"Art for Humanity" - Shishya and Beyond
- shishyaarts
- Mar 19
- 2 min read
by Sukanya Mahadevan
As a teacher of the Arts, it always makes me fulfilled when my 'shishyas' go on to the next chapters of their lives but carry their art and all the life lessons they learn in our school. Our school motto 'Art for Humanity' is one I inculcate in them from a very early age and it has been a Shishya cornerstone for decades. A real testament to it is when a student takes this beyond their tutelage here and applies it to real life. It gives me great pleasure in introducing to you one such student who is thriving in the arts and still remains true to their roots.
Raina Pahade (they/them), a student at Shishya School from 2010 to 2019, is now a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist and arts organizer whose work sits at the intersection of art, advocacy, and community engagement. They are deeply committed to disability justice, supporting queer POC and creating accessible, community-centered cultural spaces. They currently serve as a Programs Associate at the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), where they support grantmaking initiatives through administrative coordination, panel facilitation, applicant outreach, and accessibility efforts including captioning and inclusive program design. Their work centers artists’ needs by fostering transparent, supportive, and equitable funding processes.
As an artist, Raina creates multimedia paintings that explore gender, queer diasporic imagination, and the body within the South Asian diaspora. Their practice incorporates cultural motifs, and sari textiles, drawing from Bollywood, Bharatanatyam, queer theory, and family histories. Their work has been featured in multiple journals, and several galleries across NJ and NYC
Raina graduated from Occidental College in 2024 with a B.A. in Critical Theory & Social Justice and Studio Art, and a minor in Gender, Women’s, & Sexuality Studies. They graduated summa cum laude with departmental honors and received distinction for their senior thesis, Reclaiming Narratives: The Radical Power of Art in Queer South Asian Femme Diasporic Expression.
You can explore their work on Instagram @rainasarttt.
This is a beautiful post about how Shishya Arts is using creativity to support humanity and connect communities. It is truly inspiring to see an organization dedicated to using their craft for the greater good. Whether it is fine art or advanced engineering, the level of dedication to excellence remains the same. In my professional world, we see this through the work of a Fanuc Robotics Integrator CNC Maintenance team. Their latest article explains why authorized experts are so critical for the health of industrial robotics and CNC systems. It is great to see how different fields, from the arts to high-tech manufacturing, all play a role in supporting society. Thank you for sharing such an uplifting story.