At the heart of Lotus Blossoms lies our spring residency program that connects world artists directly with children. Each year, Lotus hosts a roster of 5-8 global teaching artists who travel to perform in schools and classrooms across a multi-county area in south-central Indiana.  Musicians, dancers, and storytellers share their cultures and heritage with thousands of students through performances and interactive activities, and they field student questions about their lives, childhoods, and experiences.  For many students, especially in rural communities, an encounter with a Blossoms artist begins a lifetime of curiosity about the wider world — the first sounds of a different language, the first conversation with someone with a different skin color, the first glimpse of a broader horizon.  Want to bring an artist to your school?  Click here to learn more!

The second pillar of Lotus Blossoms is the annual Lotus Blossoms World Bazaar, a two-day “mini festival” that is now hosted at Fairview Elementary School in Bloomington.  Created in 1996 with the help of area teachers, the Bazaar has become a tradition in Monroe County schools — public, private, and charter — as volunteers from the Bloomington community (and around the world) present arts, music, language, and international crafts that let kids get their hands on the world.