9.2.2022 Fall 2022 Programs: South Asian Creativity in the DMV
Creative Confluence: South Asian Community Reflections, Connections, and Dialogue
A celebration of creativity and diversity in the DMV's South Asian communities (Curated by a team of local South Asian artists and leaders.)
Exhibition
Creative Confluence:
South Asian Community Reflections, Connections, and Dialogue
September 14 – December 17 (closed November 23-27)
Asian Arts Gallery, Center for the Arts, Towson University
1 Fine Arts Drive, Towson, MD 21204
Explore the rich array of creativity, cultures, and traditions expressed through the works of twenty-two South Asian artists from across the Greater Baltimore and Washington, DC area. Discover the intersecting and distinct experiences of these artists—with cultural roots in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Trinidad and Tobago—who share their perspectives on lineage, self-identity, ideas of homeland, spiritual traditions, sensory experience, and connections to the natural world.
Opening Reception & Meet the Artists
Creative Confluence:
South Asian Community Reflections, Connections, and Dialogue
Wednesday, September 14. 7:30pm
Asian Arts Gallery & Center for the Arts Atrium, Towson University
1 Fine Arts Drive, Towson, MD 21204
Celebrate the opening of Creative Confluence with an opening reception and introduction to the exhibition by guest curator, Nikita Yogaraj. Meet and chat with the artists.
Register (optional)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opening-reception-meet-the-artists-creative-confluence-exhibition-tickets-408280677497
Author Talk with Q&A
American Muslim: An Immigrant's Story by Saima Sitwat
Tuesday, September 27. 7pm.
Towson University, University Union, Room 324
281 University Avenue, Towson, MD 21204
(Intersection of Osler Drive and Emerson Drive)
Join author, Saima Sitwat, for a conversation about major themes of her book, American Muslim: An Immigrant's Story. Hear excerpts from Sitwat's memoir and explore questions such as, "What does it mean to be a minority, a Muslim, an immigrant, and a woman in 21st century America?" Co-sponsored by TU Center for Student Diversity.
Register(optional)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-muslim-an-immigrants-story-by-saima-sitwat-tickets-408236284717
Performance
Tvameva Music
Sunday, October 2. 2pm
Howard County Center for the Arts
8510 High Ridge Road, Ellicott City, MD 21043
Tvameva (meaning "you are" in Sanskrit) is a unique world fusion band based in the Washington DC Region. This presentation features founder-vocalist-producer, Arvind Venugopal, and award-winning guitarist, Rahul Mukerji. The group blends South Indian Carnatic music traditions with new age electronic, classic rock, and other musical sounds. The result is a sublime and spiritually-grounded new sound which respectfully balances tradition with fearless exploration.
Register (required)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tvameva-music-tickets-408176766697
Studio Tour
Nimi Trehan
Saturday, October 8. 2pm
Potomac, MD
Tickets: $15 general / $10 members
Nimi Trehan is a Maryland based artist with a background in art and interior design. She designed interiors for the residential, corporate, healthcare and federal sectors in India and the US. She has participated in several group as well as solo exhibits locally and internationally.
Register (Required)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/studio-tour-nimi-trehan-tickets-408121501397
Lighting Ceremony
Bamboo Lotus Illumination
Thursday, October 20. 7pm.
Asian Arts Gallery, Center for the Arts, Towson University
1 Fine Arts Drive, Towson, MD 21204
Celebrate and learn about Diwali, the Festival of Light celebrated by Hindus around the world. Join artist, Adrianna Morgan, in the illumination of her site-specific installation honoring the Indo-Caribbean “bamboo bending” tradition of creating decorative forms to display sacred South Asian oil lamps (diyas). Listen to an artist talk to learn about this practice and the art installation from Adrianna and her production team, and explore Diwali customs with artist, Shanthi Chandrasekar.
Register(optional)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lighting-ceremony-bamboo-lotus-illumination-tickets-408299012337
Studio Tour
Sutradhar Institute of Dance and Related Arts
Saturday, October 22. 11am.
1525 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tickets: $15 general/$10 members
Visit this hub of Indian dance, storytelling, and visual arts in Silver Spring comprised of studios, open-air spaces, a yoga garden, and a sacred North Indian-inspired stage made with recycled materials. Learn kuchipudi hand gestures and basic foot stamped rhythms and observe an advanced dance lesson. Explore the yoga garden, landscaped with earthenware from India and a large mural of Princess Sita by a Silver Spring artist. Enjoy chai, samosas, and other light snacks while chatting with SIDRA’s founder, Nilimma Devi, and the passionate, inter-generational, bi-cultural Devi Dance performers.
Register (Required)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/studio-tour-sutradhar-institute-of-dance-and-related-arts-tickets-408064741627
Film
Mississippi Masala
Tuesday, November 1. 7pm
Towson University, University Union, Room 324
281 University Avenue, Towson, MD 21204
(Intersection of Osler Drive and Emerson Drive)
After Mina's (Sarita Choudhury) Indian family is ousted from their home in Uganda by dictator Idi Amin, they relocate to Mississippi to start a new life. Mina falls for Demetrius (Denzel Washington), a young carpet cleaner, despite the protests of their families over their racial difference. The families and their surrounding communities begin to feud, putting even more pressure on the couple's romance. Having to choose between family and love, Mina and Demetrius run away together. Director: Mira Nair. Cast: Denzel Washington; Roshan Seth; Sarita Choudhury. Run Time: 120 minutes.
Register (optional)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-screening-mississippi-masala-tickets-408259263447
Studio Tour
Shanthi Chandrasekar
Saturday, November 5. 2pm
Studio B
7475 Wisconsin Avenue, Lower Level, Bethesda, MD 20814
Tickets: $15 general/$10 members
Shanthi Chandrasekar is a multimedia, multidisciplinary artist who has been drawing and painting since early childhood. Her interest in understanding different forms of visual media has led her to experiment with drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and papermaking. She has also been trained in the traditional art forms of kolam and Tanjore-style painting. While many of her works are influenced by her Indian heritage, her true inspiration comes from the mystery and majesty of the world around her; her muse lives where the scientific overlaps with the spiritual.
Register (required)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/studio-tour-shanthi-chandrasekar-tickets-408153156077
Performance and Discussion
Rhythm & Grace: Dancing through India
Saturday, November 12. 2pm
Motor House
120 West North Ave., Baltimore, MD 21201
This performance and discussion introduces various styles of dance—from classical to folk to Bollywood—from the Indian subcontinent as represented in the local South Asian dance diaspora. It features multi-generational dancers from Maryland and explores questions about intergenerational transmission and maintenance and development of cultural heritage, such as What remains? What is sometimes lost? What gets further enriched in the entire process? Curated by dancer, choreographer, singer Shobha Subramanian, Jayamangala.
Register (required)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rhythm-grace-dancing-through-india-tickets-408215021117
Film
English Vinglish
Tuesday, November 15. 7pm
Towson University, University Union, Room 324
281 University Avenue, Towson, MD 21204
(Intersection of Osler Drive and Emerson Drive)
A tradition-minded Indian housewife (Sridevi) enrolls in an accelerated English-language course after she finds herself unable to place a simple order in an American restaurant. Director: Gauri Shinde. Cast: Sridevi, Adil Hussain. Run Time: 134 minutes.
Register (optional)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-screening-english-vinglish-tickets-408262914367
Donate to AA&CC
https://www.towson.edu/campus/artsculture/centers/asianarts/support-center.html
