Tell the students what the Miriam’s Vision resource and this module are about, share the title, key message, objectives etc.
Introduce the theme, Different Backgrounds, Common Ground. What could this mean in relation to Art and in wider contexts?
Explain that the module starts by setting the context with some video and a presentation.
Show Miriam’s Story video package Parts 1 to 4. MV Resource 0 Info for Students.pdf is a single page summary of Miriam's Vision and its aims. Print and distribute a copy to each student.
Allow more or less time for this activity depending on how much discussion is appropriate for your group before, between and / or after each of the (approximately) two-minute sections:
- What happened on 7th July 2005? (Four suicide bombs in a coordinated attack on the London transport system during the morning rush hour, killing fifty-two people and directly or indirectly affecting unrecorded numbers of people.)
- Why is it known as “7/7”? (Because it happened on the seventh day of the seventh month.)
- (It may be appropriate to discuss your group’s knowledge of 7/7, or any aspect they bring up after seeing the package.)
- Who was Miriam Hyman? (One of the fifty-two people killed on 7/7.)
- What is the Miriam Hyman Memorial Trust (MHMT)? (The Hyman family set up this charity in Miriam’s memory.)
- What is the Miriam Hyman Children’s Eye Care Centre (MHCECC)? (The centre was opened in 2008 and named after Miriam. The MHMT supports the MHCECC and the Hyman family are happy to have created a lasting, living memorial to Miriam that helps a lot of children and their families.)
- Where is the MHCECC? (In India, in the state of Odisha.)
- How does Miriam’s Vision fit in? (The MHMT wants to help YOU to participate in creating a safer, more inclusive society so that events like 7/7 are less likely to recur. One way of doing this is to be aware that, despite local differences, we all have fundamental common needs that unite us.)
Explain that we are going to explore one craft in the locality of the Miriam Hyman Children’s Eye Care Centre. (Do they remember where it is? Odisha, India.)
Show MV Art Resource 1.1 Intro to Pipili Applique PP.
Discuss slides as appropriate to your group. Points to bring out:
- Pipili appliqué has distinctive features
- Pipili appliqué forms a part of the cultural heritage and identity of Odisha
- What did they find out?
- Was there anything particularly interesting, surprising or inspiring?
- End by referring to the theme, Different Backgrounds, Common Ground. How does this relate to what they have been doing this session? (Arts and crafts are practised in every different culture. What crafts are practised depends on available materials, the functions they are used for etc.)
- What arts and crafts are practised in the students’ own backgrounds and / or environment? (UK examples: Carpentry, textiles, glass blowing, stone masonry, metal work, jewellery making etc.)
Students can research different crafts that reflect their own background and / or environment. If your group contains students from different cultural backgrounds, they can find out about crafts from that culture. Depending on the time period of delivery of the module (over half a term / in an off-timetable one-day session) you may want to set this extension task for homework. Different crafts and their major features (materials, functions, forms) can be shared at the start of the next task.