A look back to the past year (April 2011-2012) at Sattya Media Arts Collective in Kathmandu, Nepal. We’ve had documentary screenings, workshops, writing, stencil making, rural programs, and so much more. Thank you to all the people who were involved over this past year— sharing ideas, attending events, working at Sattya, volunteering, interning, offering advice— Sattya is nothing without you all.

Special thanks to Stephen P. Wright for making this video, and to many volunteers who have shot footage over the past year.

GRAPHIC GUFF [2]

 
Kathmandu is ever evolving into a hub for visual culture! We have started to develop an eye for style, fashion, art and design! In fact we admire anything of creative. But, in the recent years the visual pollution in Kathmandu is turning out to be a serious problem! We seem to have lost all sense of good design that our history shows we possessed. How often do you look around the city and actually get inspired by something you see?
 
In this session of graphic guff, I want to discuss about the role graphic design to “design” how our surrounding looks! In every product we use, every magazines we read, every corner of every galli, we can see design. Be it posters or signboards or even those political slogans, believe it or not, design is everywhere. So maybe we can start to change how Kathmandu looks, one design at a time!
 
In this session we’ll talk about:

• The present day design scenario
• Analyze good/bad designs
• Design problems and solutions
• And share our knowledge and experiences

 
 
When: April 21, Saturday  

Time:  3pm- 5pm  

Where: Sattya, Jawalakhel  
How: Apply Here before the 21st.  

Cost: Rs.100 donation accepted  
 
Note: Everybody is encouraged to bring pictures, photographs, designs relevant to the topic we are talking about!
 
If you have any questions, email bandana@sattya.org

 
Sattya is screening “Our School” a documentary about young “Gypsy” students in Transylvania who face prejudice and ignorance as they try to get an education.
 
From the “Our School” website: 
“Our School follows three Roma (commonly known as “Gypsy”) children in a rural Transylvanian village who are among the pioneer participants in an initiative to integrate the ethnically segregated Romanian schools. When their school is desegregated, Alin, Benjamin, and Dana set out for the city school, optimistic for education and new friendships, even as funds earmarked for integration are questionably used to build a “Roma-only” school in their village. Their innocent optimism quickly sours when the children are met with low expectations and further isolation.
 
Shot over four years, the filmmakers’ tender portrait of rural village life and its rhythms fosters an intimacy in the children’s profound reality and admiration for their indomitable spirit, punctuated by shocking instances of prejudice and ignorance. Their story touches on issues ranging from institutionalized racism, public education, and the intractability of poverty, culminating in an outrageous finale that cements the Roma children’s struggle in the annals of egregious human rights violations. Our School is an absorbing, infuriating, and ultimately bittersweet story of tradition and progress.
 
 
Trailer: http://youtu.be/iMMAJoghvaA
Teaser: http://vimeo.com/20395928
More on This Film: http://ourschoolfilm.blogspot.com/
When: April 14th, 6:30pm

Finding the Story

Getting to the heart of creative non-fiction writing

 
For many writers, the question “what should I write about?” is a basic roadblock, something that keeps a career from getting started and skills from getting practiced.
 
In this workshop, writer/editor/idea man Ed Weinberg will help you to focus on the story elements that are present all around us, and deconstruct them into workable story ideas. The skills we will focus on are practical: talking to strangers, basic photography, interviewing, detail-extraction, detective work. These are the tools of curiosity, which we will put in the service of understanding our surroundings and living to tell the tale.
 
 
Covering:
• Talking to and interviewing people you don’t know
• Telling stories visually and breaking the ice using photography
• Discussion and theory of thinking and seeing the world differently
• Brainstorming and narrowing down story ideas
• Using the internet effectively
 
By the end of this workshop, each participant should be on their way or even finished developing a draft of a unique and original creative story.
 
The only materials you’ll need for this workshop are a pocket notebook, a pen, and a digital camera (optional).
 
When: April 23-27 (5 days)

Time: 11 AM-3 PM

Where: Sattya Media Arts Collective in Jawalakhel (behind the zoo)

How: Apply by April 20! APPLICATION HERE.

Cost: Nrs. 3000 – Scholarships are available upon completion of this form.

 
About the instructor

Ed Weinberg is a young wanderer with interests in hipster culture, immortal culture, and what’s left after all that. He’s edited surf stories from Morocco, written about archaeological drama in Bosnia, and interviewed The Flaming Lips. Check out his blog at worldeddy.tumblr.com.

CANVAS CITY

Street Art Workshop

 
Street art is public art. Everyone can see it- rich or poor, young or old, artistic or not. It’s graffiti, stencil, wheatpasting, sticker art, posters,guerilla art, and even video projection. It’s rarely sanctioned and sometimes extremely powerful.
 
In this 2-day workshop, we are going to look at all these forms of street art, get inspired, and create our own, focusing especially on stencils, wheatpasting, poster, and sticker art.
 
-Stencils are the fastest, easiest, cheapest method for painting an image on a wall, canvas, or almost any object.
 
-Wheatpasting is cheap to make and an awesome way of pasting posters and other printed material onto walls.
 
-Stickers are easy to make, not too expensive to print and very fun to stick all over.
 
 
If you have already attended a stencil making workshop at Sattya in the past, you are still welcome and encouraged to join this one. We will be talking about new types of street art and providing you with materials to make more of your own.
 
The wall right in front of Sattya’s gate is quickly becoming covered in art, so once we make some stuff, we can actually spray or paste it out there. So depending on your level and interest, you can spend these 2 days either learning the basics or working on creating new designs and getting them up in the streets!
 
Unlike a lot of workshops at Sattya, this one will be more casual and more of a workday than a formal lesson in something. Let’s get all the supplies out, brainstorm, collaborate, help each other, and make some cool art for Kathmandu streets.
 
 
In this workshop, we will:
• Check out inspiring examples of street art around the world
• Learn how to make stencils from images in Photoshop
• Learn how to make Wheatpaste
• Learn some design basics for making stickers and posters
• Talk about street art ethics and expression
• Design/print/cut/spray/glue our own art
• Check out tips from street artists
• Discuss where to get supplies locally
• Collaborate on ideas and projects
• DO ART IN THE STREET!
 
 
All experience levels are welcome, including those with none at all.
 
Feel free to bring snacks to eat and music to listen to throughout the day as we work.
 
Date:  April 14-15 (Sat & Sun) 

Time: 11-3pm 

Cost: Nrs. 1000 (To be collected at the beginning of the class) 

Where: Sattya Media Arts Collective in Jawalakhel 

To apply:  Fill out this application by April 13 

Scholarships Available for the Workshop:  Email sara@sattya.org for further information.
 
 
About the instructor…
Anya started making stencils and stickers because she was not a good freehand artist, but had a lot of thoughts she wanted express and get out there. While living in Austin,TX, where there are lots of art on the streets, she decided she wanted to know how to make her own and learned stencil making from a friend. From there, she began experimenting with stickers and wheatepasting. She uses her photos as the core visuals for the designs. See her blog about Nepal street art at These City Walls. And here’s a video with some of stencil action here.

Get an application here as a pdf or doc. Get in touch soon, and don’t forget to attach your CV.