About

Bio

Sophie Dipti Sarkar (Compassionate Nectar of the Source) is a Japanese American and Bengali artist and community organizer rooted in the Engaged Buddhist tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Her multifaceted work includes paintings, children’s books, community climate plans, workshops on contemplative creativity, racial solidarity spaces, spiritual songs, and more. A descendent of ancestors who survived Japanese American concentration camps and the colonial partition of Bengal, Sophie feels a karmic calling to address the multigenerational impacts of state-sanctioned violence and division. Her guiding aspiration is to offer creative and spiritual support to social movements attempting to end empires, build solidarity, and sustain life on Earth.

Sophie facilitated the first neighborhood heat resilency plan in Philadelphia (Beat the Heat HP), co-founded one of the largest racial affinity spaces in the US environmental movement (PGM ONE), and developed a Black and Asian solidarity series and zine (Interwoven). Her art has been featured in shows at SOMArts San Francisco and Philadelphia’s Asian Arts Initiative. In 2022 she received the Leeway Foundation’s Transformation Award for artists who work for social change. She is currently writing/illustrating Mixed Rice, her first children’s book, which will be released by Parallax Press in November, 2024.

Some of my favorite artists/teachers:

adrienne maree brown, Aisha Fukushima, Akram Khan, Alvaro Barrington, Amanda Machado, Andrienne Palchick, CJ Goulding, Eleanor Anderson, Endria Richardson, Grace Hannah Anderson, Hayao Miyazaki, Justin Turkus, Kaira Jewel Lingo, Kim Huynh, Llama Rod Owens, Maria Magadalena Campos-Pons, Miki Palchick, narinda heng, Ocean Vuong, Rhetta Morgan, Rupy C. Tut, Serizawa Keisuke, Sterling Duns, Thich Nhat Hanh

Want to work with me?

︎︎︎Get in touch

👩🏻‍🏫📚🍚 Author Visits or Programs: Starting in November, 2024, I will offer storytime readings, classroom visits, assemblies, book talks, and more. My interactive programs will explore the themes of Mixed Rice, including self-love, empathy, multicultural experiences, and healthy communication. Through simple mindfulness practices, students will learn how to take care of strong emotions and work through disagreements. Programs will include hands-on art activities that encourage creativity, self-expression, and deeper connections.
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🤲🪄🌀Coaching + Facilitation: I work part-time as a coach and facilitator, including as a member of the Avarna Group. I have cultivated my facilitation style through years of practicing mindfulness meditation, peer counseling, and experiential education. Using a heart-centered approach, I offer support to individuals and organizations who want to better embody their visions for justice and liberation, including:

Dreaming up and clarifying their vision, purpose, and values
Using an anti-oppression lens to address group power dynamics
Organizing affinity spaces to build community for people with a shared identity
Deepening their listening + synthesizing skills
Naming, addressing, and processing conflict
Creating practices for a healthier workplace culture
Developing their facilitation and leadership style
Nurturing their inner wisdom, creativity, and playfulness

👯🎵✨ Creative Collaborations: Do you have an idea for an art project that you would like to work on together? I would love to hear from you! I am especially interested in projects that center young people and that address one or more of the following:

Ending war and empire
Cultivating climate resiliency
Deepening connections to our land, water, and sky kin
Being multiracial and/or building cross-racial solidarity
Supporting intergenerational healing in Asian and Pacific Islander communities

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sophie দীপ্তি sarkar

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© Sophie Sarkar 2024

About

Bio

Some of my favorite artists/teachers:

Want to work with me?

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