What is Parivartan? What does the campus include and how is the programme structured? Parivartan is an integrated rural community development initiative by Takshila Educational Society. It is a social organization that aims to provide an enabling environment for children, youth, women, farmers and artisans from nearby villages. Functional since October 2011, Parivartan has been working from its campus at Narendrapur village (Siwan, Bihar) in 47 nearby villages on various issues that include livelihood, farming practices, social and economic empowerment of women, early childhood care and development, education, theatre revival, community sports and weaving craft revival. The residency programme offers time and space for artistic practice, experimentation, and engagement with the rural context. Depending on the residency, artists may work independently, participate in field visits, interact with communities and practitioners, and share their work through presentations or informal discussions.

What studio spaces are available? What mediums are best supported? Housed within the Parivartan campus, the residential art studios located in Siwan, Bihar provide facilities for painting, ceramics, sculpture and graphic arts. The Graphic Arts Studio at Parivartan houses two etching and lithography presses with capacity for yielding prints of sizes 36" x 60" and 42" x 72" along with a 44" digital printer. It provides facilities for intaglio printing, surface printing, digital printing and silk-screen printing. The Ceramic Studio has three gas operated front-opening kilns, made of mild iron fabricated with aluminium paint, insulated by bricks and ceramic blanket—two of 4' x 4'8" x 5'3" size and one of 3'4" x 3'8" x 4'8" size, five potter’s wheels—four electric and one foot-operated, pug mill, jigger jolly machine, slab roller and other materials for glazing terracotta and ceramic products. The Sculpture Studio offers facilities for metal casting an stone carving. A wood-cum-coke fired foundry has been setup for forging sculptures of clay/wax or plaster-of-paris molds using readily available local material. It stocks drill machines, grinders, air blowers, and other sculpting tools cum materials. The Painting Studio has stocks eleven wooden H-frame adjustable easels, stretched canvas frames of varies sizes, canvas, paper, oil and acrylic paints, water colours, range of brushes and other materials. The residency is particularly conducive to artists interested in engaging with material practices, rural contexts, communities, and local knowledge systems.

What is available specifically for painting and works on paper ? The Painting Studio has been in use since 2018 and stocks eleven wooden H-frame adjustable easels, stretched canvas frames of varies sizes, canvas, paper, oil and acrylic paints, water colours, range of brushes and other materials.

What materials are provided, and what should artists bring? Basic studio infrastructure and workspace support are provided. A detailed list is shared with artists beforehand and they are advised to bring any additional project-specific materials, tools, equipment, and consumables that they may require.

Are there any special tools that might not be easily available? Specialized art materials, archival supplies, technical equipment, custom tools, electronics, and medium-specific supplies may not be readily available in Siwan. Artists are strongly encouraged to bring anything essential to their work.

What are accommodation and meals like? Accommodation is provided on the Parivartan campus. Meals are vegetarian, home-style Indian food served at a shared community dining space. Around 40 people—including staff, residents, and programme participants—typically dine together. Tea and coffee can be prepared by residents as needed.

Can dietary needs be accommodated? Yes. Please inform the residency team in advance about any dietary restrictions, allergies, or special requirements so that arrangements can be made wherever possible.

What personal supplies or clothing should artists prepare for? Residents should bring season-appropriate clothing, including warm clothes during winter. As some activities may involve visits to rural communities, comfortable and modest clothing suitable for village settings is recommended. Artists should also carry: • Personal toiletries • Prescription medicines • Basic personal care items • Comfortable footwear • Any other supplies required for the duration of their stay

Is medical support accessible from the campus? Yes. Basic first-aid supplies and common medicines are available on campus. Medical assistance can be accessed from nearby doctors and hospitals when required.

What is the protocol in the event of a health emergency? Residents should immediately inform the Administrative Head or Residency Coordinator. Depending on the situation, a doctor may be called to the campus or the resident may be taken to the nearest hospital. Basic first-aid and generic medicines are available. If you require any specific medication, please bring an adequate supply for the entire duration of your residency.

Who else is present at Parivartan during the residency? Parivartan is an active campus with multiple programmes running simultaneously. During your stay, you may interact with staff members from different verticals, artisans, trainees, programme participants, and residents from other art camps or residency programmes.

What other disciplines are active? The campus hosts activities across multiple verticals, including crafts, livelihoods, education, agriculture, community development, and cultural programmes. Residents often encounter practitioners and professionals from a variety of disciplines.

Are there opportunities to engage with the surrounding cultural context? Yes. Residents may visit Parivartan's programme areas and villages across the five panchayats where the organisation works. All such engagements must be coordinated through the Programme Coordinator or relevant Vertical Heads to ensure appropriate introductions, contextual understanding, and smooth communication with community members.

How does one travel to Siwan? Is there a pick-up arrangement from Patna? Siwan can be reached by road or rail. Residents may travel from Patna by car or train. Pick-up arrangements can be coordinated for arrival and departure with prior notice. During the residency, transportation for programme-related activities will be arranged by Parivartan. For personal travel, transport may be arranged on a chargeable basis with prior intimation.

What are the nearest airports and rail connections? The nearest major airports is Patna. The nearest railway station is Siwan Junction, which is well connected to major cities including Patna, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Varanasi.

Arthshila X Anant Foundation for the Arts (19 March- 16 April 2026) Backed by Arthshila and AFA, the initiative brought together a shared commitment to fostering artistic excellence and meaningful cross-disciplinary exchange. The collaboration focused on supporting contemporary artistic practices by creating a space that encouraged exploration, dialogue, and creative interaction. Through access to advanced facilities, mentorship, and active community engagement, the residency enabled artists to push their boundaries and evolve their perspectives within a culturally vibrant setting.

All India Art Students Camp 2026 (24 March- 10 April 2026) Master’s students in Printmaking and Ceramics from leading art institutes across India came together for an immersive week of learning, experimentation, and exchange. Guided by facilitators Aranya Sengupta and Upendra Ram, the camp offered focused mentorship, hands-on engagement, and a space for cross-disciplinary collaboration, allowing participants to deepen their practice while exploring new directions.

Arthshila X KHOJ Artists Residency 2026 (29 January - 28 February 2026) A fully funded, on-site artist residency developed in collaboration with KHOJ, the month-long program brought together practitioners to engage with ceramics, sculpture, and printmaking. Six artists from across the country were selected by an esteemed jury comprising Atul Bhalla, Kristen Michael, and Parul Gupta. During the residency, participants immersed themselves in the local Parivartan community, enabling a rich exchange of ideas and cultural perspectives.

Takshila Multi- Folk Art Symposium (27 November- 28 December 2025) 44 artists from across the country presented vibrant showcases of 20 folk and tribal art traditions. Muria painting, Gond painting, Madhubani, Bhil, Baiga, Warli, wood carving, metal casting, Gamoora mask art, and several other traditions were brought together, offering a rare opportunity to experience them all in one place. This Sangoshthi was an effort to honor those artists who have been keeping their art alive across generations. Many visitors participated in this artistic journey at Parivartan, Siwan.

Arthshila X Anant Foundation for the Arts (19 March- 14 April 2025) With support from both Arthshila and AFA, this initiative reinforced a shared vision for encouraging artistic excellence and cross-disciplinary engagement. The partnership was dedicated to nurturing contemporary artistic practices, providing a dynamic space for exploration, dialogue, and creative exchange. The residency offered state-of-the-art facilities, mentorship, and community engagement, enabling artists to challenge themselves and develop new perspectives in a rich cultural environment.

All India Art Students Camp 2024 (26 March- 8 April 2025) Master’s students in Printmaking and Ceramics from leading art institutes across India convened for an intensive week-long engagement marked by learning, experimentation, and meaningful exchange. Under the expert guidance of facilitators Aranya Sengupta and Upendra Ram, the camp provided participants with personalized mentorship, hands-on training, and opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Arthshila X KHOJ Artists Residency (12 February-12 March 2025) A fully-funded, on-site artist residency in collaboration with KHOJ, a month-long program brought together creative practitioners to explore ceramics, sculpture and printmaking. Six artists from across the nation were selected by esteemed mentors Astha Butail, Gigi Scaria and Susanta Mandal. During their residency, the artists engaged deeply with the local Parivartan community, fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas and cultural experiences.

Arthshila Seed Workshop on Dhatushilp (11-23 February 2025) This is the third in a series of workshops whose aim is to seed possibilities for creative regeneration of art practices. The idea is for contemporary and indigenous sculptors to co-create sculptures in metal whose form is contemporary while their casting is done using traditional techniques. Curated by art researcher Mushtak Khan, the workshop brings together six indigenous artists of Bankura Dokra tradition from West Bengal along with Barkai Ghadwa and Ektaal Dokra traditions from Chattisgarh in creative collaboration with veteran sculptors K.S. Radhakrishnan, Madan Lal Gupta, G. Reghu and young sculptors Kanchan Karjee and Amaldev Narayan.

Arthshila X KHOJ Artists Residency (18 February - 23 March 2024) A fully-funded, on-site artist residency in collaboration with KHOJ, a month-long program brought together creative practitioners to explore ceramics, textiles, sculpture, and printmaking. Six artists from across the nation were selected by esteemed mentors Anita Dube, Arunkumar HG, Martand Khosla, and Shailesh BR. During their residency, the artists engaged deeply with the local Parivartan community, fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas and cultural experiences.

Arthshila Seed Workshop on Mrinshilp (2-21 March 2024) Envisioned to explore the possibilities of reimagining art practices, this workshop series aims to create distinctive artworks for the Takshila Fine Art Collection, each reflecting a unique vitality. The second workshop in the series, themed 'Khaprel: A Slice of Everyday Life Viewed from the Roof,' was curated by G Reghu, Mushtak Khan, and Preeti Bahadur Ramaswami. This workshop seeks to seed new possibilities for creative regeneration in contemporary art practices.

Arthshila All India Student Camp (5-18 May 2024) This 14-day camp at Parivartan focused on ceramics and printmaking, guided by renowned art practitioners Upendra Ram and Jayasimha Chandrashekar. The camp provided a platform for participants to explore and create, resulting in a range of intriguing experimental artworks.

Arthshila All India Art Student Camp (5-15 June 2023) 24 students from 12 reputed art colleges from 8 states of India participated in 10 days camp focusing on ceramics and printmaking under mentorship of reputed art practitioners Lipi Biswas and Arpan Mukherjee, respectively.

Arthshila Seed Workshop on Dhulichitran~Kashidakari (9-20 December 2023) The first workshop in this series traces ‘patterns in thread and rice flour’ to seek synergy between floor/wall painting and embroidery traditionally done in the various parts of India. The idea is to transfer/translate ritual floor patterns to cloth, bringing the two art practices together. Artists and embroiderers of different traditions were invited to interact and collaborate in creating ‘rumals’ on true Khadi fabric of Sabrangi woven at Parivartan, each art-piece linking a dhulichitra to a particular kashidakari. We are hoping to conduct numerous such workshops to cover as many traditions as possible. A textile artwork is ultimately to be created by stitching together all the ‘rumals’.

Arthshila Folk Metal Art Symposium 2023 (17 February–3 March 2023) Our first folk and tribal metal art symposium was curated by art academician Mushtak Khan to bring together all prominent bronze casting traditions prevalent across India. We had 19 artists representing 8 traditions of metal casting from 5 states. The idea was to create works and objects specific to the region, hand in hand with reviving dwindling forms for full range representation of the these traditions under the Takshila Art Collection. 111 objects covering idols, figurines, jewellery, lamps, utility knick-knacks were created as a result.

Arthshila x FICA Artists Residency 2023 (21 March–8 April 2023) This residency was organised in collaboration with the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art to provide a 3-week stint to the artist recipients of FICA Emerging Artists Award 2022. Its focus was on a range of emerging practices and responding to the way practitioners were developing their critical enquiries and experiments with a variety of media. The residents interacted closely with Parivartan community and moulded their work not simply in response to them, but also meant to be engaged with by them.

Arthshila Folk Terracotta Sculpture Symposium 2022 (24 February–15 March 2022) Curated by art researcher Mushtak Khan, this is Arthshila’s first folk-based symposium on sculpture and specialised in terracotta. It involved participation of 17 artists from 5 terracotta art traditions: Darbhanga Mrinshilp from Bihar, Gorakhpur Mrinshilp from Uttar Pradesh, Bankura Mrinshilp from West Bengal, Barpali Mrinshilp from Odisha, and Bastar Mrinshilp from Chhattisgarh. The 20-day residency yielded over 200 pieces of terracotta art that were baked in five different kinds of traditional kilns prepared by the visiting artists. Effort was made to replicate traditional lesser known objects and forms.

Arthshila Folk Painting Symposium 2022 (12–22 September 2022) Arthshila’s third folk-based symposium on painting, curated by Mushtak Khan, involved 26 artists from 14 art traditions belonging to 10 states of India: Cherial Nakashi from Telengana, Baiga, Badi Godna and Meena Mandna from Madhya Pradesh, Kavad from Rajasthan, Jogiki and Kutchi from Gujarat, Manjusha from Bihar, Savara from Odisha, Chai Bagan and Pothi Chitra from Assam, Mizo Chitra from Mizoram, Naga Chitra from Nagaland, and Tripura Lok Chitra from Tripura.

Arthshila Bihar Artists Symposium 2022 (25 September–1 October 2022) This symposium was curated by senior printmaker Shyam Sharma and organised to gather 22 native artists of Bihar from the streams of painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and ceramics. A total of 53 artworks including 18 paintings, 10 prints, 10 photographs, 5 terracotta and 10 ceramic sculptures were created during the 7-day residency. We are looking to showcase the same in an exhibition.

Arthshila x Khoj Artists Residency 2022 (15 November–20 December 2022) A joint endeavour of two verticals of Takshila (Arthshila and Parivartan) and Khoj Studios, this 5-week residency provided upcoming contemporary artists, selected through multi-rounds open call, to interact with Parivartan community and co-residents to share their practice in this synergised environment. The intention was to enable breakthroughs in interdisciplinary art and for the dialogue between practitioners and public to flourish. The artists chose to work with themes of gender, the agrarian crisis, community, familial memory, ecology, food, protest and social justice. Mentor visits by residency jurists Rahul Kumar and Anushka Rajendran were organised during this tenure. Alina Tiphagne from Khoj documented the works created by the residents.

Arthshila Folk Art Symposium Jul-Aug 2021 Curated by art researcher Mushtak Khan, this was Arthshila’s first art residency on the folk and tribal arts. It focussed on painting and bagged participation from 13 artists from 6 folk art traditions, viz. Anushthanik Chitrakala, Rajwar Lipai, Godna, Kalighat Patua, Jadu Patua and Hazaribagh Sohari. The selected traditional painting styles are traditionally done on walls, floors and treated natural material using earth colours. In this symposium, the artists attempted for the first time to explore and paint on modern art material, using acrylic colours and ink on paper and canvas.

Arthshila Folk Art Symposium Nov 2021 Like the previous residency in this series, this Symposium was curated by art researcher Shri Mushtak Khan and involved eleven artists from five Indian indigenous art traditions—Thangka Chitrakala of Ladakh, Paitkar Chitrakala of Jharkhand, Patua Pattachitra of West Bengal, Kalamkari Chitrakala of Andhra Pradesh and Chittara Chitrakala of Karnataka. The idea again was to encourage artists to explore modern art materials (ink, acrylic and canvas) to showcase their respective folk art.

Arthshila Ceramics Symposium 2020 Ten acclaimed Indian ceramic artists, two artist assistants, and three helpers from the Parivartan community participated in Arthshila’s first symposium dedicated to Ceramics, which was curated by reputed ceramist P.R. Daroz.

Arthshila Sculpture Symposium 2019 15 eminent senior Indian sculptors and 20 talented sculptor assistants participated in this 15-days Symposium which specialised in Stone Carving. Curated by eminent sculptor Robin David, it offered five choices of stones to the participants, viz. Chunar sandstone, Bheslana black marble, Banswara white marble, Udaipur pink marble, and Jaisalmer yellow stone

Arthshila International Artists Symposium 2018 The Symposium brought together 16 foreign artists from 11 different countries along with 6 Indian artists and engaged them in intensive workshops specializing in Ceramics, Graphic Art, and Painting over 11 days.

All India Art Students Camp 2018 27 undergraduate and postgraduate students from 15 reputed art institutes of India participated in a 10-day workshop, practicing and learning the nuances of Printmaking from senior mentor artists Kavita Shah and Pritam Deuskar.

Mezzot’ India 2018 The first International Mezzotint Print-art Festival in the country was organized by Bihar Museum in collaboration with Arthshila. Curated by reputed mezzotinter Guy Langevin, it comprised of over a month-long Mezzotint Artworks Exhibition at Bihar Museum and a weeklong MezzoWorkshop at Parivartan. 13 foreign artists from 8 different countries and 10 senior printmakers from India took part in this intensive workshop on ‘mezzotint’, a uniquely specialized printmaking technique.

Arthshila Sculpture Symposium 2018 Takshila’s first venture into sculptures, the Symposium was curated by celebrated sculptor K.S. Radhakrishnan and focussed on Bronze Casting. This 15-days workshop saw participation from 3 foreign artists—2 sculptors and 1 painter, as well as from 8 Indian artists—7 sculptors and 1 painter. The Sculpture Studio and the Foundry of the Arthshila Art Studios were initiated during this symposium.