At the Toyota Popi Sarmiñ Studio, the festival comes alive with free workshops open to everyone. Artists, musicians, designers, and makers lead sessions that spark curiosity, creativity, and conversation. Local schools are also invited in, with dedicated sessions that bring students into this shared journey of learning and discovery. It’s a vibrant space to gather, reflect, learn new skills, and dive into cultural exchange. Whether you’re listening, trying your hand at something new, or simply soaking in the energy, the studio is where ideas flow and communities connect.
📖 Art Therapy
Make a small handmade booklet, or zine, to keep your festival memories. Participants create pocket-sized keepsakes filled with drawings, reflections, and stories that go beyond photographs.
Facilitator: Aditi Jain
A psychologist and art therapy practitioner who works with children and adults. Her workshops use creative, therapeutic activities to encourage mindfulness, free expression, and emotional resilience.
🧶 Handweaving with Natural Fibres
Learn the basics of weaving using natural fibres like mima and hemp yarn. Participants create simple keepsakes such as bookmarks, hand bands, or keychains while exploring the textures of indigenous materials.
Facilitator: Sneha Chaudhary
A textile designer and visual artist working with natural fibres and traditional crafts. She collaborates with communities across India, creating experimental textiles and installations rooted in indigenous knowledge.
🎵 How to Write a Song
Work together to create a song using chorus hooks, lyric prompts, rhythm, melody, and body percussion. Small groups co-write verses and choruses before joining for a final group performance.
Facilitators: Avik Roy & Chayan Adhikari
Chayan is the lead vocalist of the Delhi-based band Advaita, (featured on MTV Coke Studio, MTV Unpluggedand and The Dewarists) and the project head at Music Basti, working with at-risk youth through music. Avik is a musician, actor, and composer, and works with Teamwork Arts. A Hampshire College graduate, he launched his solo project Purple Penchant and is part of the Lilanoor Ensemble.
🎭 Improv Theatre
Play theatre games, create quick stories, and enjoy unexpected twists. This workshop builds teamwork, confidence, and creativity while letting participants explore theatre in the moment.
Facilitator: Sahaj Umang
A filmmaker, video artist, and performer who explores storytelling at the intersections of film, theatre, and installation art. He has travelled widely in India, conducting creative workshops and making documentaries.
🤟 Learn Sign Language
Learn basic signs and explore how gestures can communicate without words. This workshop introduces the beauty of sign language and encourages awareness of deaf culture and inclusion.
Facilitator: Bengia Meya
A special educator and sign language trainer from Arunachal Pradesh. With training in DISLI and B.Ed (HI), she works to spread awareness of Deaf culture and inclusion through teaching and community engagement.
🎶 Make Apatani Paddy Flute (Elu)
Craft a flute from paddy stalks and discover its unique tones. Participants learn how this traditional Apatani instrument is made and explore the sounds and stories connected to it.
Facilitator: Narang Yania
An Apatani elder who continues to preserve an old art practice and the local way of life. She transforms paddy stalks into traditional flutes and shares this heritage at the festival, weaving stories and chants into flute-making for an immersive cultural experience.
🪆 Make Puppets
Create Japanese Bunraku-style rod puppets using simple materials like newspaper and tape. Working in small groups, participants explore teamwork, imagination, and movement to bring characters to life.
Facilitator: Mohammed Shameem
Shameem began puppetry at 15 under Shri Kapil Dev of Samarpan and later trained with sculptor KS Radhakrishnan. Since 2004, he has worked with leading puppeteers including Dadi D. Pudumjee and Anurupa Roy, before founding his own troupe, Kuch Kuch Puppet Theatre, which has performed widely in India and abroad.
📐 Learn Origami
Discover the Japanese art of folding paper into creative shapes. With easy steps and endless possibilities, participants explore patience, play, and imagination – one fold at a time.
Facilitator: Shubha Das
A storyteller and art therapist, who through her venture Story.Stillness.Self, creates story- and art-led wellness experiences that help people slow down, de-stress, and reconnect.
🌌 Stargazing
Look at stars, planets, and constellations through telescopes in short sessions of 3–5 minutes per person. Pamphlets and fun facts are shared, with the experience depending on clear night skies.
Facilitator: Arunachal Stargazing Collective
A newly formed initiative in Arunachal Pradesh aiming to be the first to offer guided stargazing experiences at the Ziro Festival, combining telescopes, short sessions, and fun facts.
📚 Storytelling
Join a circle of tales where animals talk, adventures unfold, and imagination takes over. With laughter, surprises, and wonder, children are taken to places where anything is possible.
Facilitator: Shubha Das
A storyteller and art therapist, who through her venture Story.Stillness.Self, creates story- and art-led wellness experiences that help people slow down, de-stress, and reconnect.
♻️ The Waste Challenge
A playful daily activity around waste – from spotting exercises and simple games to gentle walks and conversations. Each day brings a new way to engage, making waste awareness fun, interactive, and part of the festival spirit.
Facilitator: Chiku
A youth worker from Bengaluru who began as a volunteer and now works with community organisations. A food and travel enthusiast, he brings curiosity and openness into his work with young people.
🎨 Visual Storytelling
Follow guided painting and drawing sessions where stories come alive through visuals. This workshop builds creative confidence, cultural awareness, and shared learning.
Facilitator: NAMIGOS (Nakul, Mifta, Mino, Gobin)
A creative collective promoting art, culture, and community learning. Through workshops, live painting, and exhibitions, they celebrate the spirit of the Northeast while inspiring creativity and connection.
🥁 Vocal Percussion (Konnakol)
Use voice, movement, and body percussion to create playful rhythms. Mixing Carnatic sounds, local languages, and improvisation, participants explore rhythm as a universal language.
Facilitator: Sumana Chandrashekar
Among the very few women who play the ghatam, she was trained under Vidushi Sukanya Ramgopal, India’s first woman ghatam player. Sumana works in Carnatic classical and experimental music spaces and has performed extensively across the country.
🪵 Wood Sculpture
Build small wooden sculptures using simple batons. Participants can work alone or in groups, exploring creativity and imagination while enjoying a hands-on building process.
Facilitator: Karin Bucher
A Swiss scenographer and director who creates installation-based spaces for theatre and exhibitions. She leads workshops worldwide, using artistic practice to spark dialogue on society, sustainability, and community.
🧘 Yoga & Meditation
Practice yoga through breath-led movement, gentle stretches, and mindful alignment. These sessions help open the body, calm the mind, and offer a moment of rest during the festival.
Facilitator: Eric Angus
A yoga teacher rooted in Hatha and Iyengar traditions. His practice focuses on mindful alignment, breath awareness, and sequencing, guiding students towards balance, clarity, and deeper connection with their bodies.
*Materials will be provided in all workshops. For yoga, please bring mats if possible.
*Limited seats – first come, first served.
