About



Bio 

Sophie Dipti Sarkar (Compassionate Nectar of the Source) is a Bengali, Japanese, and English American artist, organizer, and mindfulness practitioner in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. She makes paintings, hanging mobiles, community workshops, playground billboards, hand-bound books, urban climate plans, and more. She was raised in a spiritual family of scientists and collectors who came from unique, and at times conflicting, histories of empire and displacement. Her works often explore the tensions of her upbringing. By weaving together highly contrasting colors, patterns, and ideas, Sophie attempts to capture theses tensions and the beauty and agony of multiple diasporas trying to make home with one another.

Born under a full moon on the centennial of International Worker’s Day, Sophie’s work is deeply informed by her love for justice and the night sky. She has spent nearly a decade organizing communities to heal from systemic oppression and reconnect with the natural world. She sees her art practice as a continuation of this work, supporting those around her to tell their stories, deepen their solidarity, and live in loving relationship with their land, water, and sky kin.

Sophie co-founded PGM ONE, one of the largest racial affinity spaces in the environmental movement, and Interwoven, a Black and Asian solidarity series and zine. She has recently collaborated on projects featured at SOMArts San Francisco, the South London Gallery, 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 based in Philadelphia (Lenapehoking).

📄︎︎︎View CV



Some of my favorite artists/teachers:

adrienne maree brownAisha Fukushima, Akram Khan, Alvaro Barrington, Amanda Machado, Andrienne Palchick, CJ Goulding, Eleanor Anderson, Endria Richardson, Grace Hannah AndersonHayao Miyazaki, Justin TurkusKaira 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

🤲🪄🌀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
  • Planning access-centered programs and events

👯🎨🌾 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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