South Asia Institute is pleased to announce its new exhibition, “The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness,” in collaboration with the Paglees.

The Paglees is a feminist collective of artists of South Asian origin living across the United States. Paglee or pagli means crazy woman in a number of South Asian languages. The Paglees are: Fawzia Khan, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Monica Jahan Bose, Nirmal Raja, Pallavi Sharma, Renluka Maharaj, and Shelly Bahl.

In their debut exhibition, The Paglees investigate – with fierceness, beauty, and wit – the impact on women of generations of patriarchy, religion, white supremacy, colonialism, violence, capitalism, and environmental plunder.

The title of the exhibition derives from Rosa Parks’ words: “There is just so much hurt, disappointment and oppression one can take. The bubble of life grows larger. The line between reason and madness grows thinner.” (Rosa Parks: Writings, Notes and Statements,1956-58).

Featuring mixed-media works on paper, fabric, and canvas, sculpture, performance, photography, installation, and moving image, The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness, questions and reframes the labeling of non-conforming women as crazy and the marginalization of immigrant women of color. This collective exhibition presents new decolonial narratives that center the reason and wisdom of brown women of the Global South and diaspora, and provide pathways to a creative feminist future. The Paglees believe in working in collaboration with other marginalized communities to build bridges and demand social, environmental, and legal justice for all.

We are excited to announce the Climate Hope project by Monica Jahan Bose presented by the Arlington Art Truck of Arlington County Government.  Curated by Cynthia Connolly, eight activations will occur at various locations across Arlington, Virginia.  Contribute to a community created art project by writing a poem, pledge, or an illustration directly onto an 18-foot-long cotton sari that is adorned by woodblocks from the artist’s ancestral village in Bangladesh. The poems and pledges will complete the sari which already includes climate themed wood block prints. On the last day, the public is invited to join a procession with over 70 feet of saris through an Arlington neighborhood to a waterway.  Here is the PRESS RELEASE.

Activation dates:

Wednesday, April 3 – Barcroft School, not open to public 

Sunday, April 7 – 9-1 pm – Columbia Pike Farmers Market, 2820 Columbia Pike

Saturday, April 20 – 8-noon – Lubber Run Farmers Market opening day, 4401 N Henderson Road

Sunday, April 21 – 11-5 pm – Earth Day, Every Day, 4500-4550 Cherry Hill Road

Sunday, May 5 – 9-1 pm – Fairlington Farmers Market opening day, 3308 S Stafford Street Special guest: Arlington Poet Laureate Courtney LeBlanc will be with us 9-11am 

Thursday, May 9 – 3-7 pm – MoCA on the Move with MoCA Arlington at MET Park, South Elm Street between South 13th and South 14th Streets  

Saturday, May 18 – 10-1 pm – Family Fun Day in the Park, Alcova Heights Park, 901 S George Mason Drive

Saturday, May 25 – 11-2:30 pm – Shirlington Library, 4200 Campbell Avenue ;  11-1: activation outside-(drop by anytime), 1-2:30: artist talk in library and community performance/procession from library to Jennie Dean park. There is limited space for the artist talk indoors. Free. Sign up here.  

Check here for latest information  

Image:  Monica Jahan Bose in Water Resistance performance, Paris, France, 2019, photo credit: Amirul Arham

SWIMMING, a temporary public art project by Monica Jahan Bose, explores the deep and essential connections we have to water as our world faces increased flooding and rising sea levels due to climate change. Participants in DC and Bangladesh join workshops to co-create poetry and art inspired by the healing properties of water and swimming and by inequities in access. SWIMMING will feature an outdoor “pool” of art-embellished saris, along with a soundscape, performances, film screenings, and poetry. The project is part of the ongoing climate justice collaboration Storytelling with Saris.

Lead Artist: Monica Jahan Bose

Curator: Sarah Tanguy

Photography/Livestream: Paris Preston

Sound design:  Sonia Herrero

Photography/livestream: Paris Preston

Sound design:  Sonia Herrero

Marketing design/Social media: Jen Saavedra

Press/media inquiries: Kelly Davidson. Email: info@kellymavenmedia.com. Phone: 301-300-4011

Funded by the DC Commission on the Arts are Humanities.

Community partners: The Adams Morgan Partnership BID, Marie Reed Elementary School & Aquatic Center, The DC Arts Center, Calvary Womens Services, and Moms Clean Air Force.

Exhibition Schedule [All dates weather dependent]:

Location:  Marie Reed Plaza, 2201 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009=

Exhibition dates June 6-20, 2024

Thursday, June 6, 2024 @ 5-8 PM: Opening Event. Dedication, poetry recital, and livestream starting at 6 pm.

Saturday, June 8, 2024 @ 3-5 pm: Artist/curator walkthrough talk at site

Tuesday, June 11, 2024 @ 7:30 pm: Walkthrough tour and screening “Swimming” short film as part of Adams Morgan Movie Night.

Saturday, June 15, 2024 @ 5 pm: Performance

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 @ 7:30 pm: Walkthrough tour and screening short film as part of Adams Morgan Movie Night

June 20, 2022 Final Day

Curator:  Sarah Tanguy.  Film/livestream: Paris Preston   Music & Sound Design: Sonia Herrero.

Community partners:  Marie Reed Elementary School and Community & Aquatic Center, Adams Morgan Partnership BID, DC Arts Center, Calvary Women’s Services.

This project is funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, film, performance, and installation. Her socially engaged work highlights the intersection of climate, racial, gender, and economic injustice through co-created workshops, art actions, and temporary installations and performances. She has exhibited her work extensively in the US and internationally (23 solo shows, five public art projecs, numerous group exhibitions, and more than 30 performances) including solo exhibitions at the Bangladesh National Museum and MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. Her ongoing decade-long collaborative project STORYTELLING WITH SARIS with women farmers from her ancestral island village has traveled to eight countries and 12 US states, engaging thousands of people. Her work has appeared in the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, Art Asia Pacific, the Milwaukee Sentinel, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the the Japan Times, Prothom Alo and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum has acquired and group of her paintings, saris, and archival materials for its collection.  Monica has a BA in the Practice of Art (Painting) from Wesleyan University, a post-graduate diploma in art from Santiniketan, India, and a JD from Columbia Law School.