From a Delhi Shelter to a Gallery: Women Find Voice Through Art

In a room alive with colour and quiet focus, Guddu bent over a vase she had shaped herself. Brushes moved from hand to hand, clay was moulded, fabric was sorted, and voices rose and softened with the work. Yet Guddu stayed with the surface in front of her, patiently laying down paint without any need to explain what it meant.

Not long ago, she had remained at the edges of the space—watching, largely silent, not meeting anyone’s gaze. Then, with gentle encouragement and no pressure, she stepped forward one day and picked up a brush. Over time, she found her way into the group through the simple act of making.

Guddu was one of 15 women with intellectual disabilities who participated in *What Is Love?*—a five-month-long art and healing initiative led by Delhi-based organisation Society for Child Development.

A project built on patience and selfhood The initiative was shaped around a deceptively simple idea: that love can begin with recognising oneself.

“Love begins with knowing who you are, and then accepting that self,” said Madhumita Puri, founder of the Society for Child Development, reflecting on the approach.

Importantly, the programme did not begin with assumptions about what the participants would feel, choose, or create. Instead, it was designed as an open-ended process where each woman could explore emotion, memory and identity at her own pace.

Puri described it as a learning journey for everyone involved—not only a discovery by the women, but also a discovery of the women by those facilitating the programme. In settings where women with intellectual disabilities are often overlooked, such a shift in perspective matters: it places attention on personhood rather than limitation.

Clay, cloth and colour—without a fixed template Three practising artists guided the women over the course of the project: Suparna Arora (ceramics), Shalini Dutt (textiles), and Sujata Das (painting).

Rather than arriving with a predetermined “final output” in mind, the facilitators brought materials into the room—clay, fabric and colour—and allowed each participant to engage in her own way. Some worked slowly, watching first. Others moved quickly towards a texture, a shade, or a form that felt familiar.

In art rooms, progress is not always loud or immediate. Sometimes it looks like returning to the table day after day. Sometimes it looks like holding a brush for the first time after weeks of observing. The initiative’s focus on steady, respectful engagement allowed space for these small but meaningful transitions.

The participants live in a government-run shelter for women with intellectual disabilities in Delhi. Within such institutional environments, routines can be rigid and personal choices limited. Creative practice, by contrast, can offer a rare chance to decide: which colours to pick, what to keep, what to change, and when to pause.

From a shelter space to a Delhi gallery Over the five months, the women created works across ceramics, textiles and painting. As their art took shape, so did a new narrative—one that moved beyond labels like “abandoned” or “overlooked” and towards agency, skill and feeling.

The project culminated in the women’s work travelling from their shelter environment to a Delhi gallery setting, giving the wider public an opportunity to witness their creativity and individuality.

For the participants, visibility can be its own form of respect. For viewers, the exhibition invites a more thoughtful understanding of disability—one that recognises emotion, imagination and craft as integral parts of a person’s life.

**Why it matters:** When art is treated as a space for choice and dignity, it can become a bridge—between care and community, between shelter and city, and between being seen and being understood.