Join us for our bookmaking activity at Asia After Dark: Diwali Festival at the National Museum of Asia Art! — “an after-hours event where we light up the museum in celebration of light overcoming darkness. Enjoy food and sweets, watch performances, create crafts, and more. The celebrations continue all week with workshops, talks, and films.”

Create a Handmade Storybook with artist Sushmita Mazumdar, titled “Abundance is Bright: Celebrating Goddess Lakshmi & Diwali.” Through this book, she shares how she has learned about Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, through art and stories all around her. And how so many others who are part of Studio PAUSE helped her!

Lakshmi is worshipped every day, especially during Diwali, and people light lamps so she can see their homes on this moonless night and shower them with blessings. Learn about the many stories about the goddess and how she is depicted in many ways in art and sculpture by creating your own version of the book, which is inspired by the traditional Indian palm-leaf manuscript. More about the project here.

Look for us in the West Building (Freer Gallery of Art) in the South Corridor!