PORTFOLIO

Sanctuary:
​An Exhibition
​

The exhibition, Sanctuary, features 36 artist-designed rugs, arranged in a grid on the floor of a decommissioned military chapel in San Francisco. Visitors were encouraged to take off their shoes and interact with the woolen rugs. Hailing from 22 different countries, predominantly Middle Eastern ones, 36 artists were invited to create a design for each four feet by six feet rug, and the rugs were then woven in Pakistan using traditional methods. The arts organization For-Site partnered with Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture to create the installation, which ran from October 7, 2017 to March 11, 2018. “Rugs speak broadly to cultural heritage, family history, and transportable identity,” says Cheryl Haines, For-Site executive director. “At a moment in time characterized by growing nationalism and isolationism, we must acknowledge the importance of recognizing our common humanity, as well as the need for compassion and the provision of safe harbor for the displaced.”

Commissioned by the FOR-SITE Foundation
Photos courtesy of the FOR-SITE FOUNDATION
Photos by Robert Divers Herrick

(left to right)
​
Adel Abidin, Untitled, 2017; wool; 49 x 73 inches
Ai Weiwei, Untitled, 2017; wool; 49 x 72 inches
Sandow Birk, Untitled, 2017, based on the painting Northwards the Course of Immigration Makes Its Way, 1999; wool; 49 x 74 inches
​Mona Hatoum, Untitled (rug), 2017, based on an untitled paper cutout, 2009; wool; 48 x 72 inches
Emily Jacir, Untitled, 2017, based on the installation Material for a Film, 2007; wool and viscose; 48 x 74 inches
Aimé Mpane, Here we die, 2017, from the series Here we die, 2010; wool; 50 x 73 in.