We PAUSED! Unbound
- An Exhibit
We PAUSED! Unbound is a year-long exhibit in response to our project We PAUSED! A Handmade Book by Studio PAUSE for Gates of Ballston, which chronicles a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. When Arlington Arts invited us to turn the book into an exhibit, we decided to cut the strings that bound the book and re-imagine its contents in a new light, letting lines of poetry pulled from the book inspire four thematic installations.
The exhibit continues Studio PAUSE’s work in creating a space for all voices and providing support for our social-emotional wellness while documenting how we as a community can connect even when we are isolated. Step into our unbound book and follow four unique journeys of creativity, connection, and community! There will be a reception and many programs scheduled for the year so stay tuned.
“We Paused” is a perfect example of how art can be integral to our daily life: not simply as entertainment, but as an important way to connect and strengthen community in uncertain times. As Arlington’s official arts agency, Arlington Arts was proud to support the project on the front end. Now, we look forward to expanding the reach even further by showcasing this powerful creative journey in an exhibit that can be experienced by a broad spectrum of the community.” ~ Arlington Arts
The First Installation:
“The Water Still Churns” June 2022-August 2022
The first installation finds the community navigating the outside world during a global pandemic and an on-going struggle for racial justice.
Join us on Saturday, July 16, 2022!
Reception: 4-7 pm
Artist’s Talk at 5:30 pm.
Please rsvp via the Eventbrite here
Featuring artworks and poetry by:
Sughra Hussainy, Seila Santiago, Ella Endo, Sushmita Mazumdar, Mary Louise Marino,
Susan Sterner, and Lloyd Wolf.
Reception Slideshow:
What an incredible event it was! We held our opening reception on Saturday, July 16, 2022 at Arlington Arts to a crowd of about 80 people! Watch the slideshow to get a glimpse of the Community Gallery and first installation, “The Water Still Churns” in Gallery 3700, and to see all the artists, the team, funders, supporters, family, friends, and community who were there. Thank you to everyone who attended!
Show Catalog:
Read all about how we re-imagined the book We PAUSED! in the first install, “The Water Still Churns.” Read about the artists featured and their present day reflections on their work from 2020. Download it here.
The Second Installation: “In My Mind’s Eye” September 2022 – November 2022
The second installation shares our wishes and visions for a different or better world.
Join us on Saturday, OCT 15, 2022 for a Communtiy PAUSE, 5-7 pm
Register for this free event via Facebook here
Register for this free event via Eventbrite here
Featuring artworks, poetry, and more by:
Columbia Pike Documentary Project, Amitava Mazumdar, Sushmita Mazumdar
MaryLouise Marino, Ahmad Abumraighi, Ana Ortiz, Constance Freeman, Howard Lee Feinstein
Community PAUSE Slideshow:
For the second installation of our exhibit We PAUSED Unbound “In My Mind’s Eye” we held our signature event, a Community PAUSE where creators share their art and stories with guests, do demos of their art-making, and invite guests to join in. We were thrilled to have BU-GATA join us this time and the students of their Buckingham Youth Brigade program read their stories from the project City of Stories: Voices of Children, which are part of the exhibit. So thrilled also that Katie Cristol, chairman of the Arlington County Board could join us. Also, so happy that Emma Violand-Sanchez, ex school board member could also join us, along with David Bearinger, and Pryalal Karmakar. It was fun! Our expressive calligraphy demo featured PAUSErs Sharmila Karamchandani, Sughra Hussainy, Eriko Matsuoka, MaryLouise Marino and Sushmita Mazumdar. And there was live piano music by Howie, connected to his poetry and CD in the show. We are lucky that he let us use it here for the video.
Thanks to everyone for making this such a joyful celebration of the creativity in the community. Thanks to Loulou for making the fun slideshow of the Community PAUSE!
Show Catalog:
Below you can read all about how we re-imagined the book We PAUSED! in the second install, “In My Mind’s Eye.” Read about the artists featured and their present day reflections on their work from 2020.
The Fourth Installation:
“Arms Stretched Towards the Sky” March 2023 - May 2023
Join us for our last Community PAUSE on Sat, May 6, 2023 from 5-7 pm, as we celebrate the exhibit before it closes in May 2023. We will have two community art response opportunities for guests to join in some art-making.
Please join us! Register via the Eventbrite.
Featuring Artworks and Writings by:
Sushmita Mazumdar, Kate Fleming, Maribeth Egan, Sharmila Karamchandani Rana Jaafar Yaseen, Kori Johnson, Felecia McFail, Ruben Villalta, Yuri Long, Sughra Hussainy
Show Catalog:
The Third Installation:
“I Lost Being Lost” December 2022 – February 2023
Join us for our signature Community PAUSE on Sat., Jan 28, 2023, 5-7 pm.
Different from a reception, the Community PAUSE brings Studio PAUSE creatives and guests together as they listen to each others’ stories, watch demonstrations of how PAUSErs explore creativity, and create artworks together. This time artists and writers will engage guests in two interactive sessions making creations which invite responses to the artworks on display in Gallery 3700. The creations will then be added to the show. Join us!
Register for this free event through Eventbrite here
Featuring artworks and writings by:
Sharmila Karamchandani, Edith Graciela Sanabria, Sushmita Mazumdar, MaryLouise Marino, Dena Jennings, Susan Sterner, Kathy Powell, Kara Billings, Kori Johnson, Michael Peteuil, Joan Lynch, Sharon McDaniel
Community PAUSE slideshow:
Thank you to all those who could join us for the Community PAUSE for our third installation of the exhibit, We PAUSED! Unbound “I Lost being Lost.” In this slideshow you can see the artworks made by the artists and the artists and poets who shared about their work. You can watch the creatives engaging the guests to respond to their art as well. Susan Sterner shared her film about light and then had guests make a version of their own. Later, Kathy Powell and Kori Johnson invited people to respond to all the masks in this installation and create Said/Unsaid, writing words on medical masks. The responses made by the guests were added to the exhibit later. Thanks to Howard Feinstein for the use of his music for this video. It is from his latest CD, Free Radical, which was part of our earlier installation “In My Mind’s Eye”.
Show Catalog:
Below you can read all about how we re-imagined the book We PAUSED! in the third install, “I Lost being Lost.” Read about the artists featured and their present day reflections on their work from 2020.