September 12th 2026, 5-7pm
The Paglees are a feminist collective of artists of South Asian origin living across the United States. Paglee or pagli means crazy woman in a number of South Asian languages. In their exhibition, The Paglees investigate — with fierceness, beauty, and wit — the impact on women of generations of patriarchy, religion, white supremacy, colonialism, violence, capitalism, and environmental plunder.
The title of the exhibition derives from Rosa Parks’ words: “There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take. The bubble of life grows larger. The line between reason and madness grows thinner.”
The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness questions and reframes the labeling of non-conforming women as crazy and the marginalization of immigrant women of color. This collective exhibition presents new decolonial narratives that center the reason and wisdom of brown women of the Global South and diaspora, and provide pathways to a creative feminist future. The Paglees believe in working in collaboration with other marginalized communities to build bridges and demand social, environmental, and legal justice for all.
EXHIBITION EVENTS
Performance- Sister of Shakti ; by Shelly Bahl: September 12, 2026 5-7pm | Location: Catherine G. Murphy Gallery
For Sisters of Shakti, Shelly Bahl has created visual renderings, promotional materials, and an interactive invisible theater performance for a speculative intentional residential community for women. This spiritual community, Sisters of Shakti, is led by the supreme Ma Svetlana Anoushka Mahashakti.
The figures of Ma and others in the photographic vinyl banners advertisements and in parts of the video are rendered through AI, creating Mannerist distortions, and further blurring the line between fact and fiction in this narrative.
Through storytelling, Bahl is investigating the desire for building and participating in utopian communities and the reality of our very human destructive tendencies. This on-going project began with a few drawings inspired by the celestial feminine energy of Shakti, yoga and tantric symbology. These were then utilized as branding materials for the Sisters of Shakti community.
Image Gallery
Click an image to view in larger size
