By Anokha Venugopal, Knowledge Hub
In last month’s newsletter, Jeyanthi R. shared some insights on the Visiting Artists Program, a collaboration between Keystone Foundation, Oberlin Shansi, and the Porivarai Community Foundation. It was through this effort (one that was three years in the making) which Jeyanthi, Balusubramani, and Kannan, who are from the Irula Adivasi community in the Nilgiris, came to the United States to share their musical traditions and culture with the town and college in Oberlin, Ohio.
What is the Visiting Artists Program?
As defined on the Oberlin Shansi website, “Unlike traditional residency programs that feature professional performers of established artistic traditions, Shansi’s Visiting Artists Program broadens definitions of “expertise” by working with musicians who are currently engaged in the process of translating intimate, sometimes ritualistic music and dance practices to staged contexts. This program has the potential to disrupt eurocentric ways of thinking about arts, preservation, and social change. In addition to serving as artists, the invited Irula musicians are grassroots community organizers who engage with social issues relevant to their communities, including the loss of land, opportunity, and livelihoods.” You can learn more about the program here.
The experience was absolutely life-changing, a true journey of sound, sight, taste, connection, and more. Here’s a photo story from this trip so you can see just a few of the adventures that our group had!
Left to right: Balasubramani, Gavin Tritt, Isabel Tadmiri, Ted Samuel, Anokha Venugopal, Jeyanthi R., Kannan R., Ranjani Prasad, Abhishek, Phoebe Von Conta. Not pictured, Jessica Cotter, the incredible Adminstrative Assistant at Shansi.






Images by Anokha Venugopal