The Saraf Foundation’s focus, a belief that leads every initiative we lead, is to encourage learning, no matter the age. We believe that everyone has an innate curiosity that we want to foster, and we want to do so by creating experiential learning opportunities for people.
This belief has led us to develop Creative Learning as a core program for each of our initiatives. By encouraging visitors to become learners in our spaces, we are allowing for regular discussions about people’s experiences. Each of our initiatives are unique spaces, holding their own history and their own nuances. We have created Creative Learning programming that caters to each space and its unique offerings. Each space invites visitors to explore the full space and notice the small details while mentioning the purpose of the space, whether it is archiving, sustainability or culture.
Creative Learning at Taragaon Next
At Taragaon Next, we’ve implemented Creative Learning in various ways. We’ve developed our programming by keeping the various audiences that visit Taragaon in mind and have two distinct ways things get implemented.
For Schools
Taragaon Next has Creative Learning programming specifically for schools where students are able to interact with the entirety of Taragaon’s space. For ‘Taragaon Treasure Hunt’, students are being asked to engage with the artworks that are on display, notice minute details, solve riddles and to engage with the garden space. In ‘Leafing Around Taragaon’, students are asked to engage with the plants at Taragaon and identify them with the use of a viewfinder.
For Regular Visitors
Regular visitors are able to register for all and any workshops hosted at Taragaon Next. Workshops happen every month, and people are able to engage with experts in the field and learn valuable skills. With workshops like printmaking, terrarium making, stop-motion animation, etc. happening at Taragaon, this taps into older visitors being able to engage with the space. Most workshops center around the various exhibitions or talk programs happening at Taragaon, so that longer/in-depth discussions can happen.
Visitors are also able to register for guided tours of the exhibition or of the space itself.
Creative Learning at Nepal Architecture Archive
At Nepal Architecture Archive, we have opportunities for architecture students/ heritage enthusiasts to unroll our architectural drawings and discuss them with the help of our archivists. They are also able to spend time reading books from our library and go through the research that has been published by the Saraf Foundation.
A new initiative that we are implementing is Object Based Learning with materials from NAA. People are able to get in-depth knowledge about an object and are able to learn how to handle it, how to store it, etc. This allows for people to partake in the preservation process and learn how to engage with heritage materials that they might have access to in their community.
