Arshia Fatima Haq (photo by Amina Cruz, veil by Hushidar Mortezaie.)
The upcoming exhibition at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), Unravelling Collective Forms, takes as its conceptual center the quipu (“talking knots” in the Quechua language), an indigenous Andean recording device composed of knotted, colored strings. Widely used before the Spanish Conquest, they were almost all completely destroyed by the conquistadors, who replaced them with European numerical systems. The group show brings together artworks that propose forms of collective resistance to oppressive hegemonies, often drawing on ancestral practices, and includes contributions from Tanya Aguiñiga, Carolina Caycedo, Patrisse Cullors, Demian DinéYazhi’, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Jeannette Ehlers, and many others.
Alongside the visual art exhibition, LACE has organized a series of programs, which will begin next Wednesday with اجنبی ملن Ajnabi Milan (Strangers’ Union). Organized by Arshia Fatima Haq, this performance will feature members of the SWANA (South West Asian and North African) diaspora, decked out in sparkling, sequined outfits, with veils designed by Hushidar Mortezaie. They will lead the public on a procession from the 101 Freeway Overpass, down Hollywood Boulevard to LACE, uniting those with stories involving migration and displacement with others joining them in solidarity. Rejecting divisive fear and alienation, Strangers’ Union will highlight the radical power of communal visibility.
When: Wednesday, April 3, begins at 6:30pm
Where: Procession begins at the Hollywood Blvd./101 Freeway Overpass; Ends at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE) (6522 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles)
More info at LACE.
