March 16–April 29, 2023
Artist Jagdeep Raina’s solo exhibition “Beautiful Zameen,” hosted by California State University Bakersfield’s Todd Madigan Gallery, curated by Jedediah Caesar.
Jagdeep invited me to compose a response to the works in “Beautiful Zameen.” After a screening of Ali Kazimi’s Narmada: A Valley Rises (1994) at the March 16, 2023 exhibition opening, I joined Jagdeep in conversation, engaging Bakersfield community members as well as CSU Bakersfield students and faculty around local relationships to water rights and community-responsive artworks.
Jagdeep and I are currently collaborating with PS Guelph, Musagetes, and Cooper Cole Gallery in Toronto to publish a collection of essays, poetry, and prose alongside images of Jagdeep’s works. The resulting book, Beautiful Zameen, is forthcoming in October 2025.