There is magic in arts education.

Brittany is a Program Coordinator with Broadway for Arts Education and recently returned home from Shanti Bhavan and shares the love and magic she feel everything she is on campus.

There is a little place in Tamil Nadu, India that has completely stolen my heart. I am constantly learning from a culture completely different from my own, while at the same time feeling loved and right at home. After my first trip abroad I knew I would spend my life traveling; it was the first time I learned how much I didn’t know, I didn’t know. When I am at Shanti Bhavan, in-between learning Tamil and Hindi from the students, going for nature walks, and performing with the choir for visitors from all over the world, I get to build spaces where the students can explore the world through the lens of music and amplify their voices. The Shanti Bhavan family has welcomed me as one of their own, and just yesterday the Aunties wrapped me in a sari, and I stood alongside the school choirs for a goodbye performance and felt completely overwhelmed with love and support. I am not sure how I got so lucky do what I love and exist between these two worlds, and can't find the right words to express how humbled and grateful I feel.

When the BAE founders, Ben and Katy, first went to Shanti Bhavan in 2015, they saw the love for music and wanted provide year-round classes. The students work incredibly hard in school to be the force to break the generational cycle of poverty for their families (see Daughters of Destiny on Netflix). Art is a catalyst for healing and change. Art is where we create a safe space to explore ideas and raise awareness about our relationships with self, humanity, and the environment. My beautiful experience in arts education provided this place for me, and I’m happy to share the magical power with my students.