a lament (los angeles)

For their 2025 Mohn LAND grant project a lament (los angeles), artist yétúndé ọlágbajú will produce an “alternative monument” by creating space for community to gather and explore a collective future by way of ecological justice. The performance will take place at the Arlington Garden in Pasadena on October 18, 2025.

Inspired by a facilitated slow reading of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, led by Dr. Tamisha Tyler and the Center for Restorative Justice, ọlágbajú has been examining the distinct conceptual differences between lamentation and grief as vehicles for processing current events and the reverberating implications of exploitative capitalism. ọlágbajú asks, “How can we build our future in the midst of uncertainty, rage, and systemic and ecological transformation?” a lament (los angeles) continues their inquiry, building on a previous performance, which took place at 500 Capp Street in San Francisco, where the artist created and tended to a space for collective processing. ọlágbajú, alongside collaborators Titania Kumeh and Nana Boateng (who participated in the previous version), will steward the performance-based activation by creating an intimate space for the community to arrive and gather. The performance and activation will be rooted by revolutionary texts, songs, and prayers that will be shared by ọlágbajú, collaborators, and invited community leaders. The performance space at Arlington Garden will be delineated by four wooden sculptures crafted into the shape of well-loved Adinkra symbols that act as both guardians and environmental collaborators via wind chimes. a lament creates an open forum to express Queer, Black, and Indigenous collective lamentations, grief, and urgent calls for a new world.

Utilizing radio transmission, a lament will stretch beyond the confines of the garden. Through electromagnetic waves, this facet of the performance will make it possible for beings miles away (both human and more-than-human) to hear us.

Alongside the performance, ọlágbajú will offer attendees reading materials, light nourishment, and kits (also inspired by Butler’s Parable of the Sower) that will include California native seeds – provided by Altadena Seed Library and Sarvodaya Farms – (representing kernels of change), a journal, and pencils (to encourage individuals to reflect on their own visions of the future).

Featured speakers include:

Helen Peña

Dr. Tamisha Tyler

Sonia Guiñansaca

Tægen Meyers

Ashley Blakeney

Alexander Catanzarite

Kyla Carter

Astrid Kayembe

yétúndé ọlágbajú is a research-based artist, creative producer, and cultural strategist living on Ohlone and Tataviam lands (Bay Area & Los Angeles, CA). Their work roots in a single question: What must we reckon with as we build a future, together? With no set answers or expectations, ọlágbajú unravels intricate connections as a means of highlighting our interdependence. They are interested in how our familial, platonic, romantic, and ecological bonds are affected by what we confront in the reckoning.

They hold an MFA from Mills College and are the recipient of multiple awards including a Foundation for Contemporary Arts award and a Headlands Center for the Arts fellowship. They recently became an advisor for the San Francisco Arts Commission Shaping Legacy’s Artist Circle (San Francisco, CA) and participated in “Life on Earth: Art and Ecofeminism” at The Brick (Los Angeles, CA).

They are a co-director and creative producer at Level Ground (Los Angeles) and consult as a cultural organizing strategist.

a lament is commissioned by Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) and organized by Irina Gusin, LAND curator-at-large with support from Astrid Kayembe, LAND operations coordinator.

This project is funded through the Mohn LAND Grants established by Pamela and Jarl Mohn. The initiative provides Los Angeles-based artists resources and support to present site-responsive, transdisciplinary work across Los Angeles County.

LAND’s 2025 projects are made possible with lead support from the Offield Family Foundation, the Jerry and Terri Kohl Family Foundation, and The Perenchio Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Fran and Ray Stark Foundation, Ben Weyerhaeuser, Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture, Brenda Potter, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, and LAND’s Nomadic Council.

Commissions are supported by the LAND Artist Fund with major funding provided by Karyn Kohl. Generous funding is provided by Berry Stein and The Goodman Family Foundation.

LAND is a member of and supported by the Los Angeles Visual Arts (LAVA) Coalition.

LAND is a member-supported organization. Keep LAND programs free for all by becoming a member today.

Graphic by Firebrand Creative House.