THAR :

The Great Indian Deset

 

 

 

 

 

 

In November 2016, Sharon K. Schafer will travel to Shri Jasnath Asan, a 500-year-old ashram, in rural Panchla Siddha, Rajasthan, India. The non-profit ashram is the region’s oldest educational, social, and religious institution.

 

For two and a half months she will document the cultural and natural history of the region using her skills as an artist, photographer, and wildlife biologist and produce materials that will engage and educate the public about natural history and environmental issues of arid lands; specifically, the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada and the Thar Desert of India. 

 

The project will be implemented in two phases:

Phase I / Cultural and Natural History Media Library

While in India Schafer will develop a digital library of cultural and natural history images including photographs, field sketches, pen and ink illustrations and watercolors for use in educational materials and exhibits.

 

Phase II / Educational Outreach

Implementation of the international STEAM Partnership: Global Environmental Studies Lab  to connect southern Nevada educators, professionals, artists, and student ambassadors with their peers in Panchla Siddha, India to work collabratively on interdisciplinary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) curriculum.