This is a video showcasing a gallery of student peers' work of portraits created for the children at Happy Life Children's Home.

    In 2017, my college roommate and I learned of Happy Life Children’s Home, an orphanage in Nairobi housing approximately 200 children in need. Through the Davis Foundation, we secured a grant to promote peace through the arts. We spent the summer cultivating conversations about peace and conflict resolutions, teaching the children how they could leverage art to express themselves. For many, it was the first time they’d created a piece of art. For all of us, it was the first time our sense of place and shared community identity was strengthened through art.

    When we returned home, I felt so beautifully bothered. I yearned to share my experience and connect my peers with the kids I’d met. Thanks to the volunteerism department in Student Life, I succeeded. That year, The Happy Life Portrait Project was born. Ringling participants were invited to create portraits of the children and write them short letters. The personalized portraits were then sent back to Happy Life as gifts. A reaction video capturing the children’s surprise and excitement as they received the portraits was recorded and then shared with the Ringling artists who were thrilled to learn their gifts had inspired the kids to continue exploring art. Art connected the children of Happy Life in Nairobi with our fellow Ringling students in Sarasota, forming an international community that I couldn’t be prouder to have been a part of.