A children’s art festival bringing together workshops in folk art, storytelling, craft, and creative making.

KNMA and Triveni Kala Sangam come together for Chalo Bachpan, a festival that invites children and families to explore art through making, storytelling, craft, and imagination. Across three workshops, participants explore folk-art traditions, create fantastical beings, and experiment with folding, geometry, and form.

1. Forms in Clay | 10 October 2026 | 11.00am – 1.00pm | Ages 5+

Explore the distinctive world of Bankura clay toys from West Bengal, known for their bold silhouettes and expressive animal forms. Drawing inspiration from these folk-art traditions, children and families experiment with shape and character through clay, creating their own interpretations of these enduring forms.

2. The Secret Lives of Imaginary Beings | 10 October 2026 | 3.00pm – 5.00pm | Ages 6–16

Imagine fantastical beings by bringing together elements of animals, plants, humans, and the imaginary. Led by artist Anindita Bhattacharya and drawing inspiration from Indian miniature painting, participants experiment with drawing, pattern, collage, and storytelling to develop their creatures, personalities, and habitats. The session culminates in a collaborative artwork that brings these imagined worlds together.

About the Artist

Anindita Bhattacharya is a contemporary artist based in New Delhi. Her work has been exhibited widely in India and internationally, including at India Art Fair, Art Mumbai, Art Dubai, and Abu Dhabi Art Fair. In 2024, she became the first Indian artist invited to the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, under the Freer Hall Artist-in-Residence programme.

3. Form, Fold, Create | 11 October 2026 | 3.00pm – 5.00pm | Ages 9–16

Transform stories into form through geometry, folding, and collaborative making. Inspired by Bengal’s folk tales and the imagery of Goddess Manasa, and drawing from the practices of Ankon Mitra and Rupsa Chattopadhyay, participants experiment with modular forms to create a large-scale serpent inspired by Manasa’s snake form. Through this collective process, they explore geometry, movement, structure, and storytelling.

About the Artists

Ankon Mitra is an architect and internationally acclaimed sculptor known for his folding-based practice. An alumnus of the Bartlett, University College London, his work has been exhibited in 18 countries and is held in public and private collections worldwide. He is the recipient of the All-India Gold Medal for Sculpture and the Lexus Design Award for Craft Design.

Rupsa Chattopadhyay has a background in Construction Management and has pursued origami for over a decade. Her creative practice explores the intersection of origami, architecture, materiality, and design, shaped by her five years at Oritecture Studio under the guidance of Ankon Mitra.