and King James Primary School, UK.
In his speech, the Honorable Mayor Mr Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran remarked that the Manipuri people have a rich cultural heritage which is famous and renowned in the Indian Sub Continent, and added that he hoped the Art Exchange project would continue.
ECDO is trying to promote the identity of the Sylheti indigenous communities all over the world through this Global Art Exchange program. The Manipuri children and their guardians were very excited to have the opportunity to participate and would certainly like to expand the programme. If you would like to learn more about the project, and how you could get involved, please contact ECDO and we would be delighted to talk with you.