Charanya Ramakrishnan

Charanya Ramakrishnan is a leading international art educator with over a decade of experience in the field. As a multimedia artist and educator, she has led several innovative projects and was awarded the Fulbright scholarship for Arts and Cultural Management. She holds a dual degree with a  Masters in Art Education and Community Practice from New York University as well as a Masters in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. 

She has played key leadership roles in civil society and non-profit organizations and also co-founded the learning center Kudali through her work with the organization Yakshi Resource and Creativity Center for Rural Children and Youth. Her work also involved collaborating with traditional artisans, visual artists and musicians to develop unique educational modules for children and youth. 

Charanya is deeply passionate about the power of art education in transforming lives and believes that the life of Louis Armstrong and Lucille Armstrong is critical in the telling of the history of the civil rights movement, of jazz and its influence on the world. She is committed to enhancing community engagement, developing creative pedagogy and leading the educational initiatives at the museum; that draw from the transformative elements of jazz, the archives and storytelling rooted in radical hope and imagination.