Hobbies make for happier people
Tell us a bit about yourself and your work.
I am Papiya and I am an Org. Development Specialist by profession. The passion for art forms led me to start this platform 'Maker's Club' with my husband Rudrarup, to promote various art forms and artists. Through this we want to create awareness about the artforms as well as provide a platform to artists to reach out to market and share their skills.
How did you think of these hobby classes?
I was interested in different art and craft forms and sought different artists to learn those art forms. This gave me idea that there would be many others like me who would be interested, too. Creating a one-stop place for a plethora of art activities was a good idea and thus, we began Maker's Club hobby classes.
How do you onboard your facilitators?
We ask for their original artworks. They take a demo session for us, once satisfied we onboard them and schedule their workshops.
Before Covid19, where did you conduct your workshops. And now, after Covid19?
We used to conduct physical workshops at different art studios and restaurants. Now we conduct virtually over video conferencing.
How has the nature of workshops changed?
Workshops now are of short duration and more demo-based than hands-on due to limitation with providing materials. However, we share a recorded video of the workshop to for the benefit of the paid learner after they are able to procure the materials that are required.
What kind of challenges do you face?
Having good stable connectivity is a challenge, most often. To adapt to the new situation, artists had to re-skill themselves to conduct these workshops. We also had to redesign to make the duration shorter, in order to keep the engagement high.
What 's the average number of people who attend classes. Have you seen a change in the numbers post Covid19?
Average number of participants were 8-10. Now too we limit the participants number to 15 but we get registrations from cities other than Pune and also from other countries.
What's your higher purpose to schedule these classes every week for so many years?
I believe that having a hobby makes you a better person. Senior citizens try to cultivate creativity to give themselves satisfaction and mental engagement. For professionals, it is a stress buster. Kids learn new skills. For many artists who are facilitators of these workshops, this is a medium to earn their living doing something they are passionate about. All these factors keep me going, even while taking care of a full time day job. I look forward to these schedules every week.
You can reach out for further enquiries at m.facebook.com/MakersClubIndia/?ref=bookmarks or on Instagram @ makersclubpune
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