Art exhibition · Norwalk, California
Art, Resilience, and the Legacy of 1984
California Edition
A multimedia art exhibit marking the 42nd anniversary of the 1984 genocide of Sikhs, and honoring the resilience of a community.
November 1 to December 11, 2026Cerritos College Art Gallery
Opening reception
Sunday, November 1, 2026
5:00 to 8:00 PM
On view
November 1 to
December 11, 2026
Gallery hours
Mon to Thu, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Fri and Sat, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Thanksgiving holidays will affect hours November 23 to 28.
Admission
Free and open
to the public
About the exhibit
Remembrance, forty-two years on
This November marks the 42nd anniversary of the 1984 genocide of Sikhs in the capital city of New Delhi, and many cities across India. Tens of thousands lost their lives on the streets and in their homes and businesses, and millions carry the pain of this tragedy in their hearts around the globe, from India and the United States, to Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and beyond.
ICAAD, an international human rights center, and Vishavjit Singh created the 1984 Art Exhibit in New York City in 2024, commemorating the 40th anniversary. Now joining forces with filmmaker Harsimran Sandhu and actor Simi Kattaura, in partnership with the Sikhlens Arts and Film Festival and Cerritos College, we are bringing the next edition of this art exhibit to California.
This exhibition seeks to uplift voices that have been historically silenced, celebrate collective strength, and create space for dialogue, healing, and imagination. Art ranging from illustrations, sculptures, rare photographs, film, and poetry will highlight community power, intergenerational experience, movement-building, flourishing despite trauma, and liberation.
The exhibit is being hosted in Southern California, a global hub and home to many Sikhs who survived the 1984 genocide, including Vishavjit's family, along with many fellow citizens from around the globe who have escaped persecution and intolerance in search of safer homes.
In the gallery
What you will see
The California Edition brings together work from New York, pieces from local collectors that have not been shown publicly before, and new work from California artists who answered our open call.
- Newspaper headline prints from first week of November in 1984 including LA Times, Fresno Bee, San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee.
- Survivor portraits from the Amnesty International report The Continuing Injustice of the 1984 Sikh Massacre by Sanam Sutirath Wazir, photographed by Shome Basu
- Rare color photographs by Sajid Raza Khan, taken during the November 1984 pogroms
- Paintings by the Singh Twins and Sarabjit Singh
- Sculpture and mixed media from Ravjot Mehek Singh, Jaspreet K. Singh, and Vishavjit Singh
- Film and poetry: the animated short American Sikh from Vishavjit Singh and Ryan Westra, Through Darkness, We Rise from Harbani Kaur Ahuja and Jaspreet K. Singh, and a short film from Harsimran Sandhu
- An audio installation by Dalveer Hargobind Kaur sharing survivor testimony in Punjabi
- New work from California artists
The exhibit will also feature speakers and artist talks, along with a student engagement session with Cerritos College classes the day after the opening.
Join us
Opening reception
- When
- Sunday, November 1, 2026, 5:00 to 8:00 PM
- Speakers include
- Vishavjit Singh, ICAAD Co-Founder Jaspreet K. Singh, and Jessi Kaur
- Dinner
- An Indian dinner will be served at the reception
Seating at the opening reception is limited, so reserve your ticket through Sikhlens. The exhibit itself stays free and open to the public through December 11.
Plan your visit
Cerritos College Art Gallery
- Location
- Fine Arts Building (FA)
11110 Alondra Blvd, Norwalk, CA 90650 - Closest parking
- Staff Lot 10 or Student Lot 1
- Hours
- Monday to Thursday, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Friday and Saturday, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PMThanksgiving holidays will affect hours November 23 to 28.
The first edition
New York City, 2024
This is the second edition of the exhibit we created in New York City in 2024 for the 40th anniversary. Over ten days in Manhattan, about 500 people came through the gallery, a quarter of them from outside the Sikh community. The NYC Public Advocate issued citations to participating artists, students visited from multiple universities, and the exhibit now lives online as a virtual exhibit.
I was moved by the exhibit. I could feel the pain of the survivors. I could hear the unbearable loss in their testimonies. I felt closer to my community by being in this space.
Support
Help bring this exhibit to California
Thanks to our partnership with Sikhlens, the gallery space, printing, and the opening reception are covered. Your donation covers the rest:
- Honorariums for artists, speakers, and performers
- Travel for artists and speakers
- Shipping and crating artwork from New York and from artists
- Advertising and outreach
- A professional photographer to document the exhibit
- A virtual exhibit, so the work stays online after the gallery closes on December 11
The exhibit is part of a longer plan. It will travel to a different city every two years leading up to the 50th anniversary in 2034, and anything raised beyond what this edition needs carries forward to the next one in 2028.
Presented by
- ICAAD
- Vishavjit Singh
- Harsimran Sandhu
- Simi Kattaura
- Sikhlens Arts and Film Festival
- Cerritos College