SMArT
mental health. performing arts. education
story
Studio for Movement Arts and Therapies (SMArT).
Backstory
Eons ago, when my girls were in playschool I was looking for some class that they could join in the evenings so that they would get out of my hair and I could have an hour of peace. Someone mentioned that there was a creative movement class facilitated by Brinda down the street and I went looking but didn’t find it. There was no board or signage and Google maps didn’t exist those days. Then I called the given number and was told that I could drop the girls on Friday evening. It was all very vague and there was no mention of fees. Come Friday and I went again. There were a bunch of kids playing on the terrace of an old bungalow on Curly street and I was immediately drawn to the informal setting. An hour later I came back to see Keya, my younger daughter climbing a pole. I signed up immediately.
We were two women recovering from giving birth and getting back to doing what we loved to do. She – dance and I – design. We started out rather cheaply, using a barter system. I would do design for her and in return, she would teach my girls dance. The kids have flown the nest since and Bri and I have fallen into a rhythm of resonance that is deep, full, and reverberating. I do a lot more than just design for SMArT and as Brinda puts it – I am the square that holds space for her circular flow.
SMArT handles many initiatives – Foundation course in Expressive and Creative Arts Therapies (FECAT), Expressive Body: Through Wounding, Trauma, Healing and Well-Being (EXB), Samaghama, The 101 Series, Arts as a Catalyst, Inner Call to Action, a free Support Helpline for those struggling with Mental Health – and I am a part of all their design and implementation. Once in a moment of weakness that got triggered by the failing health of a family member, I told Brinda that I would be taking a break and that I would send her all the passwords across the multiple accounts and applications that we operate from. She refused point-blank. I said, “What if I die tomorrow?” She replied, “Well if you die, we all die, so..”
She may have said it in light, but that is the emotion she operates with and I go back home with a great sense of belonging – of the client and of the brand that we develop together.
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Monica is the main pillar of support that SMArT rests on. She first came on board to design our publicity material. Super efficient and quick, more often than not the designs were ready almost before I even finished ideating the project. This propelled me to move faster on projects and in many ways shaped the organisation and gave it form in a real sense. Monica being Monica, she did not just rest with designing the material, but extended her role to designing the entire publicity campaign on various social media platforms to make sure her designs were the most effective. She also made it her responsibility to make sure the workshops and trainings offered by us were profitable, the communication effective and the offerings relevant. Soon it was clear that she held the structure of the organisation and in doing so helps create the safe ‘temenos’ within which our work could unfold. She brings a high degree of professionalism to the work we offer, which by nature can be fairly esoteric, which is invaluable.
2007 – Present
