Events

Apr
10
Wed
2024
Community Workshop for SWIMMING @ DC Arts Center
Apr 10 @ 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Community Workshop for SWIMMING @ DC Arts Center

Please join us for a community workshop to create SWIMMING, a new public art project that explores the deep and essential connections we have to water as our world faces increased flooding and rising sea levels due to climate change. If weather permits, the workshop wil be outdoors on the sidewalk.  When installed in June 2024 at the Marie Reed Community & Aquatic Center in Washington DC, SWIMMING will feature a “pool” of art-embellished saris, along with a sound walk, performances, film screenings, and poetry readings.  Artist and climate activist Monica Jahan Bose will lead a poetry and art workshop where we will create poetry and art inspired by the healing properties of water and swimming and inequities in access. SWIMMING is part of Bose’s art and advocacy project Storytelling with Saris.  Started over a decade ago, the project has fostered collaboration with women from Bose’s ancestral island in Bangladesh as well as residents of DC and people around the world.

ASL interpretation will be provided. Please email storytellingwithsaris@gmail.com with any questions or accommodation needs.  Register for the event on Eventbrite. 

Curator:  Sarah Tanguy.  Photography/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 (22 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions, and more than 25 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. 

Apr
19
Fri
2024
Darchira River film screening @ Artomatic
Apr 19 @ 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Darchira River film screening @ Artomatic

Join artist/filmmaker Monica Jahan Bose for the DC premiere of “Darchira River,” a new performance film. The film is based on a performance about cimate change let by Monica in Katakhali Village, Bangladesh, on the banks of the Darchira River, which has been destroyed by climate change. The stunning footage shows women farmers of the village engage in singing, writing, and rituals towards healing climate change. In this ecofeminist work, the women reframe a Muslim ritual of writing wishes, into a feminist ritual of hope and renewal, using writing, turmeric and water. The film features village women’s oral tradition songs along with an original score by DC musician and sound designer Sonia Herrero. Cinematography: Shefali Akhter Shetu. Editing: Shefali Akhter Shetu and Monica Jahan Bose.

Join us at lunchtime on Friday for the DC premiere at Artomatic.

Running time 20 minutes, followed by Q&A with artist

Artomatic, Friday, April 19 at 12:15 pm, 6th floor

2100 M St NW, Washington, DC (metro; Dupont Circle)

Apr
22
Mon
2024
Earth Day Gardening & Art Workshop @ The Nicholson Project
Apr 22 @ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Earth Day Gardening & Art Workshop @ The Nicholson Project

Join us for a planting, poetry, and art workshop at The Nicholson Project’s garden. We will be cleaning and planting the garden with Peter Lewis, the Garden Manager at Nicholson. Artist Monica Jahan Bose will lead us in creating poetry and sari art.

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.

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.

Peter Lewis is an avid gardener, artist, and chef. He has been working with Nicholson Project since 2022 and is the main point of contact for garden activities and distribution during peak growing season. Peter also manages seeds starts and runs the Community Composting Program at Koiner Farm in Silver Spring, MD.

Monica Jahan Bose bio: Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, film, performance, and public art.  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. Bose uses the sari — a precolonial 18-foot-long unstitched garment that is always recycled and never discarded — to represent women’s lives and the cycle of life on our planet. She has exhibited her work extensively in the US and internationally (20 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions, and more than 25 performances) including solo exhibitions at the Bangladesh National Museum and MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. Her ongoing collaborative project STORYTELLING WITH SARIS with women farmers from her ancestral island village has travelled to 10 states and seven countries and engaged 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 Japan Times, and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. 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.

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 by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

May
8
Wed
2024
Community Workshop for SWIMMING @ Moms Clean Air Force
May 8 @ 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Community Workshop for SWIMMING @ Moms Clean Air Force

Please join us for an an art and poetry workshop to cocreate work for SWIMMING, a new public art project that explores the deep and essential connections we have to water as our world faces increased flooding and rising sea levels due to climate change. Our host is Moms Clean Air Force. In honor of Mental Health Month, we will be focusing on healing, poetry, and hands on art to increase mindfulness, reduce climate anxiety, and improve mental health. When installed in June 2024 at the Marie Reed Community & Aquatic Center in Washington DC, SWIMMING will feature a “pool” of art-embellished saris, along with a sound walk, performances, film screenings, and poetry readings. Artist and climate activist Monica Jahan Bose will discuss the project and then lead a poetry and art workshop where we will create poetry and art on saris inspired by the healing properties of water and swimming and inequities in access. SWIMMING is part of Bose’s art and advocacy project Storytelling with Saris. Started over a decade ago, the project has fostered collaboration with women from Bose’s ancestral island in Bangladesh as well as residents of DC and people around the world.

ASL interpretation will be provided. Please email storytellingwithsaris@gmail.com with any questions or accommodation needs.  Register for the event on Eventbrite.

Curator:  Sarah Tanguy.  Photography/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 (22 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions, and more than 25 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. 

May
22
Wed
2024
Sewing workshop for SWIMMING @ The LINE Hotel DC
May 22 @ 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Please join us for the final workshop to cocreate work for SWIMMING, a new public art project that explores the deep and essential connections we have to water as our world faces increased flooding and rising sea levels due to climate change. We will be sewing together 22 saris for the project. You do not need to have sewing experince. We are happy to teach you how to hand sew or use a machine. When installed in June 2024 at the Marie Reed Community & Aquatic Center in Washington DC, SWIMMING will feature a “pool” of art-embellished saris, along with a sound walk, performances, film screenings, and poetry readings. SWIMMING is part of Bose’s art and advocacy project Storytelling with Saris. Started over a decade ago, the project has fostered collaboration with women from Bose’s ancestral island in Bangladesh as well as residents of DC and people around the world. The workshop is generously hosted by The Line DC.

To learn more and become part of this exciting project, please register and add to your calendar. ASL will be provided.

Please email storytellingwithsaris@gmail.com with any questions or accommodation needs.

Curator: Sarah Tanguy. Film/livestream: Paris Preston

Music & Sound Design: Sonia Herrero.  Marketing Design & Social Media:  Jen Saavedra

Community partners: Marie Reed Elementary School and Community & Aquatic Center, Adams Morgan Partnership BID, DC Arts Center, Calvary Women’s Services, Moms Clean Air Force.

This project is funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

 

 

 

Jun
7
Fri
2024
SWIMMING, a public art project @ Marie Reed Plaza
Jun 7 @ 5:00 PM – Jun 21 @ 8:00 AM
SWIMMING, a public art project @ Marie Reed Plaza

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, drought, 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. Featuring 22 blue Bangladeshi saris arranged to evoke a swimming pool and a massive wave, the exhibit is augmented by a VideoSoundwalk with QR codes that interweave poetry with sounds of water, nature, and music and images of Bose and participants creating, wearing, and interacting with the saris.  The project is part of the ongoing climate justice collaboration Storytelling with Saris.

Marie Reed is the former Morgan school, which was desegregated along with the Adams school, giving the name to the Adams Morgan neighborhood. The Marie Reed pool is now being used by DC to teach swimming to children from various schools, a project that aims to redress racial discrimination in access to swimming. SWIMMING is a visual representation of sustainability, inclusion, and resilience and is part of Bose’s ongoing climate justice collaboration Storytelling with Saris.

Lead Artist: Monica Jahan Bose

Curator: Sarah Tanguy

DCPS Collaboration:  Valeria Monfrini, Art Teacher, Marie Reed Elementary School

Photography/Livestream: Paris Preston

Sound design & Music:  Sonia Herrero

Marketing design/Social media: Jen Saavedra

Installation support: Timotheo Murphy and Maps Glover

Press/media inquiries: Kelly Davidson. Email: info@kellymavenmedia.com. Phone: 301-300-4011

Funded by the DC Commission on the Arts are Humanities, Public Art Building Communities Grant Program.

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, outdoor exhibition, open 24 hours.

Friday, June 7, 2024 @ 5-8 PM: Opening Event. Dedication, poetry recital, and livestream starting at 6 pm.  [We are going with our raindate: June 7]

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 (film at dusk).

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 – Monica will be there from 8-10 pm for photo shoot and dancing under the saris!

PRESS RELEASE  

BROCHURE/ESSAY  

Sari art, poetry, and fabrication Washington DC:  

Sonja Berry, Elizabeth Brandt, Sherri Gales, Lala Forbes, Rashika Johnson, Philip Mecham, Lia Totty, Hasini Shyamshundar, Isaiah Washington, Kathryn Wichmann, Julia Rosenbaum, Marjorie Thomas, Ashanee Kottage, Maria Crupi, Joel Groomes, Niquida Browne, Nyrabia, Janet Gao, Sam Schmitz, Stephanie Reese, Reese Wilkerson, Rowin Wilkerson, Paris Burton, Hakim, Liam Toohey, Leo Toohey, Elena Sholomitskaya, Anne Simmons, Emilio Ramos, Manuel Ramos, Sofia Maria Ramos, Herschel, Jenia, Estephane Gomez, Alexa Gomez, Thomas Belcher, Ava Belcher, Sarah Christie, Isaac Martin, VEnessa Acham, Sara Akbar, Kayed Akbar, Austin Ray, Ann Farley, Raine Jeff, Isabel Fowlkes, Eleshia Simms-Harris, Neko Harris, and many others.

SWIMMING Bangladesh Team:

Project assistant:  Moumita Nabila

Project support and song transcription: Sunetra

Sari artists/singers: Noor Sehera, Nasima, Shahida, Zulekha, Zakia, Parveen, Hawa, Shima, Fatema, Sarbanu, Aleya, Rekha, and many others.

Watch the Livestream of the Dedication:

About Monica Jahan Bose: 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. 

About Sarah Tanguy: Washington, DC-based Sarah Tanguy is an independent curator and arts writer, who believes in hands-on, face-to-face collaboration with artists and the power of art to connect with the general public and our lived experience. Many of her projects have explored the intersection of art with such topics as science, food, tools, and books, inspiring new ways to engage the world around us. Recent exhibitions include At One with the Elements, Reveal: The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery, and Traces, in Washington, DC; and Synergy Unbound, the last of an ongoing series at the American Center for Physics, College Park, MD. From 2004-2019, Sarah was a curator for Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State, where she curated over 100 exhibitions and 12 permanent collections featuring U.S. and host country artists for U.S. diplomatic facilities overseas. The daughter of a U.S. diplomat, Tanguy holds a BA in Fine Arts from Georgetown University, and a MA in Art History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

 

Jun
26
Wed
2024
Harvest Time! @ The Nicholson Project
Jun 26 @ 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Harvest Time! @ The Nicholson Project

Join the Storytelling with Saris team to help harvest the vegetables from the Nicholson Project neighborhood garden.  We helped out in the garden in the spring and and are thrilled to go back to see what has been growing.  We will do some earthing exercises with Monica Jahan Bose and work with the gardener in residence, Peter Lewis.

Peter Lewis is an avid gardener, artist, and chef. He has been working with Nicholson Project since 2022 and is the main point of contact for garden activities and distribution during peak growing season. Peter also manages seeds starts and runs the Community Composting Program at Koiner Farm in Silver Spring, MD.

Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, film, performance, and public art.  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. Bose uses the sari — a precolonial 18-foot-long unstitched garment that is always recycled and never discarded — to represent women’s lives and the cycle of life on our planet. She has exhibited her work extensively in the US and internationally (23 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions, and more than 25 performances) including solo exhibitions at the Bangladesh National Museum and MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. Her ongoing collaborative project STORYTELLING WITH SARIS with women farmers from her ancestral island village has travelled to 12 US states and eight countries and engaged 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 Japan Times, and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. 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.

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.

Stortyelling with Saris is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Jul
8
Mon
2024
Sari workshop with students
Jul 8 @ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Sari workshop with students

Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist Monica Jahan Bose will lead a hands-on sari  workshop with high school students at Georgetown Day School’s Policy Institute 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 GDS Policy Institute.

Aug
15
Thu
2024
Harvest Time! @ The Nicholson Project
Aug 15 @ 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Harvest Time! @ The Nicholson Project

Join the Storytelling with Saris team to help harvest the vegetables from the Nicholson Project neighborhood garden.  We helped out in the garden in the spring and and are thrilled to go back to see what has been growing.  We will do some earthing exercises with Monica Jahan Bose and work with the gardener in residence, Peter Lewis.  Location:  2310 Nicholson St, SE, Washington DC.  Buses B2, 32, 36.  Free street parking available.

Peter Lewis is an avid gardener, artist, and chef. He has been working with Nicholson Project since 2022 and is the main point of contact for garden activities and distribution during peak growing season. Peter also manages seeds starts and runs the Community Composting Program at Koiner Farm in Silver Spring, MD.

Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, film, performance, and public art.  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. Bose uses the sari — a precolonial 18-foot-long unstitched garment that is always recycled and never discarded — to represent women’s lives and the cycle of life on our planet. She has exhibited her work extensively in the US and internationally (23 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions, and more than 25 performances) including solo exhibitions at the Bangladesh National Museum and MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. Her ongoing collaborative project STORYTELLING WITH SARIS with women farmers from her ancestral island village has travelled to 12 US states and eight countries and engaged 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 Japan Times, and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. 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.

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.

Stortyelling with Saris is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Oct
23
Wed
2024
Harvest Time! @ The Nicholson Project
Oct 23 @ 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Harvest Time! @ The Nicholson Project

Join the Storytelling with Saris team to help harvest the vegetables from the Nicholson Project neighborhood garden.  We helped out in the garden in the spring and summer, and and are thrilled to go back to see what has been growing.  We will do some earthing exercises with Monica Jahan Bose and work with the gardener in residence, Peter Lewis.  Location:  2310 Nicholson St, SE, Washington DC.  Buses B2, 32, 36.  Free street parking available.

Peter Lewis is an avid gardener, artist, and chef. He has been working with Nicholson Project since 2022 and is the main point of contact for garden activities and distribution during peak growing season. Peter also manages seeds starts and runs the Community Composting Program at Koiner Farm in Silver Spring, MD.

Monica Jahan Bose is a Bangladeshi-American artist and climate activist whose work spans painting, printmaking, film, performance, and public art.  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. Bose uses the sari — a precolonial 18-foot-long unstitched garment that is always recycled and never discarded — to represent women’s lives and the cycle of life on our planet. She has exhibited her work extensively in the US and internationally (23 solo shows, numerous group exhibitions, and more than 25 performances) including solo exhibitions at the Bangladesh National Museum and MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. Her ongoing collaborative project STORYTELLING WITH SARIS with women farmers from her ancestral island village has travelled to 12 US states and eight countries and engaged 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 Japan Times, and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. 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.

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.

Stortyelling with Saris is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.