Arts Practices for Inclusion (API)
Arts Practices for Inclusion (API) is a practice-led, first-of-its-kind learning pathway that reimagines how the arts can be used not just for therapy but as a powerful medium to build inclusive spaces rooted in dignity, participation, and belonging. Emerging from years of on-ground work, API supports practitioners in integrating arts-based processes into real-world contexts, enabling meaningful engagement with children, adults, and communities across diverse abilities. A core part of the journey includes field-based, practitioner-led projects that bring these principles to life within existing systems and spaces.
Over the years, API has grown into a vibrant and evolving ecosystem. We have trained and certified over 170+ Arts Practitioners for Inclusion across India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, with their work spanning schools, disability organisations, community settings, and care spaces. In addition, 5000+ educators, therapists, and practitioners have engaged with API through introductory courses, workshops, and immersive learning experiences collectively strengthening a movement that places inclusion at the heart of everyday practice.
ADMISSIONS ANNOUNCED FOR BATCH 12 STARTING SEPT 2026
Hear from our Programme Director, Dr Gitanjali G Govindrajan, about what inclusion means and the role that arts practices have to play in creating inclusive spaces. Spoken at the Sutra 2026 National Conference.
The programme is offered and certified by Prajñādhara, Snehadhara Foundation.
Arts Practices for Inclusion (API) has received global recognition, including being featured in the HundrED and IBO Spotlight on Wellbeing in Schools, and support from the Millennium Alliance (a partnership of FCDO, Government of India, and FICCI).
Ongoing and Past Batches of API
API India Batch 2026-27 (Batch 10)
The tenth batch of the API course from India marks another milestone, following the successful completion of batches from India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. This cohort of 13 participants embarked on their learning journey in February 2026. The participants work with diverse beneficiary groups, including individuals with disabilities, neurodiverge persons, persons from Adhivaasi communities, students learning about social justice, and members of marginalized communities. The group represents eight cities across the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Tripura, amongst others.
API India Batch 2025-26 (Batch 9)
The ninth batch of the API course has brought together 20 participants from 8 cities, working with diverse beneficiary groups, including individuals with special needs, people facing mental health challenges, and members of marginalized communities. Notably, this batch also includes six participants from Manipur as part of our work with API Manipur—each actively engaged in supporting relief camps in the state.
API India Batch 2024-25 (Batch 8)
The eighth batch of the API one-year course brought together 8 participants from 5 cities across India. This group has commenced their work with various groups of beneficiaries, including children with special needs, senior citizens, alternate learning schools, people with mental health issues, amongst others.
API India Batch 2024-25 (Batch 7)
The seventh batch of the API one-year course across India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, brought together 20 participants from 13 cities across India. This diverse group of participants are working with various beneficiary populations of special needs and vulnerable groups. Our partner organizations include Mental Health Action Trust, Kat Katha, Pallium India, Kalpana Mehta’s Jumbish Society for Wellbeing, NIEPMD, Sankalp Special Needs School, amongst others.
API India Batch 2023-24
The 2023-24 batch of the API one-year course is our biggest ever! Flagged off on 25th February 2023, it brought together 26 participants from across India! The participants come from 12 different cities from across the country and our partner organizations include Pallium India, We Nurture Foundation, Spastics Society of Karnataka, KAT-KATHA, Aikyam, Shanti Ashram, Army Public School, Arivu Early Intervention Centre, Sahas Centre, Tamahar Trust, amongst many others. They have done some excellent work across the country with special needs and vulnerable groups and are set to be certified in March 2024! Read More!
This project for 2023-24 has been partially supported by boAt.
API Sri Lanka Batch 2023
We launched the Arts Practices for Inclusion programme in East Sri Lanka in July 2023, through a training programme with 20 participants from 18 grassroots organizations in Sri Lanka. These participants went through a training to understand the role of arts practices in working with special needs and vulnerable groups. Together, these 20 participants will reach over 5200 beneficiaries using their learnings from the training. The team from Sri Lanka also visited Bengaluru for their contact sessions and completion of their training in December 2023.
API India & Nepal Batch 2022-23
The 2022-23 batch of the API one-year course brought together 18 participants from both India and Nepal together! It was a diverse group of individuals from 10 cities in India and Nepal. Our partner organizations include Koshish, Nepal, Just Nepal Foundation, Naya Yuba Naya Soch Nepal, and Bikalpa Training Centre from Nepal and Rang Karwan, Mental Health Action Trust (MHAT), NalandaWay Foundation, Sunbeam Child Fund Association and Notty Feet – a Waldorf-inspired kindergarten, amongst others from India.
The India batch was certified in March 2023, and the Nepal batch was certified in June 2023!
API India Batch 2021-22
The first batch of the course on Arts Practices for Inclusion from India saw professionals in arts practices from six different states in India come together to talk about the cross-roads between inclusion, therapy and the arts. Participants came from different social inclusion fields like arts and therapy interventions with children and adults with learning disabilities, special needs, victims of sexual abuse and other at risk and vulnerable populations.
The participant diversity spanned many states and cities across the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Rishikesh, Mysore, Pune, Cochin, Chennai, Anantapur, Bengaluru and Kozikodhe. A total of 12 participants enrolled into the course, and completed their course in February 2022. They also worked closely with the research team to understand the effect of the API sessions on the psychosocial and inclusion domains of their beneficiaries.
The batch was certified as API Practitioners on 27th March 2022! Read More
API Nepal Batch 2021-22
We realised that there needs to be demonstrators and pilots to create standard models of delivery of the arts practices in other countries. The Millennium Alliance Grant awarded a 3 year project to take this knowhow to Nepal for creating capacity to enable inclusion using this methodology. The aspiration with Nepal was to look at expansion opportunities within Nepal and develop a standard rollout for other countries which will also be sourced by the incumbent.
As a part of an initial baseline we did a workshop series for a few organisations in Nepal in December 2019 and the API Introductory Courses in 2020, and these were very well received, and we saw the interest of the groups in taking this forward. 20 participants from Nepal completed the API one-year certificate course for the batch of 2020-21, and 8 participants completed the course for the batch 2022-23. These students were certified as API Practitioners in June 2023. Our anchor organizations from Nepal included Just Nepal, Centre for Dalit Women Nepal, The Relief Trust, the Self-Help Group for Cerebral Palsy, Antardristi, Nepal, BYAN Nepal, amongst others.