Art for Wellbeing
Photograph to follow
Swabodhini
Initial implementation in a specialist school environment provided an opportunity to observe how the activities worked with children with autism and how they could be adapted to individual needs.
Art for Wellbeing
Research. Create. Test. Scale.
Designing and testing art-based tools for children’s wellbeing.
A research-led project exploring how structured art activities can support emotional expression, engagement and wellbeing in children.
Impact to date
- peer-reviewed studies reviewed
- 16
- structured art-based activities developed
- 5
- field settings tested
- 2
- children reached through field testing
- 100+
From a research review to a field-tested intervention, and now building towards wider, teacher-led implementation.
From research to the classroom
From research to the classroom: a five-activity art-based intervention for children, built on published evidence and tested in real schools.
Art for Wellbeing documents Shruti Arvind’s work developing and testing a five-activity art-based intervention for children. The project began with a review of published research, followed by the design of a structured toolkit and its implementation in school settings.
The work has progressed through research, design, field testing and evaluation. The next phase is focused on making the intervention easier to replicate, so that it can potentially reach more schools and communities.
The journey
- 2025
Research
Systematic review of 16 peer-reviewed studies examining art-based interventions, particularly in relation to children with autism.
- 2025
Toolkit design
Development of five structured art activities informed by the research.
- 2025
Field test 1: Swabodhini
Initial implementation and observation in a specialist school setting.
- 2026
Publication: Curieux Review
The literature review was published.
- 2026
Field test 2: Manjakkudi
Implementation at Swami Dayananda School with children in Grades 4–5.
- 2026
Evaluation
Pre- and post-intervention responses analysed across selected domains.
- Next
Building for scale
Exploring digital resources, teacher training and implementation through additional schools and educational networks.
Research
Starting from the evidence
Before designing the toolkit, Shruti reviewed existing research on art-based interventions and their potential applications for children with autism.
The review examined 16 peer-reviewed studies, identifying common approaches, reported outcomes and considerations relevant to designing a practical school-based intervention.
The findings were used to inform the structure and objectives of the five activities subsequently tested in the field.
Design
The Art for Wellbeing model
The toolkit translates findings from the research into five structured creative activities.
- Simple
- Uses accessible materials and clear instructions.
- Structured
- Each activity has a defined task and an intended area of exploration.
- Adaptable
- Teachers can modify implementation to suit the needs of the children.
- Repeatable
- Designed to be used more than once, not as a one-time workshop.
Activity name to be added
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Field testing
In the field
Photograph to follow
Manjakkudi
The toolkit was implemented with children in Grades 4–5. Teachers were trained to conduct the activities twice a week over five weeks. Questionnaires were developed in English and Tamil to support pre- and post-intervention evaluation.
Evidence
What the evaluation shows
The Manjakkudi implementation included pre- and post-intervention measures across selected domains.
The purpose of the evaluation is not simply to demonstrate an outcome, but to understand how the intervention performs in a real classroom and how it can be refined for future implementation.
Building for scale
From one classroom to a network
What began as a five-activity intervention is being developed into a format that can be shared, taught and replicated beyond the schools where Shruti has personally conducted sessions.
The next phase moves from direct implementation to network-based delivery: equipping teachers with the resources and training to bring structured art-based wellbeing activities into their own classrooms.
Digitise
A digital version of the toolkit with activity instructions, supporting resources and implementation guidance.
Train
Short teacher-training videos and resources so educators can conduct the activities independently.
Expand
Exploring implementation through additional Swami Dayananda schools and AIM for Seva’s wider educational network, including Chatralayams.
Evaluate
Continuing to collect data as the intervention reaches different schools, communities and age groups.
In their words
Swabodhini
Quotation to be added.
Teachers at Swami Dayananda School
Teacher observation to be added.
Press
Published coverage will be listed here.
What’s next
The next stage is focused on moving from direct implementation towards replicable resources.
- Refining the toolkit based on learning from the field.
- Developing digital resources that make the activities easier to access.
- Creating teacher-training materials to support independent implementation.
- Exploring additional schools and educational networks.
- Building a larger evidence base through future implementations and evaluations.
About Shruti
Shruti Arvind is a student at Sishya School, Chennai, whose work explores the intersection of creative expression, children’s wellbeing and inclusive education.
Her current project began with a systematic review of research on art-based interventions and developed into the design and field testing of a five-activity toolkit.
Over two years, she has worked across research, intervention design, school-based implementation and evaluation. Her literature review was published in Curieux Review in 2026.
She is now exploring how the toolkit could be adapted into digital resources and potentially implemented through additional schools and educational networks.