For Women’s History Month, we here on Myrtle Avenue are celebrating local women who make positive impacts in our community. Click here to reach the profiles of all the local women who have been featured in our annual Women’s History Month campaign.
Sudha Seetharaman of Trilok Fusion Arts & Trilok School
Blending together a passion for the arts and childhood education, local resident and organization leader Sudha Seetharaman’s work in the neighborhood tells a story of vision and leadership.
After moving from India to New York, by way of Oregon, Sudha was set to earn a master’s degree and continue her training in dance. But after arriving at NYU, her plans to continue a career as a performer started to turn. Through the encouragement of an advisor, Sudha began to explore serving an audience through arts education instead of staying in school. That’s when the Trilok Fusion Arts first took shape, as an arts organization with a variety of programs serving Downtown Brooklyn from their first location on Adelphi Street in her living room, which opened in 1996.
After a few years, as the dance and arts-focused program grew at Trilok, so did Sudha’s family in Clinton Hill. Through her first child, she became involved in teaching in the local public school system through the Brooklyn Arts Council. While traveling to schools across the city, she saw an opportunity to use her experiences to create her own alternative program that would focus on nurturing creativity and promote environmental stewardship. From that idea, Trilok launched its first summer camp program which eventually grew into the Trilok School that operates today.
But finding a home for a new school can be difficult, especially in space-strapped Brooklyn. As the strength began to grow, Trilok School moved from a small apartment to a brownstone on Adelphi Street. And then after a long search and through the help of neighbors on her block and then Council Member Tish James, State Senator Joseph Lentol and Brough President Marty Markowitz, Sudha was able to sign a lease and move Trilok into its current home at Myrtle and Waverly. Now serving children from ages 2 through 8th grade – and with plans to grow! – Trilok school has become a center for arts and education for families in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene for more than a decade now.
Thank you Sudha for taking time to tell us your story and for bringing new arts and education opportunities to Myrtle Avenue!
