Call for Submissions
Be(com)ing Desi in America
An Exhibition and Performances by Subcontinental Drift,
in collaboration with the Smithsonian
In February 2014 in Washington, D.C., Subcontinental Drift, along with the Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center, will present a visual and performing arts exhibition, Be(com)ing Desi in America.
In our own unique ways, each of us challenges, claims, defines and redefines what it means to be South Asian in America. How does desi-ness manifest in your life? And how did the desi that is you come into being?
Do you tweak your mom’s or dad’s recipes? (Re)fashion a desi garment for your current wardrobe? Embody beauty beyond Bollywood ideals? Remix raagas with ‘western’ beats? And push beyond prejudices - internalized and in the wider world - about how to look, who to partner with and what occupation or hobbies to engage in?
For Be(com)ing Desi in America, we’re interested in recipes and works of visual & performing art that show your unique desi-ness AND tell the story of how you came to embrace it (or not), while sharing your perspective on issues of aesthetics and (body) image.
Send us your photographs, painting, sculpture, poetry, performance clips (spoken word, theater, dance and music), films, cartoons, comics, drawings and digital graphics.
Submissions and questions should be sent to subdriftdc@gmail.com. Both new and existing pieces are welcome. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, October 12, 2013.