I am back in Dhaka after a whirlwind 9 days of travel, work, and celebration down south in my ancestral village, Katakhali, on Barobaisdia Island. It was a fanstastic experience — better than I could have imagined. I was accompanied by my mother, my daughters, and Bangladeshi filmmaker Nandita Ahmed. The collaboration went really well and will continue into the future. Twelve women worked with me on writing, oral history, and collaborative art on saris. I managed to interview each of them twice and to visit all of their homes.

There is a feature today in the Independent, an English daily.

My daughters, Tuli and Koli, had a wonderful time. They can speak and read Bangla and quickly made friends with the village children. They both enjoyed the picnic lunch organized by their grandmother for all 200 children of the primary school. Tuli visited the high school and roamed around the village and the riverbanks with her new friends. Both girls donated their toys to Samhati’s new pre-school and enjoyed playing with the small children. They loved the vast open spaces and begged to stay longer.

I have huge amounts of art, images, and data to go through to get ready for the exhibition opening on September 9 at the Brentwood Arts Exchange in the DC area. I am meeting with book/catalogue designers and press today. We leave for DC tomorrow. Several venues in Bangladesh are interested in showing the project in 2014. Please do spread the word and share ideas with me. Thanks to all of you who have been following and helping. In the midst of the all the horrors inflicted on women, it’s important to also focus on the glimmers of hope.

My best to all of you,

Monica