Milton Keynes Arts Centre presents
A Celebration of South Asian Art & Culture:
KS2 Diwali Workshops led by the artist Sveta Sangani
90-minute sessions available Tuesdays & Wednesdays,
9 September –15 October 2025
Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, is celebrated the world-over between October and November each year. It symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil. The festivities generally last for five or six days during which time homes, temples and workplaces are illuminated and decorated; there are firework displays and communities come together for feasts, music, dance and parades.
In 2025, Diwali will start on 18 October, with the main day of celebrations 20 October. In the lead up to this special festival, Milton Keynes Arts Centre is offering a series of workshops led by the artist Sveta Sangani, in which children will be able to learn about Diwali through making their own festive decorations in the form of colourful clay and mirror mandalas (circular designs traditionally used as aids to meditation and spiritual guidance), which can either be hung on the wall or used as tea light holders.
The workshops are 90 mins long and are designed to accommodate up to 30 year 5 or 6 children (upper KS2). Included in the price of the workshop are all fees and materials; insurance, administration and DBS checks; a support member of Milton Keynes Arts Centre’s staff during the workshop; as well as the five-day loan of a South Asian School Resource designed by the artist Tanvi Kant to stimulate further activities; see: https://www.miltonkeynesartscentre.org/live-projects/a-south-asian-heritage-school-resource
Cost £275.
To book a Diwali workshop in your school, please contact Fiona Venables: fiona@miltonkeynesartscentre.org.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Milton Keynes Arts Centre will:
· Contract and make direct payment to the artist and any support staff, ensuring they are DBS checked and hold appropriate Public Liability Insurances.
· Provide an Event Assistant to support each of the sessions, to ensure their smooth running as well as the enjoyment and welfare of all concerned.
· Provide and deliver all equipment and materials for use in the sessions to the host school.
· Collect the South Asian School Resource at the conclusion of the loan period.
· Clear up after the session and ensure the school workshop area is left as found.
· Undertake risk assessments, identifying potential hazards and manage risks with the full agreement of the host school.
The host school will be required to:
· Provide a room with tables and chairs that are wipe-clean and that provide enough workspace for each child to make art.
· Provide no fewer than two Teachers /Teaching Assistants to support the session.
· Ensure there is easy access to a sink throughout the session.
· Make the room available to the Arts Centre no less than 1 hour before the session’s start time and no less than 30 mins after the session’s end, to allow time for preparation and clearing.
· Provide near-by parking for loading and unloading.
· Advise the Arts Centre of any special educational needs or disabilities of attending children to enable appropriate planning and adaptations as required.
