1.5 Degrees Installation/Ward 12
3400 Prospect St NW
Washington, DC 20007
USA
1.5 • C installation at Ward !2 Group Exhibition of S&R Studio Program fellows
Site specific video installation with woodblock printed saris, lightbulbs, and snowglobes
Exhibition dates: December 7-December 17, 2016 (daily from 1-4 pm). Register for viewing after the opening. Click for more details.
One point five degrees is the maximum increase allowable from preindustrial global temperatures to avoid catastrophic effects of climate change. This was adopted as the “aspirational” goal of the Paris Agreement by 195 nations in December 2015. The agreement limits the temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees, but aspires to keep the increase within 1.5 degrees. Island and low-lying countries like Bangladesh vehemently pushed for 1.5 degrees. We have already increased the world’s temperature by almost one degree.
The saris were printed and painted in collaboration with women from my ancestral village on Barobaishdia Island, Bangladesh. These women have recently learned to read and are confronting, learning about, and adapting to climate change. The island may become submerged unless the world takes action. The video is a sample from my future film “Rising Up to Climate Change: Storytelling with Saris,” made in collaboration with Leena Jayaswal and Shefali Akhter Shetu.
The used lightbulbs were collected from DC residents in Ward 1 and 2, including S&R artists and staff and Halcyon fellows and staff, who I encouraged to switch to LED lights to reduce their carbon footprint. The snowglobes are part of a 30-year old family collection, visually representing the world drowning from climate change.
Ward 12
Ward 12 is the culmination of the creative work by 12 DC artists awarded studio space in the historic Fillmore School in Georgetown, built in 1893. These artists were selected for the powerful message of their artistic work, and their potential to make future contributions to the artistic and cultural fabric of Washington, DC. Dedicated studio space was provided at the Fillmore School in order for each artist to pursue their creative work freely, in any manner that they choose.
Their individual work utilizes a broad range of artistic media: painting, sculpture and installation, performance, literature, film making, fashion, and dance. They are all united by their expressions of social consciousness and awareness of some of the most intractable collective issues of our present moment; from the harmful effects of climate change on communities, the crisis in Syria, to the future of our urban environments. This exhibition celebrates their depth of vision, critical thinking, and insight into complex issues that surround us.
The exhibition will present works, screenings, and performances by:
Konshens the MC | Mattias Kraemer | Daniel Pheonix Singh | Eames Armstrong | Grethe Wittrock | Monica Jahan Bose | Anna Kaminski | Erik Moe | Ayana Zaire Cotton | Marion Colomer | Anna Tsouhlarakis | Reilly Dowd
