Tara Aliya Kesavan is an artist working across drawing, film and sculpture. She teaches in the Film and Media Department at Hunter 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. 

Instagram: @tarakesavan

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. 

Instagram: @indranil.c

Tara and Indranil are the 2022 LAB MFA residents at Locust Projects, Miami. Their month-long residency will conclude with an exhibition that opens with a preview and reception on Saturday, July 23 from 6-8pm, and is on view through August 13, 2022.

PROJECT:

The project 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. 

We will collaborate with members of the community to study this practice in relation to larger contexts, like food insecurity in the New York area, and the South Asian coastline’s susceptibility to climate disasters. Together, we will try to explore ways to create a living archive of these hyperlocal practices.