HU M SA B E K
Exhibition catalog and construction document
“Pover ty is powerlessness. Pover ty c annot be removed unless the poor have power to make decisions that
- Ela Bhatt
OUR STORY
This p roj e ct is i n spi red by the actions of poor working women in Indi a , who have survived societal and state indiference through half a century of relentless oragnizing. Hum Sab EK (We Are One) is the rallying cry of the 3 million strong Self Employed Women’s Association, situated at the confluence of the labor movement, the cooperative movement, and the women’s moverment.
In 2022, Dr. Balsari’s team at Harvard was invited to study the impact of the pandemic on the members of SEWA and its response to the pandemic.
The research was based on a survey of over 1000 households and 30 hours of oral histories, and revealed how fifty years of organizing had allowed these disadvantaged but very empowered women to navigate the greatest public health emergency of our times, when dominant political, social and cultural structures failed to protect the most vulnerable, globally. They implemented solutions that were practical, expedient and mutually beneficial. The research illuminates what it takes to build and sustain resilient communities. The story of SEWA’s response to the pandemic is important because it elucidates alternative approaches to preparing the world for the intractable challenges that lie ahead.
In order to communicate our findings to a wide array of domestic and global audiences, an interdisciplinary team of students from medicine, public health, design, government and computer science, developed a multimedia exhibition combining artifacts from the lives of the workers, oral history videos, data visualizations from the research findings, and a stunning multi-screen display capturing the salience of digital devices in sustaining health, education and wages. This exhibit was first hosted at the Center for Government and International Studies at Harvard, and supported by the Ofce of the Provost, and the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard. It then began its tour, Jatra, or journey, with its next stop at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting in New York in September 2024.
At each stop, the exhibition is accompanied by panels and rount-tables inviting policy makers, artists and communities to explore the exhibit and, along with SEWA’s members, to retell, reinterpret and reimagine futures.
HUM SAB EK LAUNCH
Exhibition Launch at Harvard’s Center for International and Government Studies
April 15, 2024
MITTAL INSTITUTE ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM (CAMBRIDGE)
In conversation with Jyoti Macwan, Secretary-General SEWA, and the Student Exhibition Design Team
May 3, 2024
CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE
2024 ANNUAL MEETING (NEW YORK)
The Hum Sab Ek exhibition was prominently featured at the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting in New York City. This marks the onset of the next phase, Jatra—a traveling exhibition that catalyzes a series of dialogues at the intersection of gender, work, health, climate change and resilience, first in the US and then globally.
September 23, 2024
September 24, 2024
WORLD BANK HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, DC
In January 2025, the HUM SAB EK (We Are One) exhibition was showcased at The World Bank Headquarters’ Glass Gallery and the main atrium in Washington, DC. The exhibition was launched, with an opening panel discussion, on January 8, that addressed themes ranging from the role of a researcher working with communities, to how to achieve structural societal changes, including shifting decision making to the poor, and the need to put local communities at the center of development strategies.
CONSTRUCTION DESIGN
The traveling exhibition is designed using a lightweight modular system, featuring silicon edge graphic (SEG) frames and fabric panels.
Please note that the exhibit comprises 10 installations, each composed of one to four panels (in the five sizes listed below).
Maximum height: 8 feet
Total width: 116 - 150 feet
A – W4’ x H7.5’
B – W5’ x H7 ’
C – W4’ x H8’
D – W8’ x H8’
E – W6’ x H8’
Illustrative example:
Installation 10
INSTALLATIONS
Additional Features: A floor mounted literature holder to display SEWA’s timeline booklets.
Additional Features:
1 Television (28 1” x 16 8”) and 1 Samsung Tablet (10”)
Additional Features:
74 Phones and 3 tablets and 3 additional tablets with headphones
Additional Features:
1 Television (28 1” x 16 8”), 5 Earthen pots and wooden shelves.
Additional Feature: 1 Television (28 1” x 16 8”)
Additional Features:
1 Television (28 1” x 16 8”) and 1 Samsung Tablet (8”)
Additional Features: There are two sleeves for rods to suspend the tapestry—one at the top, as shown, and one at the bottom. Additionally, three thin ropes on each side help stretch the tapestry.
The tapestry is accompanied by two floor-mounted stands that display informational placards.
18 ft
TEAM AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We t ha nk o ur co llea gues f ro m a round the world for the ir co un s e l:
Mihi r Bh att , Ca ro l i ne Buc ke e , B etti n a B u rc h, Ami t D ave , Ma rk Elli ot , Lo r i G ross, Je n ni fe r Le a ni n g , Mi t u l Ka ja r i a , Dee p a n ja n a Klein, Al l y M atth a n, N at ha n M e len b ri n k , Sab r in a Ly nn M ot l ey, He at he r M u m fo rd, Jo s e p h Nalle n , Emily R N ova k Gu st ai n is, R av i S a d hu, Kat h y Schoe r, Vis h we sh Su r ve,
Ch a s e Van A m bu rg, M i c h a e l Vo r t m ann, Rich Wol fe , a n d the teams at CGI S, M a kep e a c e, CGI, GFI, Markham, Chemistry Creative, and the Mi tt a l In st it u t e in D e lhi an d Ca m bri d g e
CURATORS
S atchi t Bal s ari, M D, MP H
As s o ci ate P rofes s o r, Eme rgenc y M edici ne,
Ha r va rd Medi c al Schoo l
B eth Is rael De aconess Medi c a l Ce nter
Hi tesh ree Das, MDes ‘2 5
Ha r va rd G radu ate School of D esig n
TECHNOLOGY LE AD
Rob er t M c Ca r thy, BA ‘23 (H ar va rd Colle ge )
DESIGN TE AM
Wi lli am B oles, MLA ‘26 (GSD )
Kar thi k Gi rish, MUP ‘25 (GSD )
Se lmon Rafey, Mi ttal I nstitu te
De epak Ra mol a , Ed M ‘23 (HGSE )
Sh ari q M. Sh ah, MDes ‘24 (GSD )
B etti na W yl er, Mi ttal In stit ute
RESE ARCH TE AM
Abhishe k Bh ati a , MS ‘ 17 (HSPH )
Kar ti keya Bh atoti a , MPP ‘ 24 (H KS)
ADVISORS
Da n B o relli, Di rec to r of Exhibitions , Ha r vard G radu ate School of D esi gn
Lo ri G ross, As s oci ate P rovo st for A r ts an d Cul tu re,
Ha r vard U ni ve rsit y
Ta run Kha nna , Jo rge Paulo Lem an n P rofes s o r,
Ha r vard Busi ness Schoo l
Rahul M eh rotra , Joh n T Dunlop P rofes s o r
i n Ho usi ng a nd U rbani zatio n,
Ha r vard G radu ate School of D esi gn
Ca leb Sh reve, E xecuti ve Di rec to r,
Glo bal Fai rness Initi ati ve
Doris Somme r, I ra J ewell Willi ams P rofes s o r of Roma nce Lan gu ages an d Li te ratu res , Ha r vard Facul ty of A r ts an d S cienc es
MEMBERS OF THE SELF EMPLOYED
WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
S UPP ORTE D BY:
Project Webpage: https://mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu/hum-sab-ek-exhibition/