Started at 12, Built a 300,000-Member Community: The Story of Children’s Art Museum of India (CAMI)

In 2022, two young children named Krish Nawal and Manya Roongta began a remarkable journey that would lead to the creation of the Children's Art Museum of India (CAMI). At just 12 and 14 years old, the pair launched a digital museum that aimed to provide a platform for children's artwork to be seen and appreciated by others, rather than being forgotten in school files or forgotten corners of cupboards.

Over four years, CAMI has grown into a thriving community with over 300,000 members and has attracted more than one million visitors to its website.

Krish Nawal, who is currently a Class 11 student, has always been fascinated by both art and technology. While he enjoyed creating art, he was also intrigued by the idea of exploring what could be built around creativity itself. This interest, combined with his keen observation of how children perceive and interpret the same subject differently, became a central pillar of CAMI's philosophy. For Kamal, the museum became a way to unite creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship.

The idea for CAMI was sparked during the COVID-19 pandemic when Krish noticed that professional artists had elaborate spaces like museums and digital platforms to showcase their work, while there were few options for children to share their artwork. This led to his simple question: what happens to a child's painting after it is made?

Rather than starting with a large-scale plan, the idea began with this question. In most cases, a painting would spend time on a refrigerator or in a school file before eventually being tucked away in a drawer or cupboard. Meanwhile, established artists' works would find a place in galleries and museums. Krish felt that children deserved to experience a similar level of recognition for their work.

Initially, the pair started by asking their friends to share their paintings. As the initiative gained momentum, they recognized that children didn't necessarily need another competition; they needed a space where their creativity could simply be seen. Today, CAMI describes itself through the motto "By the Children, For the Children, Of the Children," which reflects its mission to create a creative community with children and for children.

While the primary goal of CAMI is to build a creative community, it also recognized the broader issue of unequal access to art education across India. Many schools treat art as an extra-curricular activity, rather than an integral part of the learning process. To address this problem, CAMI has developed digital learning material, including videos focused on traditional Indian art forms, to introduce children to their cultural heritage and foster curiosity about the country's artistic traditions.