BALA: BIPoC Ancestral Love as Arts
Consulting & Community Arts Nonprofit Organization
“We are the ones we are waiting for.”
~ June Jordan
BALA’s mission is to promote & uplift the inner-healing of current & generational wounds experienced by the under-resourced QTDBIPoC (Queer, Trans, Disabled, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community members through innovative Arts practices rooted in ancestral traditions & radical divine love.
bala for healing:
reclaim. restore. radically love.
bala for healing: reclaim. restore. radically love.
Check out Founder Prema Bangera’s upcoming exhibition that’s based on BALA’s long-standing workshop:
“the art of becoming: Narratives of Transformative Love”
The exhibition runs from April 15th to May 21st and the celebratory reception on Thursday April 24th in Harvard Ed Portal’s Crossing Gallery (224 Western Avenue in Boston, MA) where there will be performances of dance, cultural music, rap, and poetry. For more information and to RSVP if you are in the area, please check out this link.
About the Exhibit:
“What stories have you been told about yourself? Which of those still shape your identity today? This exhibition invites you to rewrite negative self-talk and to express who you are if the world didn’t tell you who to be.
In this interactive arts-healing exhibition, Prema Bangera uses a variety of mixed media to explore internalized oppression, encourage reflection and inspire radical self-love. As an immigrant and survivor of physical, sexual, and domestic violence as well as police brutality, Bangera bares her vulnerabilities to help visitors release past wounds, create self-compassion, and reclaim their unique identity. Her story-driven sculptures, paintings, and installations blend magical realism and vivid colors to create a gallery space for transformation and empowerment.
For more information about the exhibition, visit hrvd.me/arts-prema
This exhibition also showcases struggles of lower caste and Dalit community members during April’s Dalit History Month, and the ongoing genocide in Palestine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Haiti, Kashmir, and more. Please consider donating to the following organization to provide support for the people struggling under brutal genocide:
and Hope for Haiti
Arts-Healing Workshop on April 26th
together we rise: poetry & art of resistance for QTDBIPoC ancestors in times of joy & grief
We’re also hosting a BIPoC ancestral arts healing workshop on April 26th from 2-4pm at Beacon Hill Friend's House (6 Chestnut St, Boston, MA) for Dalit History Month and Poetry Month along with the Asian American Resource Workshop organization. This workshop will focus on using art and poetry to honor our own personal ancestors as well as works of Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Octavia Butler, Phoolan Devi, Dr. Ambedkar, Assata Shakur, Marsha P. Johnson, and more.
This workshop is tied to my Art Exhibition. To RSVP for this workshop, here is the link.
Programs & Practices
Narratives of Transformative Love
The incentive of Narratives of Transformative Love practice/workshop(s) is to amplify inner-healing by identifying & breaking down internalized oppression to recreate a positive and authentic self-image.
Chandre~Kamala Decolonized / Indigenized Yoga
We will bring sessions of secular decolonized yogic practices, Chandre-Kamala Decolonized / Indigenized Yoga, which means “moon-lotus” in South Indian dialects to symbolize the ever-changing forms within us and our resilience as well as the practice of yoga which has been culturally appropriated in Euro-centric systems and South Asian brahmanic systems.
Prema Nalikke: Tribal Yogic Dance Meditation
We will bring sessions of an innovative tribal yogic dance meditation: Prema Nalikke, which means “divine love dance” in South Indian dialects, where we practice authentic dance movements that allow participants to move to their own rhythm and inner-calling.
BALA Publications
As an initiative to support the work of BIPoC artists, we developed a partnership to publish online a variety of mixed genre work of both established and emerging BIPoC artists.
Specialized Community Workshops
We aim to co-create with our community members to meet their needs and design workshops suited to support the growth and the healing of our collective.
from a participant of the Narratives of Transformative Love workshop:
“Without you guiding us, I wouldn’t know what to do!! You giving me a safe space to unleash my creativity and help heal myself really did wonders. I want to use what was taught and share with friends, especially to those who I think might find it useful.”
from a participant of specialized workshop of Restorative Yoga and Writing to Heal:
“The restorative yoga and writing session was like being at Kripalu.”
follow us on social
BALA’s work-in-progress IG:
Founder Prema Bangera’s IG:
Contact Us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!