Multicultural Art Project

A Multicultural Art Project

Studio PAUSE was invited to design a Multicultural Art Project for the RACE (Realizing Arlington’s Commitment to Equity) and Equity Program at the Arlington County Manager’s Office.

Their team was developing a variety of equity-focused training and convening opportunities for County staff throughout the agency – with a focus on celebrating cultural diversity.

“We see art as a means to connect and bring colleagues together, which made us think of you and Studio Pause,” Cynthia wrote to Sushmita.

Sushmita took a two-pronged approach. As a docent at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art for 25 years, she knew many people enjoy learning from museums, institutions, and history. So she invited them to two Sketch & Discover Tours at the museum with her.

Coupled with that, she also invited them to the Studio PAUSE exhibit, Hope Without Boundaries/Esperanza Sin Limites, to learn from the community we live in. The art and poetry in the exhibit can teach us the various ways in which we can engage with the idea of multicultural. Sushmita created a bookmaking activity, Exploring the Multicultural Me, filled with prompts based on the exhibit, which participants engaged with and could take home to continue engaging with it over the weeks and months.

“This work is not easy and it is ongoing work. Be kind to yourself and to others as you learn new things and unlearn old things,” Sushmita said.

Responses and Photos from the NMAA Sketch & Discover Tour Visits:

“I really enjoyed the tour. I was a little curious beforehand how the tour was going to relate to the work that I do in Arlington County, but I think the way Sush related her experience giving her tours and trying to understand the different cultural perspectives was actually very relatable. I hope the county allows more opportunities like this and I will gladly recommend the experience to my colleagues.”

“I was delighted by the entire experience. I found the experience truly enriching and thought Sushmita excelled in connecting the art to cultural sensitivity. I appreciate the shift to more hands-on as I think it did more to significantly enhance my understanding in the power of diverse perspectives — even when looking at the same piece of art (and how to respect difference in perspectives and opinions).”

Islamic Art Galleries: We looked at how a 12th century tile from the Seljuk period shows a creature being attacked by a hero. Perhaps the hero is from the Persian epic, the Shahnama, the label suggests. Perhaps the creature is a dragon. But how did t

Looking at ancient Chinese bronzes from the Houma Foundry and re-learning about when the "Industrial Revolution" might have first happened.

Looking at a painting from Japan which was a "portrait of a religious landscape"

Engaging at the Studio on Columbia Pike

County employees were invited to engage with the Studio PAUSE exhibit, Hope Without Boundaries/Esperanza Sin Limites, in various ways. They could drop in or come with a group. However they decided to engage, they got a tour of the exhibit from Sushmita and other PAUSErs or could be self-guided. Then they did the “Exploring the Multicultural Me,” bookmaking activity. In that book they found prompts based on the exhibit which they could respond to.

On the day of the group visit, PAUSErs Jorge Rogachevsky and LouLou Marino joined in to share their thoughts about the artworks and how they connect with them.

• “I enjoyed it. I loved seeing and learning about the studio. Love the concept.”

So lovely to have Cynthia and Patricia at the studio. here, they pose with our Monarch butterfly artwork, by David Ramos, which was created for our exhibit at the Festival Latinoamericano 2025.

PAUSEr Jorge Rogachevsky presents his piece in the exhibit and talks about it.

Jorge also talks about how he connects with an artwork from the Studio PAUSE Community Art Collection, "At the Airport," by Macy Juarez-Izara, who, at age 9, created this painting to tell a story from when she was 4 years old and at an airport in Gua

A county employee shares her own childhood story

PAUSEr LouLou Marino shares about the essay by Elizabeth Isaac, "Am I Hispanic Enough To The World?" and about heritage being hidden within people.

At the "Buckingham Multicultural Mural" section visitors learned the history of the mural by the organization BU-GATA, which was taken down in 2016 after 15 years. It had deteriorated quite a lot by then as it was painted on plywood.

Post-It notes were available for people to respond to the prints of the mural close-ups by photographer Susan Sterner.

Then the visitors learned to do the "Exploring the Multicultural Me" bookmaking activity and responded to the prompts in it.

Thanks so much to everyone for sharing their stories!