In 2021, Mara Ahmed’s Le Mot Juste [Part One] was selected for a juried exhibition by the South Asia Institute in Chicago. Diasporic Rhizome, their first virtual exhibition, ran from March 15th – May 15th 2021.

Diasporic Rhizome is a virtual exhibition that explores how the future of our present – one that derives from our past – manifests itself through a South Asian lens.

The concept of ‘diaspora’ itself is constantly evolving and mutating and in an effort to be as inclusive as possible, the exhibition leaves the agency of belonging to the South Asian diaspora to the artist’s own understanding of the concept.
The rhizome serves as the catalyst for artists to create their own narratives and imagine new worlds. Similar to nature, where rhizomes that live just under the surface can heal our bodies, this network of artists are creating work
in non-traditional spaces that have the potential to collectively reshape our futures.

The artists in Diasporic Rhizome reexamine our histories, comment on current social issues, and dream of new realities. This collective work uses innovation and the imagination as change agents where the digital space becomes the apparatus for community building, challenging the world around us to transform and address our growing needs.

The 21 participating artists in Diasporic Rhizome were selected from an open call by the following jury: Faisal Anwar, Ambika Trasi, Brendan Fernandes. More information about the artists and their work here. More info about jurors here.