Sushmita Mazumdar, artistic director

Sushmita is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and educator. After working for 15 years as an art director in the advertising industry in India and the US, and volunteering as a docent at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art where she has helped visitors understand and appreciate Asian art since the year 2000, her work shifted. In 2007 she launched Handmade Storybooks, and in 2013 she founded Studio PAUSE.

Her work is inspired by her immigration story from India and is informed by the community where she lives in Arlington, VA, and where she has spent her 25 years paying close attention to, and exploring how people use the arts to tell their stories and build community. As a community art curator she has been learning how to create spaces where the community can see themselves, feel safe, be inspired to express themselves, and celebrate.

Sushmita’s work has been featured in the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival, and Glen Echo Park and her art has been in shows at the Art league, Arlington Artists Alliance, The National Building Museum, and The Smithsonian’s Ripley Center. In 2018 she was awarded Arlington County’s Woman of Vision award for her work at Studio Pause and in 2019 she was appointed one of 13 Arts Commissioners for Virginia. In 2020, Sushmita was featured in an Arlington Public Library exhibit, Women’s Work: Then & Now which showcased the work of some of Arlington’s women over the last 100 years. In 2021 she was invited to curate a Diwali festival for the Kennedy Center.

For more about Sush please visit www.SushmitaMazumdar.com

For Media links about Studio PAUSE please check out Sush’s Media page.

In 2025 Sushmita and two long-time PAUSErs LouLou and Kori wondered if the Studio should become a community organization. It already worked like one, so they are learning how to make the shift in other ways.

MaryLouise (LouLou) Marino, director of operations

LouLou is an artist and writer with a passion for creativity, nature’s wisdom, and cultural understanding. Her art—in fiber arts, mark-making, and photography—allows her to express how she sees and is a way to engage with her inner world and the world around her.

She has been a part of Studio PAUSE for over a decade as a PAUSEr, engaged in its many activities, and has exhibited her work. In the past few years, she has worked closely with Sushmita as a project assistant and, more recently, as director of operations on various grants focused on community book projects, oral stories, and exhibits.

LouLou’s experience is in community development, organizational management, entrepreneurship, and art and design. Her social enterprise, Indigo Lion Handmade, was where she curated ethically sourced handmade textiles from Laos for the US market. Prior to that, she was Director of Programs and Operations for Empowered Women International in Alexandria, VA. She served as a Community Development Volunteer in NGO Capacity Building with Peace Corps Uzbekistan and Romania. Earlier in her career, she worked for multiple design firms.

For more, please visit her artist website.

Kori Johnson, director of partnerships & planning