Shansi Traditions of Joy
Dear Shansi Friends and Supporters,
On a bright Wednesday morning in March, Adivasi (indigenous) music was represented for the first time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Master musicians Jeyanthi, Kannan, and Balusubramani of the Irula tribe in South India performed with the Rock Hall’s education team in a jam for the ages. If you were a visitor that day, you would have heard the sounds of Radiohead’s Creep and Balu’s kwol (a reed instrument) floating through the second floor “Garage” music hall. This historic event was part of our new Visiting Artists and Practitioners Program (VAP), an innovative 16-day residency and artistic exchange.
For Shansi, VAP represents a lot of the things that you hear about over and over again - the value of long standing partnership, trust, and respect. This program comes at an important time for Shansi and the world around us. As we witness the erosion or outright elimination of international exchange opportunities, Shansi is expanding upon our deeply rooted foundation of mutual understanding and transformative exchange.
But VAP also highlighted an important aspect of the Shansi world that sometimes goes unsung - joy. As the Grants and Fellowships Coordinator/Returned Fellow this year, curating joy was often an actual task landing on my to-do list. Over the course of two weeks, the visiting artists spent time with partners at Oberlin’s Indigenous People’s Day Committee, made music with Oberlin Conservatory faculty and students, and gave talks. Outside of the classroom, trips to Cleveland and Walmart became adventures, and shared meals in Shansi House turned into late night conversations. Check out this short video highlighting some of these adventures and more throughout their near three weeks in Ohio.
VAP represents a collaboration three years in the making, supported by donors like you who help make these programs happen. As we near the end of our fiscal year, I hope you will consider making a gift to help Shansi build new exchange opportunities. You can find instructions here on how to make a donation online, by check, or by making a gift of stock.
Even though three months have passed since the completion of VAP, fun remains a pillar of the Shansi experience, in the trips to custard stands with Visiting Scholars, Shansi House dosa nights together, and frequent karaoke. As I complete my year on staff, it’s hard to imagine how much has changed since I returned from my fellowship in 2024. What remains the same, however, is the commitment Shansi continues to make to its partners, grantees, fellows, and friends – to continue to foster the joy.
Sincerely,
Phoebe von Conta ‘22
Lady Doak College, Madurai, India 2022-2024
Grants and Fellowships Coordinator & Returned Fellow