The Paglees: Between Reason and Madness

Paglee or pagli means crazy woman in a number of South Asian languages. The Paglees (Shelly Bahl, Monica Jahan Bose, Fawzia Khan, Renluka Maharaj, Indrani Nayar-Gall, Nirmal Raja, and Pallavi Sharma) are a feminist collective of artists of South Asian origin living across the United States. They 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.

The AUW Art Explorers is a subgroup of the Association of Universalist Women (AUW) organized by Bette DeMars, Alison Kemlitz, Martha Bird, and Sara McMullen. We plan quarterly art outings for those who identify as women, gender-fluid, or non-binary. It is our goal to expand our hearts & minds while building conversation and community through the experience of art.

Join us September 26 at 2 pm. We are thrilled and grateful that Fawzia Khan has agreed to join us for the afternoon! She will be presenting a talk about her works, the work of the Paglees, and their exhibition Between Reason and Madness. Following the talk we will have some time to re-experiencing the exhibit, processing what we have heard from Fawzia. Then we will gather for discussion and conversation. We have reserved the gallery auditorium in case of inclement weather, but if it turns out to be a fine autumn day we will try to assemble at the tables on the green outside. Please plan to attend both the artist talk and the following conversation, as building our AUW community through experience and dialogue is the purpose of Art Explorers.

We have heard feedback from our prior events and will be adding both introductions time (2 pm) and dedicated discussion prompts about the art in a facilitated conversation following the talks (3:15 pm). This event is a free event. If you enjoy our community, please strongly consider supporting it by joining the AUW! (https://www.auwfirstuniv.org/event-details/2026-27-auw-membership)

The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery is on the St. Kate's campus. The galleries are very small. Please RSVP to the event as attendance is limited. If you sign up but realize you cannot attend, please change your RSVP to "No" or reach out to the event organizers so that we can change it for you, allowing someone else to use your spot! We look forward to seeing you there! Warmly, Bette, Alison, Martha and Sara