Pria Cooper

For Pria, a sari ties her to the strong Indian women she comes from. She is mixed-race and grew up in California, and much of what she knows of her Indian side came through the women in her family. Her dadi wore a sari all her life. So did her dadi's mother, and the women before them.

For them the sari was everyday clothing, practical and breathable. Pria's culture lives in the clink of her dadi's bangles at the stove, and in her masis talking over each other as they pleat her sari before a wedding.

She can see it, hear it, touch it, and wear it. She lives and works in Minnesota now and carries that with her in a garment that holds the women who came before.

PRIA COOPER · SARI, GUJARAT, INDIA · MINNESOTA · ARCHIVE NOTE, 2026