Belonging is about nurturing our roots, both individually and collectively through creativity, connection, and healing. In a world shaped by violence, chaos, and systemic erasure, art offers a way to reclaim agency, process emotions, and cultivate resilience. Rooted Bloom is a community-based creative practice designed to foster belonging through meditative art-making and journaling, inviting participants to water themselves and their communities.

As South Asians, our ancestral history is deeply tied to the land, our people have survived through resilience and adaptability, maintaining their will to thrive no matter the climate or terrain. We are the dormant seeds of our ancestors’ liberation, now coming to fruition.

Inspired by Alexander Den Heijer’s words, “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower,” our workshop invites participants to tend to their inner gardens. Through guided creative exercises, we embrace the full spectrum of emotions—joy, anger, hope, and grief—recognizing that all parts of us deserve space to exist and be nurtured. Creativity is not about making something beautiful; it is a tool for processing, reclaiming, and rebuilding.

Our work extends beyond the South Asian community, branching out and creating deep connections with other BIPOC and QTBIPOC communities. True belonging isn’t about staying insular, it’s about standing shoulder to shoulder, advocating for one another, and breaking down barriers. In our current sociopolitical climate, where communities on the margins face ongoing threats of erasure, we believe in fortifying ourselves and each other through collective care.