Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena will sponsor Sehba Sarwar’s site-specific art installation, “On Belonging,” in three public parks in the city starting at 8 p.m. Friday.
The installation will be at Memorial Park, 85 E. Holly St.; Victory Park, 2575 Paloma St.; and McDonald Park, 1000 E. Mountain St.
Sarwar is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and author who grew up in Pakistan. Her installation will feature five trees draped with an indigo and red block-printed cloth, known as ajrak, that Sarwar brought to the U.S. from Sindh, her home province. The ajrak pattern is also common to the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan bordering Sindh.
“On Belonging” also showcases text and drawings by Pasadena community members as well as by students from Pasadena High School and Blair High School who submitted cards in response to Sarwar’s question about how they found comfort during the pandemic. Participants also recorded their family roots on their cards.
The exhibit echoes the Sufi tradition of using beads, fabric, paper, and thread to transform trees into shrines and spaces for meditation. Sarwar is dedicating “On Belonging” to global communities and refugees who resist walls, borders, and checkpoints.
The project is funded in part by the Pasadena Arts and Culture Commission and the city’s Cultural Affairs Division.
Community members are welcome to visit the installations for free.
For more information, call (626) 792-5101 or visit www.sehbasarwar.com/portfolio/
