Here is a link to the PDF of the Press Release

 MEDIA RELEASE

WRAPture Public Art Project Addresses Climate Change Uniting Two Countries 

Award-Winning Artist and Activist Leads Massive Art Installation in DC

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 –  This temporary public art project entitled WRAPture combines the Anacostia community in Washington DC and Katakhali Village in Bangladesh to fabricate, assemble and drape saris across five buildings in Historic Anacostia. Birthed from the ongoing six-year-old-project Storytelling with Saris, these massive colorful cotton fabric saris will be covered with customized woodblock printmaking, hand-painted images, and writings about climate change and action by the residents of these two communities.

WRAPture is funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Public Art Building Communities Grant Program and is led by DC-based and international artist and activist, Monica Jahan Bose. Bose states, “The Earth has a fever, and we need to work fast to reduce our use of fossil fuels drastically.  When we understand the impact of our energy use, we can make a difference as individuals despite governmental inaction. WRAPture, through the power of hands-on art, empowers and brings us together as a community in solidarity with each other.”  With community partners Anacostia Arts Center and We Act Radio Network, WRAPture has worked with Project Create youth and over 100 members of the Washington DC community and Katakhali Village, Bangladesh, since its November 2018 kick off.

What makes WRAPture so unique? It’s 100% wrapped in community engagement and environmental and sustainable education.  Participating residents of Anacostia and Katakhali Village are being paid for their work during the fabrication workshops of the saris, as they learn about climate change and renewable energy while adding their own stories of action to the artwork.  Additional artistic components of the installation include a sound installation with songs and music from Katakhali Village women and the Anacostia community, facilitated by We Act Radio.

FABRICATION WORKSHOP DATES:

November 2018- April 2019 (various dates) | To Sign up and Learn More: http://storytellingwithsaris.com/events/

• All are welcome. The workshops are at metro and handicap accessible locations with sign language and other language interpretation provided when feasible. During the government shutdown, special workshops have been added for furloughed workers, offered at the Adams Morgan Community Center in the Line Hotel.  

PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION AND EXHIBITION DATES + LOCATIONS

• April 4, April 14, May 9, 2019 (dependent on weather), from 4 to 8 pm
• 1227 and 1231 Good Hope Road SE, Washington, DC (Anacostia Arts Center and the adjacent Anacostia Business Center)
• 1918, 1920, and 1922 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave, SE, Washington, DC (the We Act Radio, Check It, and District Culture buildings)

About Monica Jahan Bose:

A Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist, Bose has exhibited her work extensively in the US and internationally (17 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions). With over 20 performances, Bose has engaged thousands of people.  Her ongoing collaborative project Storytelling with Saris has traveled to ten states and several countries and been featured in numerous publications and TV and radio programs.  Her work has appeared in the Miami Herald, the Washington Post, Art Asia Pacific, the Milwaukee Sentinel, the Honolulu Star Advertiser, the Japan Times, and all major newspapers in Bangladesh.  In 2017-2018, she had multiple art events in Paris, France, and Athens, Greece and created a large-scale installation and performance for the Smithsonian in Honolulu.  She 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. 

Social Media:  Instagram/Twitter: @storywithsari  

https://www.facebook.com/StorytellingWithSaris/

Contact: Monica Jahan Bose monicajahanbose[at]gmail.com or

Karen R. Baker kb[a]karenbaker.com

Image:  Watercolor and drawing on the photograph, © 2018, Monica Jahan Bose