Dalit Dreamlands

Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA), ARTogether, Discostan, and Oakland Asian Cultural Center co-presents Dalit Dreamlands: Toward an Anti-Caste Future – a landmark multimedia Dalit art exhibition and dance party that will bring together over 30 multiply marginalized artists from Dalit*, Adivasi*, Bahujan*, Afro-Indian, Indo-Caribbean, and Muslim communities to showcase the depths of creativity and community. 

Dalit Dreamlands, curated by Manu Kaur (they/them) and supported through AAWAA’s Emerging Curator’s Program, will center queer and trans caste abolitionist futurisms through art across various mediums, including fashion design, music, performances, films, paintings and visuals. One of the headlining artists, Malvika Raj, is a Dalit artist who challenges the casteist restrictions present in the Madhubani style of painting, by incorporating pro-Dalit assertions into her intricate and hypnotizing designs. Nazrina Rodjan is a queer Indo-Surinamese artist who integrates the history of indentured labor and femme resilience within her large paintings of indentured Indian women. London-based trans Dalit artist Mya Mehmi from Pxssy Palace will be one of four guest DJs and performers at the opening reception dance party in collaboration with Discostan’s Arshia Fatima Haq. Dalit Dreamlands is a historic event that marks one of the first queer Dalit-centered spaces to exist in California. Learn more about the exhibitions and events here.

*Dalit is a caste marker for caste-oppressed communities formerly known as Untouchables, Adivasi refers to tribes who are indigenous to South Asia, and Bahujan is an umbrella term that includes all caste-oppressed communities.

EXHIBITION DATES
April 6 – June 10, 2024

EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTIONS
April 6, 2024
5:30pm-7:30pm @ Oakland Asian Cultural Center
6:00-8:00pm @ ARTogether, Oakland

ZINDAGI DANCE PARTY
April 6, 2024 from 8:00pm-1:00am @ 7th West, Oakland
Featuring Dalit Bahujan DJs: DJ Anjali, DJ Arshia, DJ Mya Mehmi, and DJ Seema Hari

CURATOR
Manu Kaur

EXHIBITING ARTISTS