ABSTRACT
By 1986, some black artists in Britain were labelling Government Arts policies and practices racist and establishing separate cultural centres in which to operate artistically in ways they claimed were denied them. The rationale for art stressed the acquisition of a language which is conceptual and the importance of children understanding the meanings of the visual symbols and conventions they and other image makers use. Individual cultures or societies produce visual images and forms which are unique and peculiar to themselves. Even where they appear similar, images and forms in other cultures or societies invariably have different meanings attached to them. In contrast, visual representations in Hindu homes are likely to depict scenes from their sacred scriptures, such as incidents from epic stories such as the Ramayana or Mahabharata. It is important that art teachers and pupils are sensitive to this.
