Bringing Back Art into an Art School – Wall Murals

Almost every space or place exists for an intended purpose. Be it the tallest skyscraper in the city of Dubai or a small room at the outskirts of Dibrugarh. And for the place to fulfil its intended purpose, it requires more than just the furniture, machinery, or the humans working inside it. It needs to have the right atmosphere to aid in the task that it was originally designed for.

We recently had the opportunity to work on giving the right atmosphere to one such space. A space of learning about crafts and art. This post is an account of our experience from the project.

The project was done for INSD Pune, a premier institute of learning designing of fashion, interiors, and photography. An institute where the primary focus is to combine rationale, technology, and creativity. Where art is conceptualized and executed across mediums.

The institute is unlike many others in terms of the degree of creative approaches one can take. While the general vibe is that of excitement, learning, and experimentation, something was amiss. As we walked around the institute, we observed something peculiar and perfectly normal. The classrooms, corridors, walls – all of them were painted in solid white colours. All of them telling the same story: blank.

Art as part of the space (be it an office, home, or school) is important, as we’ve previously studied. And yet, for an institute where creativity and expressionism are paramount, the walls were surprisingly empty. It’s perfectly normal and common in our daily observation, for most people are unaware of the benefits of including these external elements into their places of work.

The next step now was fixing this.

Something that captures and encapsulates the essence of this place. Something that’s in-line with the lessons and education that’re imparted here.

INSD has several courses in its curriculum, through which it teaches students about:

• • Fashion designing
  • Jewellery designing
  • Graphics designing
  • Animation designing
  • Photography

… to name a few.

Now, art plays a major role in spaces like these because it’s presence facilitates inspiration. It has to power to help people get over mental blockades. To help them out of a creative ditch.

With students and faculty frequently these corridors and space, the art had to be relevant and relatable for them. And hence, we decided to adapt the different kinds of art and elements that are taught here.

All kinds of positive changes need their own sweet time to be adopted. And the ones that are in front of your eyes for a good part of the day take effect early on.

The walls filled with murals recognising the different arts taught here struck a chord with the faculty and students. They served to be a major improvement from the blank walls and made the space more visually immersive and engaging. Now, the audience had something more interesting to engage with. Something that put their respective educational interests out on the big canvas.

Improvements arising from these are of all kinds and degrees. Sometimes, they work in the smallest of ways. For ex: now, corridors weren’t just filled with voices of people moving from one class to another. Students would often stand in contemplation of the art they would see in front of themselves. A major connection between the students and their education gets forget in moments like these.

Here’s what Ms. Varsha Chandwani, Director IISD, had to say about the work we did for their campus branding:

At the end of the day, if a space proves its worth by living up to its intended purpose, it’s a win for everyone. And for that, there’s always a scope of inculcating art into the space. Be it in form of small artifacts or wall murals, as the space allows. Art that can make people stop in their steps and stare in wonder. Art that can promote a dialogue between people. And most importantly, art that can inspire people to solve problems, professionally and personally.

Would you like to reap the benefits of art in your home/office/space?