In Reaching Out, Binding Together three presentations explore how we connect to each other and the world, and how and when we hold on and let go. A note about the venue: Masks must be worn at all times by audiences for public events and performances at CPR.

Tara Aliya Kesavan and Indranil Choudhury (Fellows 2022), with Aditi Dey, present Bengali Urban Gardening Oral Soundscape, an oral history project and installation that aims to research urban gardening practices within the Bangladeshi community in New York. In neighborhoods like Jamaica in Queens and Sunset Park in Brooklyn, residential homes are often used to grow seasonal produce, turning backyards and open spaces into lush vegetable gardens each year. 

For the Show Don't Tell Symposium, the group will introduce a work in progress based on oral histories from this community. Later this summer, these audio stories will go on to form part of a larger public exhibition dedicated to the project.

Installation on view 5-8 PM

About the Artists:

Aditi Dey is a PhD student in the department of Politics at the New School for Social Research. She works on urban history and politics, looking at Indian cities but with a wider focus on the cities of the Global South. She has previously worked as a researcher in Bangalore and Mumbai. She holds an MA and BA in History.

Indranil Choudhury is a media artist working in sound, sculpture and video. He teaches at Hunter College and Marymount Manhattan College. He is a candidate for an MFA in Integrated Media Arts at Hunter College, CUNY.

Tara Aliya Kesavan is an artist working across drawing, film and sculpture. She teaches in the Communication and Media Arts department in Marymount Manhattan College. She also works as the Programs Coordinator at UnionDocs. She is a candidate for an MFA in Integrated Media Arts at Hunter College, CUNY.