Events
WRAPture: A Public Art Project will be screened as part of the conference“Gendered Threads of Globalization: 20th Century Textile Crossings in Asia Pacific” at the University of Victoria in Canada. Please join us for the 49 minute film and Q&A. The event is free and open to the public.
This documentary film follows a textile-based climate justice art project from Washington D.C.’s low-income Anacostia neighborhood to Barobaishdia, a remote Bangladeshi island on the frontiers of climate change. Bangladeshi-American artist Monica Jahan Bose leads a dozen women farmers and over 200 Washingtonians to co-create 65 climate-themed saris. The participants recite poetry, sing, and dance creating a trans-border community. The film includes rare footage and testimony of the impacts of climate change on coastal women farmers and the power of art to bring about change. It premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington at a joint event with the Smithsonian and was also screened at the Dhaka Art Summit in 2023.
I am excited to present my work for the first time in Canada as part of the Gendered Threads of Globalization Conference organized by Professor of Art History Melia Belli-Bose at the University of Victoria. I will be creating a performance as well as lecturing in the classroom. The Keynote Performance will be interactive and we will be sewing and mending by hand and with sewing machines. It will also be livestreamed so you can watch online if you register at link below.
ShuiShuta (Needle & Thread): an interactive performance/installation
Bangladeshi-American feminist artist Monica Jahan Bose creates a performance with sewing machines, needle and thread, and hand-woven saris from Bangladesh, exploring questions of labor, gender & industry, including the inequitable gender impacts of the garment industry and climate change. Bose uses the hand-woven cotton sari as a symbol for women’s bodies and the cycle of life on our planet. She invites viewers to join the performance by sewing with her and writing or drawing personal climate and garment pledges on a sari. The performance is woman-led, but allies of all genders may join.
Register here to see livestream of performance and whole conference.
Monica Jahan Bose will be speaking about her community co-created public art as part of this DCCAH panel.
How can Public Art enhance a community and respond to that community’s needs? Local artists and past CAH grantees discuss some of their Public Art projects and how their practice is connected to community development.
Panelists: Creative Junkfood founders Nabeeh Bilal and Candice Taylor
Public Artists Monica Jahan Bose and Charles Jean Pierre & CAH Staff Deirdre Darden and Kerry Kennedy
Please be advised that this workshop will include live real-time captioning via Webex. For reasonable accommodation requests regarding access and inclusion, please contact Travis Marcus (travis.marcus@dc.gov), no later than 5 business days prior to the start of this event.
Join Storytelling with Saris and many other climate justice groups for a rally and concert at Freedom Plaza, followed by a march to the White House at 1 pm. There will also be a resource fair at 3 pm at for collective action. We will be carrying two stunning climate justice saris and you will have the opportunity to add your story to a sari. For more information, go to https://www.earthdaydc.org/
It’s time to celebrate Earth Day all month long! Join us for a planting, poetry, and art workshop at The Nicholson Project’s garden. We will be cleaning and planting the garden with Kendra Hazel, the new Garden Manager at Nicholson. Artist Monica Jahan Bose will lead us in creating poetry and art inspired by the garden. We will have more workshops in the summer with Monica followed by an exhibition and poetry slam at The Nicholson Project in September.
If you have joined prior Storytelling with Saris workshops, please bring with you your folder of materials — journal, pencil etc. Looking forward to seeing you!
Please email storytellingwithsaris@gmail.com with any questions or accommodation needs. ASL will be provided.
Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, performance, film, and interdisciplinary projects. Her social practice work highlights the intersection of climate, racial, gender, and economic injustice through co-created workshops and temporary public art installations and performances. She is the creator of STORYTELLING WITH SARIS, a long-term art and advocacy project with her ancestral village of Katakhali, Bangladesh. She has a BA in the Practice of Art (Painting) from Wesleyan University, a Diploma in Art from Santiniketan, India, and a JD from Columbia Law School.
Kendra Hazel is the 2023 Garden Manager at The Nicholson Project. She is an herb enthusiast, urban garden educator, and a plant based chef. She studied Health Science at Florida A&M University, has worked with neighborhood community gardens independently and as the Community Garden Spaces manager with City Blossoms, and recently founded Green Things Work where she shares her holistic approach to wellness.
The Nicholson Project is an artist residency program and neighborhood garden in Ward 7’s Fairlawn neighborhood. Its mission is to support, provide opportunities, engage, and amplify artists and creatives from our community and the local artist community—particularly artists of color and those from Ward 7 and 8—while engaging our neighbors through community-based programming. Its vision is to serve as a cultural hub and community anchor celebrating Ward 7’s authentic identity, while infusing new vibrancy into Southeast DC. We hope to inspire others to use similar non-traditional arts and community-centered projects as a pathway toward stronger, more vibrant communities.
This project is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Image: Planting workshop for Sustain, © 2022 Monica Jahan Bose, photo credit: Paris Preston.
Please join me for the opening reception of “Above Below Water” on Friday, June 2 from 6-9 pm. I will have several pieces in this show. All ages welcome. The Culture House is a 10 minute walk from the Waterfront metro on the Green Line. There is usually street parking available in the area. I will be at both the opening and artist talk.– Monica Jahan Bose
“Above Below Water”
Group exhibition curated by Beth Ferraro
Location: Culture House, 700 Delaware Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024
Exhibition dates: June 2-June 30, 2023
Opening reception: Friday, June 2 from 6-9pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, June 11 from 2-4pm
Open every Saturday and Sunday in June from 11am-2pm, and by appointment (contact curator at theartisland.dc@gmail.com)
This exhibit features works by Monica Jahan Bose, Noel Kassewitz, Andrea Limauro, Benny Starr, and Sarah Cameron Sunde.
The show takes a deeper look at the current global climate crisis, including rising sea levels, culture, and how we stay connected. From Bangladesh to Anacostia, New Zealand to South Carolina, each piece explores both process and the outcome, weaving together who and what belongs with us now and in the future. ABOVE BELOW WATER is part of DC Flood Awareness Week and sponsored by the District Department of Energy and Environment.
NOTICE REGARDING
PROPOSED TEMPORARY PUBLIC ART PROJECT
“SWIMMING”
ARTIST: MONICA JAHAN BOSE
The art project SWIMMING proposes to hang sari fabric art in the plaza in front of the Marie Reed Elementary School and Marie Reed Aquatic and Recreation Center at 2201 18th St, NW, and 2154 Champlain St, NW, Washington, DC 20009. The saris are massive colorful cotton fabric covered with woodblocks designed by Bose along with writings, art, and poetry by students and community members in Washington DC and Katakhali Village, Bangladesh. The project speaks to the racism behind climate change and access to swimming (and education). The temporary installation will be accompanied by public engagement events, including poetry slams and performances, film screening/projections, and site visits/artist talks. Marie Reed is the former Morgan school (for Black children), which was desegregated along with the Adams school (for White children), giving the name to the Adams Morgan neighborhood. SWIMMING is a visual representation of community building and resilience.
When: The temporary project would be for the duration of seven to ten successive days, in Spring 2024.
Where: The proposed site for the temporary public art project is the plaza area in front of Marie Reed Elementary School and Marie Reed Aquatic and Recreation Center at 2201 18th St, NW, and 2154 Champlain St, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
THE “SWIMMING” PROPOSAL WILL BE PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED AT THE ANC 1C HYBRID PUBLIC MEETING ON JUNE 7, 2023 from 7-9 pm. The in person meeting is at the Adams Morgan Community Center, ground level at The Line DC at Columbia Road, NW. You may also join the meeting here on Zoom App or via Web: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85075682967?pwd=aGQ1bzBrZktZT0JueGZhbmpIZ21IQT09
- Meeting ID: 850 7568 2967
- Passcode: 890562
- Call-in: 301-715-8592 | On Phone: STAR-9 to raise hand; STAR-6 to unmute
- Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/AkzES9NymMw
THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO JOIN AND ASK QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK. Monica Jahan Bose would like to design the project with the feedback of the community. The project is contingent on receiving grant funding from DCCAH. Contact: monicajahanbose@gmail.com storytellingwithsaris.com @storywithsari
Join me for the artists’ talk on June 11 at 2 pm! – mjb
“Above Below Water”
Group exhibition curated by Beth Ferraro
Location: Culture House, 700 Delaware Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024
Exhibition dates: June 2-June 30, 2023
Artist Talk: Sunday, June 11 from 2-4pm
Open every Saturday and Sunday in June from 11am-2pm, and by appointment (contact curator at theartisland.dc@gmail.com)
This exhibit features works by Monica Jahan Bose, Noel Kassewitz, Andrea Limauro, Benny Starr, and Sarah Cameron Sunde.
The show takes a deeper look at the current global climate crisis, including rising sea levels, culture, and how we stay connected. From Bangladesh to Anacostia, New Zealand to South Carolina, each piece explores both process and the outcome, weaving together who and what belongs with us now and in the future. ABOVE BELOW WATER is part of DC Flood Awareness Week and sponsored by the District Department of Energy and Environment.
Join us for a planting, poetry, and art workshop at The Nicholson Project’s garden. We will be cleaning and planting the garden with Kendra Hazel, the new Garden Manager at Nicholson. Artist Monica Jahan Bose will lead us in creating poetry and art inspired by the garden. We will have more workshops in the summer with Monica followed by an exhibition and poetry slam at The Nicholson Project in September.
If you have joined prior Storytelling with Saris workshops, please bring with you your folder of materials — journal, pencil etc. Looking forward to seeing you!
Please email storytellingwithsaris@gmail.com with any questions or accommodation needs. ASL will be provided.
Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, performance, film, and interdisciplinary projects. Her social practice work highlights the intersection of climate, racial, gender, and economic injustice through co-created workshops and temporary public art installations and performances. She is the creator of STORYTELLING WITH SARIS, a long-term art and advocacy project with her ancestral village of Katakhali, Bangladesh. She has a BA in the Practice of Art (Painting) from Wesleyan University, a Diploma in Art from Santiniketan, India, and a JD from Columbia Law School.
Kendra Hazel is the 2023 Garden Manager at The Nicholson Project. She is an herb enthusiast, urban garden educator, and a plant based chef. She studied Health Science at Florida A&M University, has worked with neighborhood community gardens independently and as the Community Garden Spaces manager with City Blossoms, and recently founded Green Things Work where she shares her holistic approach to wellness.
The Nicholson Project is an artist residency program and neighborhood garden in Ward 7’s Fairlawn neighborhood. Its mission is to support, provide opportunities, engage, and amplify artists and creatives from our community and the local artist community—particularly artists of color and those from Ward 7 and 8—while engaging our neighbors through community-based programming. Its vision is to serve as a cultural hub and community anchor celebrating Ward 7’s authentic identity, while infusing new vibrancy into Southeast DC. We hope to inspire others to use similar non-traditional arts and community-centered projects as a pathway toward stronger, more vibrant communities.
This project is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Image: Planting workshop for Sustain, © 2022 Monica Jahan Bose, photo credit: Paris Preston.
Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist Monica Jahan Bose will lead a hands-on sari workshop with high school students at Georgetown Day School addressing environmental and gender justice. Participants will discuss strategies for climate action and gender justice and draw, paint, and write on a hand-woven cotton sari from Bangladesh. For over ten years, Bose has been co-creating saris with communities as part of her Storytelling with Saris art and advocacy project. The sari will be used in installations and performances and worn by Bangladeshi women. This is a private workshop for students at the school.
