SWIMMING, a public art project
2201 18th St NW
Washington
DC 20009
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.
