Shanti Foundation for Peace has inspired schools and community organizations throughout the years. Indira Johnson, founder of Shanti, comes from a family of peacemakers her father, chronicled the work of Mahatma Gandhi in arts and letters, and her mother assisted Mother Teresa in helping the poor. In fact, it was Mother Teresa who helped Indira leave her native India for higher education in the United States. After gaining national and international acclaim as an artist, Indira founded the Shanti Foundation for Peace in 1993, as a result of conversations and neighborhood meetings, which followed local uprisings and news reports of increased violence in the US and global communities. Johnson based Shantis vision on her own artistic experience, which was that the skills necessary to and gained through art-making are inseparable from the skills needed for problem-solving and peace-making: the ability to see things differently, to express ideas and feelings in many different ways, to envision new possibilities and probabilities, to think through problems, to imagine, to risk, to own, to take responsibility. The first Shanti project, entitled Getting Along: Peace Bus, was developed in collaboration with the Chicago Transit Authority and the Chicago Childrens Museum. The expressions and artwork of Chicago area children was displayed on the Citys buses to raise public awareness of local issues and build a bridge between art, peace and society. That project was so successful that Shantis work expanded into neighborhoods and schools. In 1995, SFP with the help of artists, curriculum experts, teachers, parents, and peace activists developed the Arts and Nonviolence Concepts Handbook, in scope and sequence for grades 1-12. Since then Shanti has grown to a record of working successfully with more than 50 Evanston and Chicago Area Public School partners and 25 area community institutions. Since its early beginnings, Shantis programs have grown by word of mouth in the urban centers of Chicago, Evanston, and surrounding areas binding communities and people together in ways that have enriched their understanding, their voices and their enduring spirits. In 2007, Shanti convened the 2007 Building Peaceful Communities through the Arts Conference that explored the power of the arts in building diverse, collaborative and healthy communities which exemplify non-violence and inclusion, while working toward a culture of peace. This full day and a half of activities took place on October 18th and19th, 2007, at the Jane Addams Hull House Museum and the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicagos Loop. Shanti was gratified by the response which was overwhelming, with more than a170 registrants representing a diversity of age, culture, ethnicity, socio economic status and professional occupation and post conference feedback where 97% agreed that the conference fulfilled their expectations, and 97% also picked up at least one idea to implement in the future.

Shanti Foundation for Peace mission: To foster peace, understanding and acceptance in the everyday interactions of people, by bringing visual, literary and performing arts programs to schools and communities. Our goal is to assist communities with issues of diversity and inclusiveness and to help all people succeed and contribute in a diverse society by providing experiences that develop imaginative, flexible, inclusive, collaborative thinking.

Whether Shanti programs take place in school, after school, or in a community setting, they share several elements. First, all programs are conducted by highly qualified professional artists with demonstrated teaching experience and abilities. Our current artist roster boasts 12 artists skilled in murals, sculpture, theatre, bookmaking, photography, dance, collage, puppetry, and textile art. Second, the artists are trained in and employ the distinctive Shanti methodology. This methodology capitalizes on the parallels between group art-making skills and community building, peacemaking, and non-violence. These skills include the ability to see things differently, to express ideas and feelings in many different ways, to envision new possibilities and probabilities, to allow for diverse points of view, to think through problems, to take imaginative leaps, to reconcile apparent differences, to be aware of possibilities, to collaborate, to take risks, to own, and to take responsibility. Third, process is valued as much as product. While it is certainly rewarding to have a wonderful final art product, Shanti places equal importance on the means by which we arrive at the final piece. Any issues or conflicts that arise during the process are addressed and made part of the work. The result is a product that is meaningful to all the participants. In-School: Shanti art educators collaborate with classroom teachers to integrate core curriculum and art and nonviolence objectives, emphasizing high levels of artistic and academic excellence, with a strong focus on teachers goals for each class. Programs can incorporate the Illinois Learning Standards, Social and Emotional Learning Standards, and Chicago Reading Initiative Strategic Handbook elements. After-School: Shanti teaching artists collaborate with site coordinators to develop art projects that extend learning outside the classroom and focus on issues in the school or neighborhood community. Youth are empowered to become leaders and contribute to positive change in their communities Community Based: Shanti teaching artists collaborate with communities to facilitate community art endeavors. Inseparable from the arts process, is the individual and group transformation that is a necessary precursor to community-building, to breaking down barriers which contribute to a cycle of violence, to promoting a culture of inclusion, dialogue and peace. Professional Development: Shanti staff provides intensive, hands-on professional development workshops for teachers to focus on arts integration techniques and non-violence concepts in daily classroom activities, core curriculum and collaborative learning. Shanti has worked diligently to improve the quality and depth of its programs. Towards that goal, SFP has designed a comprehensive evaluation process that uses pre and post tests, journals and artist and teacher questionnaires to measure success, make program refinements and assess how effectively proposed objectives are met. Over the past 15 years, Shantis reputation and proven track record for innovative arts education has led to a continuation and growth of partnerships with the Chicago Public Schools, Family Focus, Englewood, Englewood iF.. the Chicago Park District, Presbyterian Homes, North River Commission, Albany Park and Evanston School District 65, and attracted requests from several new organizations including Nuestra Familia, Hermosa, St. James Cathedral, Chicago, Human Relations Services, Glencoe, Alternatives, Uptown, Loyola University Museum, Police Neighborhood Resource Center, Rolling Meadows, El Valor, Pilsen, the Night Ministry, Columbia College, Chicago and the Chicago Cultural Center.