{"id":20471,"date":"2022-08-07T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T01:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/?post_type=story&#038;p=20471"},"modified":"2022-08-06T14:38:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T09:08:32","slug":"diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Diana awardee Aanya Rao\u2019s Art Connect is brightening up the lives of patients in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>(August 7, 2022) <\/strong>While accompanying her father to health centres during his second kidney transplant in 2018, fourteen-year-old Aanya Rao did not appreciate the dull hues of the space. \u201cThey should be bright enough,\u201d to infuse some positivity into the minds and lives of the people already in a sombre mood, she thought.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struck by the absence of vibrancy, the youngster delved into research on the impact of art in the healing process. It was then that the idea of Art:Connect germinated. \u201cFor many patients, special needs children, healthcare workers, and senior citizens hospitals and care centres have almost become like home. It is very important for them to have a vibrant and positive environment,\u201d she tells <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Global Indian<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while connecting from Singapore.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20476\" style=\"width: 862px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20476\" class=\"wp-image-20476 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/card_aanya_amrita.jpeg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian \" width=\"852\" height=\"638\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 852px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 852\/638;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20476\" class=\"wp-image-20476 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/card_aanya_amrita.jpeg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian \" width=\"852\" height=\"638\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-20476\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aanya Rao, founder Art:Connect<\/p><\/div>\n<h4><b>From hobby to purpose <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aanya had always been in love with art, learning the nuances of fine arts since the time she was a seven-year-old. It was during the hospital visits with her father that she realised that the hobby can be utilised for a larger purpose. In 2020, she laid the foundation of the student-led body Art:Connect, and since then, the teenager along with 40 plus student volunteers studying in schools and colleges of Singapore, have been working in tandem to put their artistic talent to good use. To eliminate the starkness of the white walls, they coloured them up with murals in health care centres, displayed their handmade creations in exhibitions to raise funds, and organised art workshops and competitions for patients and senior citizens.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20481\" style=\"width: 902px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20481\" class=\"wp-image-20481 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Aanya_Amrita_Youth2.jpeg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian\" width=\"892\" height=\"656\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 892px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 892\/656;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20481\" class=\"wp-image-20481 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Aanya_Amrita_Youth2.jpeg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian\" width=\"892\" height=\"656\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-20481\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural by Art:Connect team at Vanguard Healthcare, Singapore<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Art:Connect team also conducts art workshops for mothers and their children suffering from lysosomal storage disorder,\u202fand diseases like phenylketonuria, thalassemia and osteogenesis. They have organised exhibitions to spread awareness about organ donation, dementia and mental health, and have been making greeting cards to brighten up the lives in hospitals during festivals. \u201cWhile we started with brightening up walls, our initiative branched out into other areas connecting art with well-being,\u201d says the teenager.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team finds immense satisfaction in the fact that their creativity has not only got an audience but has been replacing gloominess with vibrancy. With their slogan, \u2018Art can, and will, heal the world\u2019 they have been leveraging the \u201chealing power of art\u201d to brighten lives of not just those who are suffering but also of the healthcare workers and caregivers who work in the emotionally, physically and mentally draining environments.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20480\" style=\"width: 907px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20480\" class=\"wp-image-20480 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Aanya_Amrita_Youth2.jpg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian \" width=\"897\" height=\"598\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 897px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 897\/598;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20480\" class=\"wp-image-20480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Aanya_Amrita_Youth2.jpg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian \" width=\"897\" height=\"598\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-20480\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Art:Connect organised a special workshop in collaboration with Rare Disorders Society Singapore (RDSS)<\/p><\/div>\n<h4><b>Future ahead <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To keep on adding a healing touch is what Aanya never wants to lose focus of. The 16-year-old, Class XI student of NPS International School Singapore, is working on succession planning and building the next step of leadership as she comes closer to her foray in the world of university education.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Art:Connect team collaborates with about 500 students across schools of Singapore for special projects. \u201cMoving on from a core team of five, I will play a more advisory role,\u201d informs the teen about her non-profit\u2019s future plan.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20487\" style=\"width: 877px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20487\" class=\"wp-image-20487 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Aanya_Amrita_Youth_3.jpeg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian \" width=\"867\" height=\"718\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 867px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 867\/718;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20487\" class=\"wp-image-20487\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Aanya_Amrita_Youth_3.jpeg\" alt=\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian \" width=\"867\" height=\"718\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-20487\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Art:Connect&#8217;s organ donation awareness exhibition in collaboration with National University Hospital, Singapore<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A STEM lover, Aanya plans to pursue either biotechnology or bioengineering in college. A trained Bharatnatyam, Kathak and ballet dancer, she \u2018absolutely loves art\u2019, and finds working for Art:Connect a great stress buster.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Follow Art:Connect on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/teamartconnect\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> and its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.connect-art.org\/the-story-behind-art-connect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(August 7, 2022) While accompanying her father to health centres during his second kidney transplant in 2018, fourteen-year-old Aanya Rao did not appreciate the dull hues of the space. \u201cThey should be bright enough,\u201d to infuse some positivity into the minds and lives of the people already in a sombre mood, she thought.\u00a0\u00a0 Struck by the absence of vibrancy, the youngster delved into research on the impact of art in the healing process. It was then that the idea of Art:Connect germinated. \u201cFor many patients, special needs children, healthcare workers, and senior citizens hospitals and care centres have almost become [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":20488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","story-category":[215,3054],"story-tag":[4058,4059,2080,3864,2705,14,4062,4060,4063,4061],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Diana Awardee Aanya Rao brightens up lives with Art:Connect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Diana awardee Aanya Rao brightens up the lives of patients, senior citizens and healthcare workers in Singapore through Art:Connect.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Diana Awardee Aanya Rao brightens up lives with Art:Connect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Diana awardee Aanya Rao brightens up the lives of patients, senior citizens and healthcare workers in Singapore through Art:Connect.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Global Indian Youth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-06T09:08:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/\",\"name\":\"Diana Awardee Aanya Rao brightens up lives with Art:Connect\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-07T01:30:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-06T09:08:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Diana awardee Aanya Rao brightens up the lives of patients, senior citizens and healthcare workers in Singapore through Art:Connect.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":650,\"caption\":\"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stories\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Diana awardee Aanya Rao\u2019s Art Connect is brightening up the lives of patients in Singapore\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/\",\"name\":\"Global Indian Youth\",\"description\":\"A hero\u2019s journey\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diana Awardee Aanya Rao brightens up lives with Art:Connect","description":"Diana awardee Aanya Rao brightens up the lives of patients, senior citizens and healthcare workers in Singapore through Art:Connect.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Diana Awardee Aanya Rao brightens up lives with Art:Connect","og_description":"Diana awardee Aanya Rao brightens up the lives of patients, senior citizens and healthcare workers in Singapore through Art:Connect.","og_url":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/","og_site_name":"Global Indian Youth","article_modified_time":"2022-08-06T09:08:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/","url":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/","name":"Diana Awardee Aanya Rao brightens up lives with Art:Connect","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg","datePublished":"2022-08-07T01:30:05+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-06T09:08:32+00:00","description":"Diana awardee Aanya Rao brightens up the lives of patients, senior citizens and healthcare workers in Singapore through Art:Connect.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/banner_aanya_amrita.jpg","width":1920,"height":650,"caption":"Indian Artist | Aanya Rao | Global Indian"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/diana-awardee-aanya-raos-art-connect-is-brightening-up-the-lives-of-patients-in-singapore\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stories","item":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Diana awardee Aanya Rao\u2019s Art Connect is brightening up the lives of patients in Singapore"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/#website","url":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/","name":"Global Indian Youth","description":"A hero\u2019s journey","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/20471"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/20471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"story-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story-category?post=20471"},{"taxonomy":"story-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story-tag?post=20471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}