Events

Dec
1
Fri
2023
Rising Up to Climate Change at BD Pavilion @ Bangladesh Pavilion, Expo City, Blue Zone B2, Building 21
Dec 1 @ 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Rising Up to Climate Change at BD Pavilion @ Bangladesh Pavilion, Expo City, Blue Zone B2, Building 21

Monica Jahan Bose will be presenting at the Bangladesh Pavilion on December 1 at 3:30 to 5 pm.

The Pavilion is in Blue Zone B2, Building 21, ground floor.

Join internationally-acclaimed artist and climate activist Monica Jahan Bose for multimedia storytelling and art-making on a six-meter-long Bangladeshi sari

Storytelling with Saris connects people around the world through art with action steps to address climate change in solidarity with women farmers from artist Monica Jahan Bose’s ancestral village on Barobaishdia Island, Patuakhali District, Bangladesh. Monica is working to preserve the intangible heritage of these women’s folk dances and oral tradition Bangla songs, which may be lost due to climate change.  She will show images and video and share stories about climate impacts in coastal Bangladesh and the resilience of these communities even in the face of losing crops, land, and intangible heritage.  Everyone will join in drawing and writing on a sari. This hands-on art workshop builds cross-border community and climate resilience.

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, installations and performances. Monica 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 including solo exhibitions at the Bangladesh National Museum and MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. Her decade-long collaborative project STORYTELLING WITH SARIS with women farmers from her ancestral island village has traveled to eight countries and 11 US states, engaging thousands of people. 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.

Feb
12
Mon
2024
Workshops in Bangladesh
Feb 12 @ 5:47 PM – Mar 11 @ 6:47 PM
Workshops in Bangladesh

We will be doing workshops and talks and an exhibition in Dhaka and Patuakhali, Bangladesh.  Stay tuned for details.

Mar
1
Fri
2024
“চলমান/ Ongoing” Exhibition @ Aloki, Shala Gallery
Mar 1 @ 3:00 PM – Mar 9 @ 9:00 PM
"চলমান/ Ongoing" Exhibition @ Aloki, Shala Gallery

চলমান  Ongoing

“চলমান” প্রদর্শনীতে শিল্পী মনিকা জাহান বোস তুলে ধরেছেন শাড়ি, চলচিত্র এবং কৃতকলার মাধ্যমে তাঁর দীর্ঘমেয়াদী প্রকল্প “শাড়ীর  মধ্যে  জীবনগাথা”। এই চলমান প্রকল্পে তিনি কাজ করছেন জলবায়ু পরিবর্তন এবং নারী, খাদ্য ও পরিবেশের উপরে এর বিরূপ প্রভাব নিয়ে। তিনি এক দশক ধরে তার মায়ের গ্রাম (কাটাখালী গ্রাম, বড়বাইশদিয়া দ্বীপ, পটুয়াখালী জেলা), আমেরিকা এবং ইউরোপে বসবাসরত নারীদের যৌথ সহযোগিতায় জলবায়ু পরিবর্তন সম্পর্কিত চিত্র, লেখা, এবং আলোচনা দিয়ে শিল্প করেছেন| “চলমান” শব্দটির বাংলা প্রচলিত সমার্থক অর্থ হল, অগ্রসরমান, অনবরত, অবিরাম, নিরন্তর ইত্যাদি, বিশেষ করে যা ব্যবহৃত হয় চলমান চলচিত্রের ক্ষেত্রে। 

তত্ত্বাবধায়ক: রুক্সমিনি চৌধুরী 

স্থান; শালা, আলোকি, ২১১ গুলশান-তেজগাঁও লিঙ্ক রোড, ঢাকা – ১২০৮

১-৯ মার্চ, ২০২৪, বিকাল ৩টা থেকে ৯টা

‘চলমান’ প্রদর্শনীর উদ্বোধনী অনুষ্ঠানে আপনাকে সাদর আমন্ত্রণ। সময় বিকাল চারটা, ১লা মার্চ, ২০২৪।

Choloman presents an in progress snapshot of Monica Jahan Bose’s ongoing Storytelling with Saris collaborative art project, addressing climate change and its impact on women, food, and our environment through saris, film, and performance. The word “choloman” in Bangla means ongoing, moving, or continuous and is especially used to refer to films that are running. Monica has worked for more than a decade with women farmers from her ancestral village in Katakhali, Barobaishdia Island, Patuakhali District along with residents of her home in Washington DC and others around the world.

Curator: Ruxmini Choudhury.

The exhibition will run from 3pm to 9pm everyday from 1-9 March, 2024.

Venue: Shala, Aloki, 211 Gulshan – Tejgaon Link Road, Dhaka -1208

You are cordially invited to the inauguration of the exhibition চলমান on 1st March, 2024 at 4pm.

Link to bilingual brochure.

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 (26 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 Japan Times, Prothom Alo and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum is acquiring a collection of her paintings, saris, and archival materials. Monica was an artist delegate to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, presenting sari installations, workshops, and film screenings. 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.

Image: © 2018, Monica Jahan Bose, Rising Up, performance still, Miami Beach, Florida; photo credit: Ben Droz.

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
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
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.

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.

May
16
Fri
2025
Weaving Resistance World Pride Events
May 16 @ 5:30 AM – Jun 8 @ 6:30 AM
Weaving Resistance World Pride Events

Storytelling with Saris is thrilled to announce our participation in World Pride DC 2025 and our receipt of a World Pride grant from the Capital Pride Alliance.

. Link to press release from Capital Pride and World Pride DC 2025.

Weaving Resistance: Storytelling with Saris

In this moment of human rights crisis created by the current U.S. administration, it is imperative to build community and fight back for LGBTQ+ rights without apology or retreat. This year’s World Pride theme is The Fabric of Freedom. Textiles have served as modes of resistance for centuries, especially by women and other marginalized groups. Since 2012, the Storytelling with Saris collaborative art project has been using the cotton sari — a 19-foot-long unstitched garment— as a site of community expression of bodily autonomy and gender and climate justice. Cotton saris are covered in woodblock printing, stencils, painting, drawing, embroidery, appliqué, and poetry and then used for large scale installations and performances.

Over the last decade, Storytelling with Saris workshops, performances, and installations have engaged thousands of people in 13 U.S. states and 8 countries, including Bangladesh, Canada, France, Greece, and Italy. Recent Storytelling with Saris projects, performances, workshops, and roundtables in the U.S. and Bangladesh have specifically focused on LGBTQ+ issues, gender roles and identity, bodily autonomy, and increasing understanding and acceptance of gender-nonconforming persons through discussion, education, and collaborative art and performance.

For World Pride 2025, Storytelling with Saris will present five healing and empowering art and poetry workshops on gender/sexuality/identity to foster greater inclusion, empathy, and pride in this difficult political climate. The workshops will culminate in a community performance and march. We are partnering with Human Rights Campaign, Moms Clean Air Force, and Asian Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Group.  ASL is available for all events.  All events in accessible spaces. Please contact storytellingwithsaris@gmail.com for any accommodation requests.

Weaving Resistance: Storytelling with Saris Events

Register for all events at this link on EVENTBRITE.

1. Workshop hosted by Moms Clean Air Force, 555 12th Street NW, May 16 from 5:30 to 7 pm. ASL confirmed.

2. Display of artwork Prokash/Reveal Sari Scroll on gender/sexuality/identity at World Pride Welcome Center, 737 7th Street NW (Gallery Place Metro). Washington, DC 20021, from May 17-June 8, Open Saturday, May 17th & Sunday, May 18th
12:00 PM – 8:00 PM; Saturday, May 24th & Sunday, May 25th 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM;  May 30th – June 8th, open daily from 
12:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Link to World Pride Welcome and Visual Arts Center

3. Workshop hosted by Asian Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Group, May 29 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm; ASL requested.

Link to register

4. Drop in workshops at World Pride DC HQ hosted by Human Rights Campaign, 737 7th St NW, May 31, 12:00pm to 3:00pm and June 1 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. Drop in and contribute to the World Pride saris with art and poetry.  ASL requested.

Link to register for workshop on May 31

Link to register for workshop on June 1

5. Drop in workshop at the Human Rights Conference at JW Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, June 5 from 10 am to 2 pm

Link to register for the Conference

6. Outdoor “Weaving Resistance” community sewing performance, June 6 during the 17th Street Dupont Circle Block Party, 5 to 8 pm

Link to Register for the Performance

7. Culminating event: international march with massive “Weaving Resistance” sari to the Capitol on June 8

Link to register to carry sari to the Capitol

The project is sponsored by Capital Pride Alliance.  Community. partners:  Human Rights Campaign, Moms Clean Air Force, and Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project.   The project is also supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.