Arts Resources
Activity Plans
Alpana (Bangladesh)
Alpana is a style of traditional floor painting often practiced at festivals or special occasions such as weddings. Items that feature regularly in alpana are the sun, rice stems, owls, fish and lotus flowers.
Batik (Sri Lanka)
Batik is originally from the island of Java. In Batik, an artist applies wax in a specific pattern, then colours the non-waxed parts of the cloth with a dye. Hot water can be used to remove the wax and they can then repeat the waxing and dying with more than one colour. Though Batik is best known to come from Indonesia, Sri Lanka also has a flourishing batik scene. Simple “batik-style” paintings can be made using white (or other coloured) crayon and watercolour paints.
Junakanoo Masks (Bahamas)
Junkanoo masks are made in the Bahamas as a celebration of Junkanoo, a Bahamian national festival celebrated mostly on Boxing Day and New Year’s Morning. The origin of Junkanoo is unknown but it is thought to originate in West Africa. Legend tells that the name came from John Canoe, a tribal chief who demanded the right to celebrate even after being brought to the West Indies in slavery.
Maasai Jewellery (Kenya)
The Maasai people live in northern, central, and southern Kenya, and northern Tanzania. Their jewellery is distinctive and often features bright colours. Each colour is symbolic (see next page) and the combination of colours gives complex meaning.
Finger-painting Sports Pictograms
The first Olympic Games sport pictograms were introduced at the Tokyo 1964 Games. Every edition of the Games since has had its own set of pictograms depicting each of the sports. They are an easy way to communicate each event in a visual way to increasingly international group of athletes and spectators.
Spoon People
Spoon people are made from a spoon, decorated with googly (or permanent marker) eyes, pom-pom hair and as many other accessories as you can find.
Video Tutorials
How To Make Bhangra Pom Poms
