'SWIMMING' in Adams Morgan: Monica Jahan Bose's New Art Installation Explores Water's Vital Role Amid Climate Change

Monica Jahan Bose presents "SWIMMING," a public art installation and VideoSoundwalk at Marie Reed Plaza. The exhibit will be open 24 hours from June 6-20, 2024.

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, May 8, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Monica Jahan Bose presents "SWIMMING," a public art installation and VideoSoundwalk at Marie Reed Plaza, 2201 18th St NW. The exhibit will be open 24 hours from June 6-20, 2024, and includes a series of public engagement events.

SWIMMING explores our essential connection to water as global climate change leads to increased flooding, drought, and rising sea levels. 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.
Public Art Installation and VideoSoundwalk Viewing Dates: June 6-20, 2024, open 24 hours

Opening Event: Thursday, June 6, 2024, 5 - 8 pm, with dedication, poetry slam, and live streaming (starting at 6 pm)

Artists/curator walkthrough tour: Saturday, June 8, 2024, 3 - 5 pm
Walkthrough tours and film screenings: on Tuesdays, June 11 & 18, 2024, 7:30 pm tour followed by a short film as part of Adams Morgan Movie Nights (at dusk)

Performance: Saturday: June 15, 2024, 5 pm
Location: Marie Reed Plaza, 2201 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009.

The project was co-created with residents across Washington, D.C., including students, teachers, and parents from Marie Reed Elementary School, and individuals in Bangladesh. The saris are hand-printed with water-themed woodblocks designed by Bose along with writings, art, and poetry by the community, during workshops led by Bose over eight months.

Marie Reed was formerly the Morgan School and was desegregated along with the Adams School, which contributed to the naming of the Adams Morgan neighborhood. The Marie Reed pool is integral to D.C.'s efforts to teach swimming to children from various schools, addressing racial disparities in access to swimming facilities. SWIMMING is a visual representation of sustainability, inclusion, and resilience and is part of Bose’s ongoing climate justice collaboration Storytelling with Saris.

"I struggled to learn to swim, starting in my grandmother’s pond and continuing with classes in college. My grandmother survived devastating climate events because she could swim. I see the SWIMMING project as healing and community building despite the terrible history of colonialism, segregation, and racism," said Bose. "It’s about creating joy and helping people feel part of something greater as they reflect on the importance of swimming and water and access to these resources.”

Notes curator Sarah Tanguy: ”I extol Monica’s vision of an inclusive society and her transnational, collaborative process that imaginatively turns art-embellished saris—ancient, sustainable garments--into a novel public art platform to prompt awareness of the climate crisis and other pressing concerns we all face. Her dedication and energy continue to inspire!"

This project is funded by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Public Art Building Communities Grant Program.

Community and media partners include Marie Reed Elementary School, DC Arts Center, Adams Morgan Partnership BID, Calvary Women's Services, and Moms Clean Air Force.

All events are free and subject to weather conditions. Updates can be found at storytellingwithsaris.com/events.

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, temporary installations, and performances. She has exhibited her work extensively in the US and internationally (23 solo shows, five large-scale public art projects, and more than 25 performances) including solo exhibitions at the Bangladesh National Museum and MACRO Museum of Contemporary Art Rome. Her ongoing collaborative art and advocacy project STORYTELLING WITH SARIS (since 2012) 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, the BBC, Prothom Alo and all major newspapers in Bangladesh. She 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, 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.

For high-resolution images © 2024 Monica Jahan Bose:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ys8e0fbnkc0o1aikbc6v7/AENGP9rE284TeLlRQrotzdk?rlkey=b4i1jg57nxmk6edbaidq44yes&st=qpmetkj8&dl=0

Artist contact: Monica Jahan Bose, monicajahanbose@gmail.com, 202-509-6282
Artist websites: monicajahanbose.com storytellingwithsaris.com

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