Started at 12, Built a 300,000-Member Community: How CAMI Made a Museum for Children’s Art

The useful part

Sometimes it is pinned to the refrigerator, sometimes carefully tucked into a school file. Parents admire it, the child receives praise, and then another drawing comes along to take its place. Over time, that painting often ends up in a drawer, cupboard or forgotten corner of a file.

How it works

• Over 20,000 paintings and artworks have been submitted to the platform, while its website has attracted more than one million visitors.
• Speaking to YourStory, CAMI Co-founder Krish Nawal says, "My interest in art was never limited to learning how to draw or paint.
• Professional artists had museums, galleries and several digital platforms where their work could be displayed.
• There were very few spaces designed specifically for children, where their artwork could be shared and experienced by others instead of simply being submitted and forgotten.
• Meanwhile, the work of established artists finds space in galleries and museums.

What to take from it

It is also to introduce them to India's cultural heritage and encourage curiosity about the country's artistic traditions. That question led to the birth of the Children's Art Museum of India (CAMI). What makes the story even more remarkable is that the digital museum was started by two children at an age when most kids are still carrying their drawings around in school bags.

Example or evidence

• He enjoyed building new things, experimenting with ideas and exploring what could be created around creativity itself.
• The plan is to expand its school network, strengthen its international community and build more engaging and interactive museum experiences.
• They need a space where their creativity can simply be seen." Today, CAMI describes itself through the idea of "By the Children, For the Children, Of the Children." The larger goal is to build a creative...

Details worth keeping

ADVERTISEMENT A child's painting often has a very short life. For a few days, it finds a place on the wall at home. What if that same painting became part of a museum?

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