Priya Agrawal, Founder of the Antarang Foundation, will launch Art × Evidence in Goa. This is a new platform that uses creative expression to deepen dialogue on youth skill recognition and the transition from education to meaningful work. Conceived as a pilot in the state, the programme is mentored by six eminent Goan practitioners working across writing, movement, visual arts, theatre and design. The launch will take place on 27 March 2026 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Sala de Gasper, Club Tennis de Gasper Dias, Goa.
Antarang Foundation has spent over a decade working on one simple problem: helping young people move from school into real jobs. India has 371 million young people, but youth unemployment is still far higher than adult unemployment. When young people cannot find stable work, the country loses talent, productivity and economic growth. Antarang’s research shows that structured career guidance can significantly improve outcomes — among 1,057 alumni tracked over time, more than half are in regular salaried jobs, compared to 22% nationally.
The Goa edition will bring together 45 young participants from across the state, presenting original works across poetry, essay writing, theatre, western dance, visual arts, fine arts and textile-based craft practices such as crochet.
Each work will respond to structured prompts that will be drawn from a decade of research on school-to-work transitions, including youth unemployment, graduate underemployment, career decision-making after Class 10 and 12, and the financial independence and career confidence outcomes observed among supported alumni.
The works will be developed through guided co-creation sessions with six mentors, writer and editor Saachi D’Souza, choreographer and movement educator Saayshha Gadiyar, visual artist and educator Rohit Bhosle, theatre director Keatan Jadhav, and artists and design educators Gourish Poke and Uttara Anglo, working across writing, movement, visual art, theatre and design.
Together, the mentors will be supporting participants in translating research themes into visual, performative and literary forms that expand how skill, ambition and identity are articulated.
Reflecting on the process, Keatan Jadhav, multidisciplinary theatre director and mentor on the project, says:
“Today’s youth are carrying performance pressure, financial stress and social comparison all at once. Theatre gives them a rehearsal for life. It allows them to fail safely, to speak, to listen, to disagree respectfully and to develop presence. Practising theatre is practising empathy, and empathy is foundational to the kind of leadership our future demands.”
Rather than presenting evidence solely through reports, Art × Evidence places data and lived experience in the same frame, convening stakeholders for a moderated dialogue on how skill recognition is understood and operationalised across education and industry systems. The launch will take place before a curated audience of government representatives, educators, industry stakeholders and students, enabling deeper engagement with the youth-led work as well as the research that informs it.
Art × Evidence is an initiative designed to strengthen those pathways. In the Goa edition, 45 young participants are interpreting research on youth employment through poetry, theatre, writing and visual art. The purpose is not the art itself; it is to put these young people directly in front of employers, educators and policymakers who influence jobs and opportunity.
The immediate outcome is practical: young participants gain access to mentors, networks and potential employers who can open doors to training, internships and jobs. The longer-term goal is to build a model that can be replicated across states so that youth insight helps shape how employment programs, skilling initiatives and emerging industries translate into real jobs and lower youth unemployment in India.
This launch comes at a time of expanding national investments in skilling, employability frameworks and the creative economy. Art × Evidence aligns with this momentum by translating research and policy priorities into live, youth-led dialogue.
The evening on March 27 will include a moderated walkthrough connecting the artworks to broader questions of aspiration, employability and socio-economic mobility, encouraging practical reflection on how systems can better recognise the full spectrum of youth capability — formal and informal, certified and emerging.
Commenting on the launch, Priya Agrawal, Founder and Director of Antarang Foundation, said:
“India’s demographic profile presents both opportunity and responsibility. The aspirations of this large section of our potential are an important data point for us as we decide where to invest and how to leverage their potential. Our young people are not defined solely by formal credentials — they carry lived intelligence, cultural knowledge and emerging capabilities that deserve recognition.
Art x Evidence will create a space where youth experience and data that speaks about their career journeys can be held together in one frame. By convening institutions, industry and young people in dialogue, we hope to strengthen how transitions from education to work are supported — in ways that are inclusive, evidence-based and forward-looking.”
About Art × Evidence
Art × Evidence is a scalable platform developed by Antarang Foundation to translate longitudinal research on education-to-employment transitions into creative expression and structured stakeholder dialogue. Conceived as a proof-of-concept in Goa, the model is designed for replication across states where the Foundation works to strengthen pathways from school to meaningful careers.
About Priya Agrawal
Priya Agrawal, Founder and Director of Antarang Foundation, has over two decades of experience in the development sector, largely spent leading organisations that work with adolescents to help them develop skills and competencies that are valued in the workplace. She founded Antarang Foundation in 2013 to focus on providing career awareness and career readiness and bridging the gap between education and employability.
Priya holds a post-graduation in Management from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research and a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences. She is an Ashoka Fellow and an ASpiRE Fellow.
