Heartistry

Priya Shah @priyashah16 is triggering social consciousness to challenge barriers and empower communities from the inside out. As a Chicago creative and entrepreneur, Priya has built a network of artists and collaborators dedicated to igniting social awareness and change through art and imagination. Shah began volunteering in developing countries at a young age, which inspired her to fill the gap b...

Rianjali @rianjalimusic is a South Asian American, singer-songwriter/composer from Queens, NY. A former domestic violence case worker, Ria was Hindustani classically trained as a child, and learned Western vocals after being admitted to the prestigious La Guardia High school for the Performing Arts (the "FAME" school). Since trying her hand in the music industry she has steadily built a resume of...

Sonali Fiske @sonalifiske - host of #RevolutionaryVoices on Rukus Avenue Radio is a Sri Lankan-born, California-grown leadership mentor, spoken word artist, writer, international speaker, and mama to one teenaged-son. Her everyday work is to fortify and amplify revolutionary BIPoC* voices in a collapsing white-dominant, colonized landscape. Her other devotions are centering racial justice and soci...

Bushra Burney @bushrawriter is a Pakistani American Muslim writer and performer. Her first play, Designated Muslim, was featured by the City Lights Theater Company’s “Lights Up!” festival of new plays and Bushra has recently adapted it for a tv pilot. In 2020, Bushra debuted a virtual performance of her one-person show, The Kulfi Paradox, directed by Zahra Noorbakhsh @zahracomedy This conversation...

Earlier this year, we opened Season 2 of the @heartistrytalkshow with Susanna Barkataki @susannabarkataki powerfully empowering conversation about the importance of honoring tradition, providing cultural context and calling out the white washing of ancient practices and cultural appropriation. Susanna Barkataki @susannabarkataki is an Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition, suppo...

In 2020, yoga practitioners @sheis_mindfulmo and @yoganjali came together to host “Mindfully Just: Integrating Social Justice, Yoga, and Collective Transformation”, and are back with another 4 week series in October of 2021 and, in their words, here's why -- Now more than ever, there is an imperative for us to reflect within and act with courage on the ways in which we show up in the world around...

Priya Parikh @priya.parikh.author is a Creative Writer and Bharatanatyam dancer who combined her passion for dance and writing and joined the world of authorship with the upcoming release of her first book, "Dancing Devi" which correlates the lessons learned on and off the dance floor such as managing one's emotions and expressing her feelings. Priya believes that creative expression is vital in t...

Rupy C. Tut @rupyctut is an Oakland based painter dissecting historical and contemporary displacement narratives around identity, belonging, and gender. As a descendant of refugees and a first generation immigrant, Rupy’s family narrative of movement, loss, and resilience is foundational to her creative inquiries. Her work engages in strict practice of traditional materials and methodology associa...

Cindu Thomas-George is the Founder and Principal Trainer of Shakti Diversity and Equity Training @shaktidiversityandequity As a Diversity Equity Inclusion practitioner, she designs and facilitates professional development experiences that promote equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and intercultural competence. Cindu is also an award winning tenured professor of Communication Studies at the College of...

A conversation with the creators of Danzacuentos a series, supported by @hopemohrdance holding space for artists that self-identify as Latinx, Hispanic, and/or Indigenous to drive their own narrative, while showcasing the spectrum of experiences of movement artists from Latin America or who form part of the US Latin American diaspora. Karla Quintero, @karlajohannaquintero Mario Ismael Espinoza @ma...

This conversation originally aired on August 17, 2021 on "Revolutionary Voices" hosted by @sonalifiske on Rukus Avenue Radio with guest Ariana Delawari @arianadelawari . A timely, impactful and hopeful conversation between two amazing heARTivists, we were compelled to share this with the listeners of the Heartistry Talk Show. Ariana Delawari is an Afghani artist - musician, filmmaker - and activis...

Los Angeles based Comedian and Actor, @monascomedy combines a South Asian sensibility with Americanized values cherishing the First Amendment—the right to bear big mouths. Raising eyebrows with her fresh, fearless, free speech and offbeat sense of humor, Shaikh spent half of her life spent in a prominent conservative Muslim household in Pakistan, and the other immersed with America’s entertainment...

Dr. Sadaf Jaffer @voteforjaffer is a scholar and activist. She recently completed two terms as mayor of Montgomery Township, New Jersey where she was the first South Asian woman to serve as mayor in New Jersey, and the first Muslim woman to serve as mayor of a municipality in the United States. Jaffer is also a Postdoctoral Research Associate in South Asian Studies at Princeton University. And if...

Heena Patel @heenaconnects is multi-hyphenate arts worker, coach for creatives and South Asian women, facilitator, and gathering designer. For nearly 15 years, she has been amplifying South Asian arts and culture in the mainstream performing arts sector as a producer, agent-manager, mentor, artist, consultant, curator, and more. The founder and CEO of MELA Arts Connect @melartsconnect - her work h...

Shazia William Morris is a self-taught home cook and baker, with 10+ years of experience perfecting her craft. Her background is in the healthcare field, so she has a keen understanding of how important food & our health is physically and emotionally. With no professional culinary training but a lot of passion, Shazia has committed to self-directed study over the years, with her early influenc...

Mariam Shibly @mariamshibly is a mother of 2 and an influential tastemaker in the minimalist fashion space, pivoting from her previous role in the hedge fund space as a result of her own experiences as a woman in a male-dominated environment, her love for fashion, and so much more. Bridging high end and affordable fashion together with Eastern and Western outfit inspiration, Mariam strives to empo...

Mona Sampath Khan @monasampathkhan is a female entrepreneur and trailblazer, creating the first Bollywood Dance program for the India Community Center in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2003, and then creating her own company, Mona Khan Company in 2009. Mona has designed and choreographed spectacular dance sequences for several high profile shows including the America’s Got Talent, NBA halftime show...

Annette Philip @annette_philip is a musician, educator, and arts entrepreneur. A seasoned recording and touring artist, composer, pianist, and voice-over actor, she is an Emmy-nominated TV personality and bonafide sari connoisseur. At Boston's Berklee College of Music, Annette is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Berklee Indian Ensemble @berkleeindianensemble Besides performances with sever...

Aditya Prakash @adityaprakashmusic is an award-winning vocalist known for his powerful and emotive voice - a young virtuoso of Carnatic music, and one of the youngest musicians to tour and perform with Ravi Shankar at the age of 16. In addition, Aditya has worked with leading innovators of the arts such as Anoushka Shankar, Karsh Kale, Tigran Hamasyan and most recently Akram Khan. In 2010, Aditya...

This week we share a special episode as we highlight our upcoming event on May 23 hosted by @nooranidance and a team of artists and volunteers: "heARTseva" - a virtual event featuring artists from across the globe offering performances of dance, music and more, as we raise awareness and funds for 3 amazing organizations working in India to provide critical aid to the many in need. The organization...

In this excerpt, Anu speaks about the importance of culture awareness and sensitivity, and how language can be a way to achieve greater understanding of one's own culture, and as a result, more empathy from others towards that culture. Anu Sehgal is the Founder of @theculturetree Anu @anuseghalny grew up in India and is a native Hindi speaker. She is an active parent and believes an awareness of o...

Sahil K is a Singer, Songwriter and Music Director based in Toronto, Canada, and is the disciple of Late Ustad Sardool Sikander Ji. Sahil K @sahil_k_music has been training in Indian Classical Music, Sufi Music and Folk Music for the past 15 years, and now owns a music production company by the name of "Karma Productions" specializing in Music Production, Film Background Scoring, Vocal Dubbing/Voi...

A unique episode adapted from the Heartistry Video Series, Episode 2: Social Change Through #heARTivism featuring 5 dynamic women of color dance artists including Nadhi Thekkek @navadancesf Alicia-Lynn Nascimento Castro @nascimentoalicia Athena Nair @athena.nair Aysha Upchurch @ayshadances Brinda Guha @brindaguha Each artist is in conversation with Farah, sharing how they use their artistic practi...

Chitra Peña is breaking toxic generational cycles by sparking tough conversations, many of which are inspired by her continued personal journey of unlearning and finding self-love, and . through changing the narrative of what it means to be a South Asian family. When Chitra Peña became the mother of two Indian-Puerto Rican daughters, she embarked on a mission to preserve and share culture with the...

Triple threat - Actor/Dancer/Singer - leads with compassion and conviction in all that she does. A #PayYourArtists post that went viral is how they connected. Hear Kayla Pecchioni share what compelled her to vent on social media, the overwhelming response to it, and so much about her brilliance as an Actor, Dancer & Singer! Kayla Pecchioni @kaylapecchioni is a professional stage actor and educ...