My focus is on amplifying women of color through the connective tissue between diasporas. I explore human-eco intimacy, neo-mythology, social justice and migrational histories.
“The ocean can be yours; why should you stop
Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew?
The secrets of the sun are yours, but you
Content yourself with motes trapped in beams.” - The Conference of the Birds by Farid ud-Din Attar
Secrets of the Sun is inspired by the core lessons of the 12th-century spiritual masterpiece "The Conference of the Birds" by Farid ud-Din Attar - that the soul’s search for divine enlightenment can come only by relinquishing worldly attachments and overcoming feelings that control us, such as greed, anger, envy and ego. Artists Chitra Ganesh, Bishakh Som, Saba Taj and Maede Tafvizi utilize parables, structure and symbols found in the epic poem to collectively explore themes of ecological intimacy, self-discovery, community building, self-determination and autonomy from societal norms in stark relief amongst the current geopolitical influence of religion.
Imagine that a spectacular Vessel—a SpaceMosque—arrives from the future, granting all humans on Earth one prayer manifested every 24 hours. The structure is a portal that appears in many iterations, using a divine algorithm to adjust its appearance to each seeker. Prayer becomes the ultimate currency, leading to both great miracles and great tragedies until the object disappears and its existence is wiped from collective memory.
For Saks Afridi’s first U.S. museum solo exhibition, he offers us SpaceMosque, a futuristic world in which he fuses Islamic mysticism, South Asian folklore, architecture, and technology in a genre he dubs “Sci-Fi Sufism.” The exhibition investigates intersections of capitalism and spirituality, historical record and imagination, and the physical and emotional limits of materiality. Afridi began this work in 2017, and has continued to create photographs, artifacts, and collaborative multimedia objects that merge nostalgia with futurism to actualize the SpaceMosque phenomenon.
LET’S GROW! 2023 is Alpha Arts Alliance’s third fundraising exhibition in benefit of Grown in Haiti. Grown in Haiti (est. 2014) is a Haitian-led organization that empowers rural Haitian communities to build local, self-sustaining economies through regenerative farming practices and community education in Cap Rouge, Haiti. As featured in Vogue.
Inquire at alphaartsalliance@gmail.com. Proceeds directly benefit the artist and the receiving organization. Artists are given the choice to donate 50% - 80% of proceeds. Prices do not include sales tax or shipping. You can also make a direct donation to Grown in Haiti here.
“Botany of Desire” explores how certain plants have evolved to gratify human desires—specifically for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—and, in turn, how plant species have used man to meet their own benefit. Given that plants are immobile, they have learned to be the ultimate chemist in order to further their reproduction. The exhibition draws its inspiration from a book of the same title by Michael Pollan, which questions the idea that people are the sole drivers of domestication. Weaving threads from personal histories, the artists of this exhibition share critical representations of flora and vegetation intertwined with vulnerable human experiences.
This Place Meant represents third-culture kids, the descendants of mass displacement forced to leave lush landscapes, fecund soils, rolling hills and expansive forests. This Place Meant beckons all who are tapping into the spiritual realm by connecting with natural elements, found objects and plant-human hybridity to establish a sense of belonging and home.
In “I Land Therefore I Am”, the multidisciplinary artist navigates themes of belonging and identity. Major’s pursuit commenced on the shores of The Bahamas in the late 1980s and manifested decades later in her creative practice in the United States. By honoring the life and memory of her grandmother, Saphora Alvina Timothy Newbold (aka Mar), Major developed her unique artistic language.
These works of art represent evolving spaces and amorphous geographical boundaries. The layered process of making—the signature braiding of clay that is embedded in Major’s practice—mimics the complex process of creating home and identity post-migration. Major’s works of art are not only cultural signifiers but also catalysts for conversations about cultural commodification, inheritance, and feelings of displacement.
Curator's Choice is a new monthly guest curator series featuring collections of artworks and essays by rising and leading voices in the arts, or in culture more broadly. This selection brings together five contemporary artists of the South Asian diaspora—Rajni Perera, Misha Japanwala, Suchitra Mattai, Chitra Ganesh, and Ashwini Bhat—who are exploring materiality, futurism, hybridity, and spiritual traditions to shed light on migration and the subsequent search for home. They create new artifacts and deities that bridge past, present and future.
“Memory Garden”, a group exhibition featuring artists Aryana Minai, Madjeen Isaac, and Luján Pérez Hernández, curated by Sadaf Padder. Inspired by the method of loci or memory palace, an imaginary location that can store mnemonic images, we propose a garden: a place we may not know but wholeheartedly feel, a place that we can collectively cultivate.
“Memory Garden” offers sculpture, print-making, installation and paintings inspired by lived environments, ancestral homelands and historical anecdotes. The three third-culture artists featured in this exhibition keenly observe their immediate surroundings and spiritually alchemize their work with stories and items from their diverse lineages spanning Iran, Spain and Haiti and their familial migrations to cities across the USA. They establish a space of belonging, celebrate resilience, and alchemize bright futures.
© Daniel Terna
© BFA, Deonte Hill
© Daniel Terna
© BFA, Deonte Hill
© Daniel Terna
