Art for Educator

Saturday Art Class

Art for Educator

Building access to safe spaces of learning through visual arts and social-emotional learning for underserved children in India

Mumbai

India

Nonprofit

India is home to over 250 million children in government and low-income private schools, many of whom face poverty and systemic educational neglect. These schools often focus solely on academics, neglecting social-emotional and creative development—despite growing evidence that arts and SEL (social-emotional learning) are critical to fostering well-being, creativity, and lifelong skills. India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 mandates integrating arts and SEL into schools, but implementation remains weak, especially in rural and marginalized communities. Contributing factors include a lack of trained teachers, contextualized curricula, and limited resource allocation. Teachers are often expected to conduct art or SEL sessions without adequate training or tools, reducing the quality and consistency of these learning experiences. Existing solutions work in silos, lacking the coordination, support, and scale needed for systemic change. As a result, millions of children are left without the emotional and creative tools essential for academic success and future readiness. Globally, this gap reflects a broader trend: the World Economic Forum warns that current education systems will leave students unprepared for future workforce demands centered on critical thinking and creativity. Addressing this crisis requires an urgent, scalable solution that supports educators without overburdening the existing system.

Saturday Art Class (SArC) is a non-profit that builds safe, joyful learning spaces for children from low-income communities in India through visual arts and social-emotional learning (SEL). We've impacted ~200,000 children across 13 states and 1.1 million globally via digital resources. Our solution operates through four interconnected verticals: Curriculum Development – We’ve created a grade-wise visual arts and SEL curriculum aligned with India’s NCERT and global frameworks, building skills like imagination, communication, and collaboration. Teacher Training – With few art teachers in low-income schools, we train existing academic teachers to conduct engaging arts and SEL sessions. Research and Development – We study the impact of arts and SEL on children’s development, conduct national landscape studies, and use findings to improve programs and inform the sector. Stakeholder Advocacy – Through workshops, open-access resources, and a national symposium, we engage educators, parents, governments, and donors to promote arts in education. We scale by integrating into existing systems, partnering with state governments and NGOs like Pratham and Teach For India. Our WhatsApp chatbot, Art Connect, offers real-time support and resource access for teachers, keeping our model low-cost, sustainable, and system-aligned. Try our tool: https://wa.link/kggn3q

We serve children aged 3–16 from government and low-income private schools in India, many of whom live in urban slums or rural areas with limited access to quality education. These children are often first-generation learners from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and they are significantly underserved in terms of holistic development. Their schools typically lack visual arts and SEL programs, which are critical for building essential life skills like communication, collaboration, and perseverance. Our solution bridges this gap by delivering a comprehensive visual arts and SEL curriculum tailored to their developmental needs. We work within existing school systems, partnering with government bodies, nonprofits, and educators to implement our programs seamlessly into school routines. This ensures that children gain consistent access to creative and emotional learning opportunities in safe, supportive environments. We also train teachers—often without prior art education experience—to facilitate these classes using practical tools and our WhatsApp-based support chatbot, Art Connect. This empowers educators to deliver engaging sessions that foster expression, confidence, and skill-building. By nurturing imagination and emotional well-being, our solution equips children with the 21st-century skills needed to thrive academically and socially—ultimately helping break cycles of poverty and build a more equitable future.