South Asia Institute is pleased to announce its new exhibition, “The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness,” in collaboration with the Paglees.

The Paglees is a feminist collective of artists of South Asian origin living across the United States. Paglee or pagli means crazy woman in a number of South Asian languages. The Paglees are: Fawzia Khan, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Monica Jahan Bose, Nirmal Raja, Pallavi Sharma, Renluka Maharaj, and Shelly Bahl.

In their debut exhibition, The Paglees investigate – with fierceness, beauty, and wit – the impact on women of generations of patriarchy, religion, white supremacy, colonialism, violence, capitalism, and environmental plunder.

The title of the exhibition derives from Rosa Parks’ words: “There is just so much hurt, disappointment and oppression one can take. The bubble of life grows larger. The line between reason and madness grows thinner.” (Rosa Parks: Writings, Notes and Statements,1956-58).

Featuring mixed-media works on paper, fabric, and canvas, sculpture, performance, photography, installation, and moving image, The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness, questions and reframes the labeling of non-conforming women as crazy and the marginalization of immigrant women of color. This collective exhibition presents new decolonial narratives that center the reason and wisdom of brown women of the Global South and diaspora, and provide pathways to a creative feminist future. The Paglees believe in working in collaboration with other marginalized communities to build bridges and demand social, environmental, and legal justice for all.

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. 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 introduce the project and then 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.

To learn more and become part of this exciting project, please register using the Eventbrite link. 

ASL interpretation 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.

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. 

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

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.

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.

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. 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.  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 (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. 

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. 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.  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 (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. 

We are excited to announce the Climate Hope project by Monica Jahan Bose presented by the Arlington Art Truck of Arlington County Government.  Curated by Cynthia Connolly, eight activations will occur at various locations across Arlington, Virginia.  Contribute to a community created art project by writing a poem, pledge, or an illustration directly onto an 18-foot-long cotton sari that is adorned by woodblocks from the artist’s ancestral village in Bangladesh. The poems and pledges will complete the sari which already includes climate themed wood block prints. On the last day, the public is invited to join a procession with over 70 feet of saris through an Arlington neighborhood to a waterway.  Here is the PRESS RELEASE.

Activation dates:

Wednesday, April 3 – Barcroft School, not open to public 

Sunday, April 7 – 9-1 pm – Columbia Pike Farmers Market, 2820 Columbia Pike

Saturday, April 20 – 8-noon – Lubber Run Farmers Market opening day, 4401 N Henderson Road

Sunday, April 21 – 11-5 pm – Earth Day, Every Day, 4500-4550 Cherry Hill Road

Sunday, May 5 – 9-1 pm – Fairlington Farmers Market opening day, 3308 S Stafford Street Special guest: Arlington Poet Laureate Courtney LeBlanc will be with us 9-11am 

Thursday, May 9 – 3-7 pm – MoCA on the Move with MoCA Arlington at MET Park, South Elm Street between South 13th and South 14th Streets  

Saturday, May 18 – 10-1 pm – Family Fun Day in the Park, Alcova Heights Park, 901 S George Mason Drive

Saturday, May 25 – 11-2:30 pm – Shirlington Library, 4200 Campbell Avenue ;  11-1: activation outside-(drop by anytime), 1-2:30: artist talk in library and community performance/procession from library to Jennie Dean park. There is limited space for the artist talk indoors. Free. Sign up here.  

Check here for latest information  

Image:  Monica Jahan Bose in Water Resistance performance, Paris, France, 2019, photo credit: Amirul Arham

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. 

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)

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.