Prema Bangera, Somatic Arts & Decolonized Yoga Practitioner, BIPoC Ancestral Love as Arts (BALA) organization

Prema Bangera (she/they), who is ethnically South Indian (from Tulu Nadu) of lower caste, born in Mumbai, and partially raised on the unceded land of the Pawtucket, Wampanoag, and Massachusett people (so-called Boston), is a queer neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist, a community organizer, a cultural worker, a disruptor, an educator, and an editor.
Her writing and artwork has appeared in various publications and showcased at the Boston City Hall, GBH’s Outspoken series, and painted on the streets of the unceded Naumkeag lands (so-called Salem, MA) as part of the Raining Project at the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. Her work has also been highlighted at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, AAMARP Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, archived at Harvard University’s libraries, and other venues. She was formerly a teaching writer and teaching artist at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston and the United South End Settlements.
Bangera has launched a grassroots consulting & nonprofit arts organization called BIPoC Ancestral Love as Arts (BALA - which means “strength” in a South Indian dialect called Tulu). The work of BALA aims to uplift the inner-healing of QTDBIPoC (Queer, Trans, Disabled, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community members, which offer five programs and practices. One of the long-standing programs called “Narratives of Transformative Love” predates the organization as it was created in 2013 and has been facilitated locally and internationally.
She has 15+ years of experience working in the community with a trauma informed lens. She was selected by the Boston Women’s Fund as part of the cohort for their 2022 Women of Color Leadership Circle in partnership with the Boston Foundation.
Bangera was raised learning yogic practices & philosophies since they were a child and is now a global Yoga Alliance & Indian Government certified, trauma-informed registered yoga teacher (E-RYT 500+) and has continued to study multitudes of yogic philosophy, physical movement, and holistic Ayurvedic nutrition within India and USA. Bangera is passionate about raising awareness on decolonized & debramahized yogic practices, and has taught at various venues across USA and internationally.
Please connect with Prema Bangera by emailing them: Prema.Bangera1@gmail.com and follow their work-in-progress IG via @premapaintspoetry
Find more information on the temporary website of BALA regarding their workshops: https://msha.ke/b.a.l.a.