58 year old K. Jayalakshmi taking part in a Mandala workshop, along with other participants.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
A 60-year-old B. Vijaya spent a weekend afternoon at the punch needle workshop, alongside other participants, in a room where tufting, crochet, pipe cleaner flower making, and six other workshops were happening all at once. Behind this curation was Shree Vidhyaa, who runs Magizh and has been conducting these multi-art workshops every month.“I quit my IT job to go all into art workshops. Many did not understand my desire to go all into art, but the Chennai crowd did not disappoint. People of all ages have been turning up to learn about different workshops under one roof,” Ms. Vidhyaa says.For Ms. Vijaya, the workshops have been a way of finding her way back to a part of herself. She says she was not in touch with art for almost 20 years because of family commitments, but finally found a place where she could explore all kinds of art. “I am probably the oldest in the room, yet I have caught up with current trends that the younger generation is into. I even learnt Thailand bag making, something I had never tried before. Earlier in those years, it was mostly knitting and glass painting, but now there’s just so much more to discover.”Like her, a 58-year-old person with disability, K. Jayalakshmi, has made these multi-art workshops a monthly ritual, which she says keeps her whimsy alive as well as gives her uninterrupted me-time, attending two to three workshops at the space. “I came for a journaling workshop and never stopped coming after that. I have learnt different kinds of art here, and the first thing I felt was that nobody judged what I created,” she says. And while the older demographic was getting in touch with the trends, the art facilitators themselves belong to the Gen-Z demographic.Maydhini R.C., who was teaching punch needle workshop to a group of people, said the art scene in Chennai has evolved over the years, and is now becoming a form of respite.At another multi-art workshop and pop-up exhibit, Bauble Bazaar, run by Lekha Shree and Aaron since December 2023, you will find 20-plus workshops happening simultaneously, from moon catcher, sun catcher, and Jupiter gazing workshops to phone charm making and tufting.“We have hosted 70-plus art-related workshops that are not the usual kind but something very new, such as a Saturn-gazing workshop with a telescope. More than the people coming to shop at the pop-up exhibit, we see parents bringing their children for the workshops, and that turns into a parent-child creating something together,” adds Ms. Lekha Shree.She says that apart from bringing people back to analogue and tactile experiences when everything is digital, it is also about creating opportunities for women entrepreneurs and artistes. Published - July 26, 2026 12:03 am IST
