This year, we are teaching a series of 4-day portrait workshops with Her Future Coalition, highlighting the life of Frida Kahlo and her work as an artist and activist. The first workshop was held at Rabindra, a jewelry studio in Kolkata, where 16 young women are designers and metalsmiths, proving income for themselves and uplifting … Continue reading Portrait Workshop 2019: Frida Kahlo Inspired
On Kolkata, time and a grasshopper
As I sit back—head finally rested after one week of miserable jet lag—with familiar faces surrounding my workspace, a Mary Oliver poem shouts at me. One line, really. I'll let you figure out which one, but I can't bear leave out any stanza from one of my favorite poems, "The Summer Day". The summer wind … Continue reading On Kolkata, time and a grasshopper
The Artists
Here are the six artists that were part of the Vision for Empowerment Workshop 2015. Read their bios and see some of the images and portraits they made. This is a look into the street life of Kolkata—from the lens of six Bengali women. Read more about the class here. Shampa was born and brought up in … Continue reading The Artists
The Exhibition
During my second week in Kolkata, 8th Day Cafe reached out via Instagram to hear more about the project. I ended up eating there twice a week, enjoying a delicious cup of coffee and a bagel (my typical craving while abroad). I met with Andrew Shaughnessy and Varina Hart, who are currently on 1-2 year … Continue reading The Exhibition
The Workshop: Details & Curriculum
This photo was taken on the first day of the Vision for Empowerment workshop. Above is Debjani, the amazing translator I hired for 4 weeks and the 9 students enrolled in the class. There were 6 students that ended up completing the workshop, one dropped due to disinterest and two were hospitalized with dengue fever … Continue reading The Workshop: Details & Curriculum
First things first: Thank you
Ten months ago Vision for Empowerment (before it even had a name) was just an idea and today I am sitting 33,000 miles above the Polar icecaps on my flight to Hong Kong and onward to Kolkata. I’ve noticed time and time again that I spend a lot of energy doing (and ultimately stressing) and … Continue reading First things first: Thank you
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