Work done as literary editor for FnewMagazine in my time at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago between 2019 to 2020.
Author Archives: darshitajain
Video work
As a part of my work at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I learnt to made video essays. I started using the camera to replace my eyes, and on the days when my depression overtook me as a person, the camera became how I saw the world. In my video work, IContinue reading “Video work”
Tiny Monthly Checkins
A very integral part of Povera and my work as a poet / educator / organizer was regularly checking in with friends, family, mentees. What helped me unlock most intimate connections was being the first one to open up – be vulnerable. When I moved to Chicago in mid-2018, I feared losing those connections. AsContinue reading “Tiny Monthly Checkins”
Good News Daily!
What ? A set of cards/card sized paper prints with a fact that makes you smile when you read it. One side of the card has the “did you hear?” illustration in riso, or Good News Daily in old school print (has to be interesting enough for people to pick it up) The other sideContinue reading “Good News Daily!”
Meet your heroes – they turn out to be humans
We have slowly started blurring lines between a hero and a celebrity – a celebrity is not necessarily a hero, and a hero is not necessarily a celebrity but now that these two worlds are colliding I wonder who gets to be called a hero?
Breathing easy while dancing: The Green Mill, Chicago
Lists have been promoted from a guest star to a plot-regular in my life lately. There was always someplace to go, somewhere to be and something to get done. My world looks like a dizzying blur. Consuming one thing after another, without waiting to swallow. No wonder my body is nauseated more often than not.Continue reading “Breathing easy while dancing: The Green Mill, Chicago”
Beautiful Boy : Tragedy without Catharsis
Beautiful boy gets what it means to live with someone with an addiction right.
Monumentalism and Representation of Women across monuments : Erasure and the Subliminal Impact
An ‘imagined identity’ which had the opportunity to make humans out of us all, chose to ‘stand erect’, literally. Declaring openly in 1890, Germany’s Otto Bismarck himself said the following while considering the figure of Germania as the monumental symbol for the United Germany. “I don’t find the figure of Germania appropriate. A female beingContinue reading “Monumentalism and Representation of Women across monuments : Erasure and the Subliminal Impact”
We Are In Depression But We Are Not Depressed: Charles White, A Retrospective
Charles White, A Retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago was a unique glimpse into humanising and giving grace and dignity to the black lives.
Exhale …
It has been two years since my journey with Spoken word Poetry began. More than 7 years since my recognition of my declining mental health did. Speaking about it, did not begin in the first 5 years. Neither did acknowledging it exists, so any prospects of help or medication was certainly out of question. IContinue reading “Exhale …”
