Events
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)
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.
