The brush is mightier than the sword. That is what students at the famed Delhi College of Art have seemed intent on proving over the last fortnight, as they have gone on strike and organised demonstrations to highlight their claim that the authorities aren’t doing enough to keep the institution running in a good shape.
In addition to demanding an upgraded syllabus and library, the students want other, rather more basic, facilities: cleaner toilets, transparency in the way funds are used on campus and a provision for stationery shop inside the campus so that the students don’t have to go “running to the Supreme Court [across the road] for buying a pencil”.
“Our syllabus is at least 50 years old and they continue to teach it year after year,” a student was heard lamenting in a short documentary about the protests that has been doing the rounds on the social media. At a time where art and clay modelling have gone online, students say the college lacks even basic computer facilities and they are still expected to do all their work manually.
“We don’t want a lot from the authorities, just a little more empathy and consideration for our future,” said another student, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Are we going to be great artists if we are denied basic facilities? Why are students who just want better education being made to go through all this?”
While students have garnered support from the college’s alumni , who include a wide range of photographers, artists and painters, the government seems non-committal about addressing their demands.
When the students tried to reach Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal this week, they said they were unable to get past his assistant and failed to get an appointment. This prompted one of them to bring out his art paraphernalia and start painting on the road outside. His fellow students were inspired to follow his example.
“We returned to the college and decided that the only way to get our voices heard was through art,” Nitish Arora, told the Indian Express.
Soon enough, the campus walls were bursting with graffiti ranging from pop culture characters to wide banners with the word “revolution” painted in bold letters. Social media was flooded by pictures of the “art-protest” and students invited their friends to come witness the revolution in the making, even some alumni wrote heartfelt obituaries for the college that finds itself in an “abysmal state of decay.”
Here’s a look at some of the graffiti on the college walls.
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In addition to demanding an upgraded syllabus and library, the students want other, rather more basic, facilities: cleaner toilets, transparency in the way funds are used on campus and a provision for stationery shop inside the campus so that the students don’t have to go “running to the Supreme Court [across the road] for buying a pencil”.
“Our syllabus is at least 50 years old and they continue to teach it year after year,” a student was heard lamenting in a short documentary about the protests that has been doing the rounds on the social media. At a time where art and clay modelling have gone online, students say the college lacks even basic computer facilities and they are still expected to do all their work manually.
“We don’t want a lot from the authorities, just a little more empathy and consideration for our future,” said another student, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Are we going to be great artists if we are denied basic facilities? Why are students who just want better education being made to go through all this?”
While students have garnered support from the college’s alumni , who include a wide range of photographers, artists and painters, the government seems non-committal about addressing their demands.
When the students tried to reach Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal this week, they said they were unable to get past his assistant and failed to get an appointment. This prompted one of them to bring out his art paraphernalia and start painting on the road outside. His fellow students were inspired to follow his example.
“We returned to the college and decided that the only way to get our voices heard was through art,” Nitish Arora, told the Indian Express.
Soon enough, the campus walls were bursting with graffiti ranging from pop culture characters to wide banners with the word “revolution” painted in bold letters. Social media was flooded by pictures of the “art-protest” and students invited their friends to come witness the revolution in the making, even some alumni wrote heartfelt obituaries for the college that finds itself in an “abysmal state of decay.”
Here’s a look at some of the graffiti on the college walls.
