Jayeesha Dutta, New Orleans Center for the Gulf South Gulf South Research Fellowship

Jayeesha Dutta

Global South Fellowship 2019
University of New Orleans

Biography

Jayeesha Dutta is a tri-coastal, nearly tri-lingual Bengali-American interdisciplinary artist, cultural organizer and pop-ed facilitator. She is a co-founding seed member for Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, galvanizing voices and experiences from across the Gulf South to the Global South working towards a just transition for our people and the planet. She is a emiritus member of 826 New Orleans co-founding board of directors, current voting member of Alternate ROOTs, and serves on the national steering committee of the Climate Justice Alliance. Jayeesha is an avid traveler, home chef, live music lover, and adores being near (or in) any body of water. She was born in Mobile, raised in New York, aged in Oakland and is deeply grateful to call New Orleans home.

Jayeesha Dutta es un artista interdisciplinario, organizador cultural y facilitador de pop-ed bengalí, bilingüe, casi trilingüe. Es socia co-fundadora de Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, galvanizando voces y experiencias de todo el Sur del Golfo hacia el Sur Global, trabajando hacia una transición justa para nuestra gente y el planeta. Es miembro emiritus de la junta directiva de cofundadores de “826 New Orleans”, miembro de “Alternate ROOTs”, y es miembro del comité directivo nacional de “Climate Justice Alliance”. Jayeesha es un ávido viajero, chef de casa, amante de la música en vivo y adora estar cerca (o en) cualquier cuerpo de agua. Nació en Mobile, se crió en Nueva York, envejeció en Oakland y está profundamente agradecida de llamar hogar a Nueva Orleans.

Research

Tulane's Global South fellowship will support a research and development trip to Bengal (Bangladesh and West Bengal of India) for Jayeesha Dutta to develop relationships, cultivate partnerships, and draw inspiration from experimental projects. These include projects such as floating aquaponic farms, schools, and community centers built on barges made from discarded plastic, off the banks of land fast disappearing in the Ganges Delta. This trip will serve as primary source research for Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative's "Floating Adaptations" project, an initiative in its inception and initial phase intentionally integrating artistic and cultural practices with scientific research around climate adaptation to sea level rise and increased flooding. The ultimate vision of the project is to research, develop, and extend current prototypes and paradigms of "floating adaptations", while simultaneously producing storytelling platforms that amplify community generated solutions to inspire more people to take innovative and sustainable ideas to scale.