It was a long, crazy beautiful day. On April 4, 2019, five buildings in Anacostia, Washington DC (two on Good Hope Rd SE and three around the corner on Martin Luther King Blvd SE) were draped and wrapped with saris covered in printmaking, painting, and writing by the community in Washington and Katakhali Village, Bangladesh. With the help of several installers on the roof, we worked for seven hours to install the saris from 9 am to 4 pm, while people watched in the streets. Inside the Anacostia Arts Center’s Black Box Theatre, we showed a slideshow of 267 images, including some moving images, from the more than 20 workshops that took place in Washington DC and Bangladesh. From 3 pm, WRAPture participants were outside, engaging with the public on the streets. We heard the voices of people of all ages talking, singing, reciting poetry about climate change through the soundscape playing outside.

At 5 pm, we came together for a dedication, sari-ribbon cutting, and reception at We Act Radio. Then we started deinstalling at 8 pm and finished at 10:15 pm. It was almost a marathon but we did it! So many people stopped to talk with us, astounded to see these massive sari prints hanging and blowing in the wind. We had a lot of wind and some of the upper level saris blew up to the roofs, but we will remedy that next time. Special thanks to all the brave installers and volunteers. Let’s rest and gear up for part II on May 9 (date may change, depending on weather)! Photo credit: Paris Preston and Monica Jahan Bose; all images ©2019, Monica Jahan Bose.

LINK TO PRESS RELEASE.