Picture: ICAAD Artivist Dilpreet Bhullar's work, A Home in the Constant Flux

In October 2023, as part of Global Diversity Awareness Month, we collaborated with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP's New York office for a special showcase of Dicta – a legal poetry collection by ICAAD artivist Harbani Ahuja that explores the gap between law and justice in key U.S. Supreme Court cases through history.

Harbani read a selection of poems from her collections on Immigrant Rights, the Rights of Black People, and Women's Rights, and previewed a poem from her forthcoming collection on the Right to Love. To view Dicta virtually, visit the interactive exhibit.

Since 2014, Manatt has been a valued ICAAD partner, providing us with pro bono resources to advance human rights globally. As a sponsor of our Artivism initiative, it was great to come together to share Harbani's inspiring work for an evening of art and conversation. Check out this video explaining how we work with Manatt to advance activism through the arts.

In November, we were thrilled to support Artivist Dilpreet Bhullar as she launched her new photo series, A Home in the Constant Flux: A Call to the Verb Memory, at the Simurgh Center in New Delhi. The central idea of the photo series is that during migration of people across geographies, the objects of love and necessity undergo the arduous ordeal, and that these, bearing the patina of age, create a desire to develop an understanding that personal histories are not isolated from the political selves. The photo documentation of the object of the refugees – Afghanis, Rohingyas and Tibetans, who are currently inhabitants of New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir – along with the personal anecdotes recorded, traces the long history of India rooted in a diverse social milieu.

"This photo series attempts to let the refugees take a step back into the past in the hope of emancipating both themselves and viewers from the conventional framework of concepts and categories," said Dilpreet. "The series is situated in crucial intersections of liberal economy and global identity, and opens up the space to ruminate upon the fragility of ideals in terms of inclusion, empathy and care." 

At ICAAD, we believe that the arts play a critical role in building solidarity, challenging harmful narratives and supporting key advocacy objectives. Thanks to your support, we are able to continue working with resident artists to promote a more equitable future. 

Watch this space for new virtual galleries coming soon!

Dilpreet Bhullar presenting at the Simurgh Center

Last month, as part of Global Diversity Awareness Month, we were thrilled to collaborate with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP's New York office for a special showcase of Dicta – a legal poetry collection by ICAAD artivist Harbani Ahuja that explores the gap between law and justice in key U.S. Supreme Court cases through history.

Harbani read a selection of poems from her collections on Immigrant Rights, the Rights of Black People, and Women's Rights, and previewed a poem from her forthcoming collection on the Right to Love. To view Dicta virtually, visit the interactive exhibit.

Since 2014, Manatt has been a valued ICAAD partner, providing us with pro bono resources to advance human rights globally. As a sponsor of our Artivism initiative, it was great to come together to share Harbani's inspiring work for an evening of art and conversation. Check out this video explaining how we work with Manatt to advance activism through the arts. 

At ICAAD, we believe that the arts play a critical role in building solidarity, challenging harmful narratives and supporting key advocacy objectives. Thanks to your support, we are able to continue working with resident artists to promote a more equitable future. 

Watch this space for new artivism collections coming soon!

Exciting news! ICAAD Artivist Namita Kulkarni has released a new public arts project that demonstrates how colonialism has been, and continues to be, the major cause of the climate crisis. 

Through a collection of thought-provoking paintings and stories, the project aims to raise awareness about the ongoing human rights violations that have contributed to the climate crisis while highlighting the need for a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future.

You can view the collection through our virtual gallery.

“Far too often, we see the climate crisis framed as a matter of carbon emissions that we can compensate or offset our way around,” shared Namita. “But the colonial dimensions of the climate crisis cannot be overlooked. I wanted to create a series of paintings that make explicit the link between colonialism and the climate crisis, and also point to indigenous perspectives that dominant culture excludes.”

At ICAAD, we beleive that art plays a crucial role in inciting social change. We hope this project will inspire others to think more deeply about the connections between colonialism, climate change, and community. 

Namita’s paintings have already been on display in Bangalore, receiving national acclaim. Now, the collection is accessible to a global audience. We encourage you to visit the online exhibit and share your reflections!

“We need stories that point us to a whole other way of relating to the earth, not as a bunch of resources but as a web of relationships. And that our innate sense of awe and reverence for life stands in direct opposition to the colonizing impulse that has brought the climate crisis to our doorsteps”, stressed Namita. “That is what I’ve tried to share with this project.”

We hope you enjoy Namita's work, and we thank you for your support as we work to build connections and solidarity through the arts. 

Harbani and Jaspreet at Manatt

Last month, we were thrilled to display Harbani Ahuja's Dicta poetry collection at a special showcase at the offices of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, LLP in Century City, Los Angeles. Harbani and ICAAD Co-Founder Jaspreet attended the event to present the collection.

Dicta is a public arts project developed as part of our Artivism program, where we support emerging and underrepresented artists from around the world. By redacting sections of key Supreme Court cases in U.S. history, Harbani’s collection of poems highlight the gap between law and justice, and the impact that this disconnect has on marginalized communities. You can check out the collection here.

“Dicta is a brilliant showcase of how written laws in the justice system do not always reflect the injustice of the world, and bridges art and activism in a way that connects people with something that can feel as intangible or impersonal as Supreme Court decisions,” said Sirena from Manatt. 

“Providing access to justice for all, no matter a person’s skin color, gender identity, sexuality or immigration status, is part of Manatt’s DNA, and we’re extremely proud to partner with ICAAD to feature Harbani’s incredible work highlighting the legal inequities we too often see for historically underrepresented communities.”

We were so excited to share Harbani’s work through a beautiful visual arts display, and look forward to our continued collaboration with Manatt as we advance social justice through the arts.

Thank you for supporting our Artivism initiative – your generosity makes all of this possible! Watch this space as we continue to raise the profile of our resident artists and promote important issues of social justice. 

Harbani at Manatt

Building on the success of our inaugural Artivist-in-Residence, Harbani Ahuja, we are thrilled to announce that our Artivism program has expanded. Last year, we brought on board five new Artivists-in-Residence from around the world. They come from a diversity of backgrounds, but all share a commitment to exploring the relationship between human rights advocacy and the arts.

Each artist is currently working on finishing their respective collections, to be shared publicly through exhibitions and events starting this year. Find out more about them below: 

Namita Kulkarni (India): Namita Kulkarni is a yoga teacher, writer and artist based in India. She’s been teaching yoga for the last 12 years. A gold-medallist law graduate, she also has a Post-graduate Diploma in Intellectual property rights from National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Her Artivist project aims to demonstrate how colonialism has been (and continues to be) the major cause of the climate crisis. Colonialism and the climate crisis both being rooted in ever-extractive ways of life which stand disconnected from any sense of wonder and humility before the infinite workings of the planet. Her project also explores how indigenous wisdom might bring us to our role as a custodial species with a sense of belonging to the planet rather than possessing it.

Dilpreet Bhullar (India): Dilpreet Bhullar is a writer and researcher based in New Delhi, India. With an MPhil from the University of Delhi in Comparative Literature, she has been the recipient of the Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability Fellowship at Columbia University, New York. She is co-editor of the books Third Eye: Photography and Ways of Seeing and Voices and Images. Her essays on identity politics, the representation of refugees in print and digital media, and visual sociology are frequently published in leading books and journals. Currently, she is the associate editor of a theme-based journal dedicated to visual arts, published by India Habitat Centre. Dilpreet is developing the project entitled Narrative of Object and Voice of Memory. The exercise to retrace the intangible memory entwined with the tangible object is the core of the project. The etic framework of the projects offers displaced the agency to share a figment of personal memory of loss to reconcile with the past in the present with a desire of creating a promising future. Towards this end, the photo-documentation of the object – a source of emotive personal attachment – interweaves the personal histories and experiences of displacement.

Katja Phutaraksa Neef (New Zealand): Katja Phutaraksa Neef is a self-taught political artist born and raised in Thailand and grew up in Japan and Aotearoa. She has participated in field research and workshops in Fiji, Vanuatu, Thailand, Cambodia, Tanzania, Peru, Indonesia, and West Papua with a regional focus on Asia and the Pacific. Her academic research and advocacy interests include issues concerning land governance and dispossession, social inclusion, Indigenous rights, forced migration, and climate justice. Katja’s artworks explore key human rights themes surrounding Climate Justice, refugees, forced displacement, and racial justice through ostensibly innocuous mediums such as art, predominantly using mixed media, sculpture, and oil paint.

Queen (U.S.): Queen is an Artist, Facilitator & Wellness Practitioner from the indigenous Munsee Lenape lands called Brooklyn, New York. From music to meditation and more, Queen designs multi-media experiences that integrate performing & visual arts with practical healing techniques. Current work explores intergenerational dialogue as a key resource for addressing age-ism, implementing holistic healthcare & housing justice. 

Vishavjit Singh (U.S.): Vishavjit Singh is a New York City based TEDx speaker, illustrator, performance artist, storyteller, and creator of www.Sikhtoons.com. He got his spark for cartooning in the post 9/11 tragedy when Americans with turbaned and bearded countenance became targets of hate/bias crimes. For the past few years, he has been traveling across the US with his Captain America persona armed with a turban, beard, and humor to tackle fear, anxiety, bigotry, and intolerance. He uses storytelling as a tool to create a space for challenging conversations around identity, race, bias, vulnerability, and how to be agents for positive change. He hosts talks & keynotes in schools, universities, government agencies and companies including Google, Apple, NASA & Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. As an artivist and a survivor of the 1984 genocidal massacre of Sikhs in India, he is working to capture the stories of many like himself who survived this tragedy.

Stay tuned for more updates on their work as we begin to unveil their collections! 

Do law and justice go hand-in-hand? Have some court decisions taken us backwards? What role can the arts play in making the law more accessible? Whereas legalese tend to be confusing, complicated and get stuck in the brain, poetry might be brief and go straight for the heart of the matter. 

This month, we collaborated with the Center for Art Law to host an event with our ARTivist-in-Residence, Harbani Ahuja. 

Harbani presented her poetry collection Dicta: created from redacting sections of key Supreme Court cases in US history. She read selections from her collections on the Rights of Black People, Immigrant Rights and Women’s Rights, and highlighted the tensions between law and justice in the courts through striking visual art. Harbani also discussed her career as an attorney, the reasons she chose to pursue a career in law, and how Dicta has changed her outlook on the law and her legal career. 

During the event, Harbani explained that her motivation behind creating Dicta was to make the law more accessible and easier to read. She said: "Because the law is so complex, we often just assume that it’s correct, it’s right, it’s just – but it’s not.” She noted that we are often trained to think of the law as just by society, but that the reality is much more complex.

“Legal systems are a reflection of what people in power deem to be morally right or wrong", Harbani reflected. "So for a lot of marginised groups in this country, the law has even been used as system of oppression." 

The timeliness for the struggle for human rights in the US country still continues today, and is illuminated by Harbani's powerful works. Her two forthcoming collections, on Indigenous Rights and the Right to Love, will be added to the exhibit in the coming months – we cannot wait to share them with you! 

We are excited to announce the release of a new series of Dicta Legal Poetry, available to view in our immersive virtual exhibit. The Immigrant Rights series highlights critical and shameful features of U.S. immigration – from the Chinese Exclusion Act to the ‘Muslim Ban.’ 

Whether through laws barring certain nationalities from entering the country, the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans in internment camps, or the passage of policies to disallow asylum seekers from entering the country, the message across each poem is clear: immigration in the U.S. has never been about inclusion and acceptance.

We asked Harbani what this collection means to her. She said: “We like to fantasize about how America is a country of immigrants, but if you look at the history of the United States, there have always been marginalized groups of immigrants which have been ‘othered’ and excluded from this country. This collection really goes to show how complex and broken our immigration system is – and just how often laws and policies that are harmful to marginalized immigrant communities continue to be justified in law. In thinking about this, I hope we can reimagine what a just and equitable immigration system should look like.” 

The Immigrant Rights series joins existing series on Women’s Rights and the Rights of Black People, available in the virtual gallery. Two more collections, on the Right to Love and Indigenous Rights, are forthcoming. 

Dicta is a product of ICAAD’s Artivist-in-Residence program, which stems from our belief that the arts play a vital role in driving social justice at local, regional and global levels.

“When combined, art and activism can play a powerful role in connecting people across borders and languages. Supporting the arts has been vital to our human rights work around the world; it helps us tap into difficult emotions, encourages empathy, and unleashes creative thinking,” said Jaspreet Singh, ICAAD Co-Founder and Advocacy Strategist. 

He continued, “Harbani’s incisive critique of the gap between law and justice in the U.S. is urgently needed – following the Supreme Court’s devastating decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and while new immigration policy easing deportations remains frozen. Dicta is a powerful way for us to reflect on these developments as we work towards a more equitable future.” 

Dicta is supported by Clifford Chance; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; and Graymatters; and the virtual exhibit has been developed in partnership with digital creative agency, y’all.

Human Rights Center ICAAD Features Digital Legal Poetry Exhibit for Black History Month

This Black History Month, international human rights center ICAAD invites you to explore the history of racial justice in the courts through their immersive virtual exhibit, Dicta. The exhibit features the Dicta legal poetry series by Harbani Ahuja and melds poetry, law, and art to inspire activism in pursuit of social justice.

Landmark Supreme Court cases including Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia are exhibited in the form of found poetry, illuminating the theme of racial justice from the black letter text. Of Harbani’s 40-poem series, ten poems make up the Rights of Black People theme featured this month. The Rights of Black People series was also published in the ABA Journal in 2021.

Dicta is part of ICAAD's embrace of Artivism as a means of driving social justice at local, regional, and global levels. Artivism, a marriage of artistic expression with activism, often taps into a depth of emotion deeper than words can express and connects across physical and cultural boundaries. The exhibit has garnered sponsorships from Clifford Chance; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; and Graymatters; and the virtual exhibit has been developed in partnership with digital creative agency, y’all.

Partner at y’all, David Lubofsky said, “At y’all, we recognize that art is a force that drives discourse, dialogue, and change for the better. We had the honor and the privilege to lend our design and development talents in partnership with ICAAD to bring Harbani Ahuja’s poetic works to life.”

"In our human rights work around the world, we have seen how art can inspire positive action," said Jaspreet Singh, co-founder of ICAAD. "We hope that Dicta and our future Artivism projects will inspire others to join efforts to tackle discriminatory issues and promote equality."

At the heart of Dicta is public interest lawyer and poet, Harbani Ahuja, who is currently Senior Legislative Council for the NY City Council and ICAAD's inaugural Artivist in Residence. As a writer, designer, and advocate, Harbani has focused her law practice on civil rights, immigrant rights, and public health.

"We as a people often view the law as a larger-than-life concept that we don't understand or find accessible, yet is widely considered the equivalent of justice," said Harbani Kaur, ICAAD's Artist in Residence. "My intention for Dicta is to expose the gap between the law and justice."

“What I love about Dicta is that I believe it’s an invitation to interrogate things that we sometimes take for granted,” said Zuleka Henderson, ICAAD Advisor. “We are creative beings. If people originally created these laws for purposes that are unjust, what can we reimagine for the future? That’s what Harbani’s work does. It encourages us to remember that we can shift things, move them around, and read into what’s underneath something that was presented to us in one way.”

Sixteen poems are currently on display in Clifford Chance’s New York office as part of the firm’s ongoing commitment to supporting human rights efforts, arts, and the community. Clifford Chance also produced an interview with artist Harbani Kaur Ahuja which can be viewed here.

"We believe Dicta can educate and inspire people everywhere to better understand the timeless and ceaseless struggle for human rights and the importance of finding ways to stay engaged," said Hansdeep Singh, co-founder of ICAAD.

Clifford Chance partner and lead on the firm’s relationship with ICAAD Celeste Koeleveld said, “Our sponsorship on Dicta is the latest in a variety of pro bono initiatives in which Clifford Chance has supported ICAAD. We are proud to promote legal activism and heighten awareness of human rights efforts and social justice with this exhibit.”

NEW YORK - On December 10th, Human Rights Day, the international human rights center ICAAD launches an immersive virtual exhibit featuring the Dicta legal poetry series by Harbani Kaur Ahuja. The exhibit melds poetry, law, and art to inspire activism in pursuit of social justice. 

Dicta is part of ICAAD's embrace of Artivism as a means of driving social justice at local, regional, and global levels. Artivism, a marriage of artistic expression with activism, often taps into a depth of emotion deeper than words can express and connects across physical and cultural boundaries. The exhibit has garnered sponsorships from international law firm Clifford Chance; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; and Graymatters; and the virtual exhibit has been developed in partnership with digital creative agency, y’all.

Partner at y’all, David Lubofsky said, “At y’all, we recognize that art is a force that drives discourse, dialogue, and change for the better. We had the honor and the privilege to lend our design and development talents in partnership with ICAAD to bring Harbani Ahuja’s poetic works to life.”

"In our human rights work around the world, we have seen how art can inspire positive action," said Jaspreet Singh, co-founder of ICAAD. "We hope that Dicta and our future Artivism projects will inspire others to join efforts to tackle discriminatory issues and promote equality."

At the heart of Dicta is public interest lawyer and poet Harbani Kaur, ICAAD's inaugural Artist in Residence. As a writer, designer, and advocate, Harbani has focused her law practice on civil rights, immigrant rights, and public health. 

With Dicta, Harbani creates found poetry in court decisions, illuminating the broader social justice themes from the black letter text. Harbani has completed 20 poems in the 40-poem series. The two themes covered so far are the Rights of Black People and Women’s Rights. The Rights of Black People series was published in the ABA Journal earlier this year. Next year, the remaining poems will be added to the exhibit on the themes of the Right to Love, Immigration, and Indigenous Rights. 

"We as a people often view the law as a larger-than-us concept that we don't understand or find accessible, yet is widely considered the equivalent of justice," said Harbani Kaur, ICAAD's Artist in Residence. "My intention for Dicta is to expose the gap between the law and justice."

Sixteen poems are currently on display in Clifford Chance’s New York office as part of the firm’s ongoing commitment to supporting human rights efforts, arts, and the community. Clifford Chance also produced an interview with artist Harbani Kaur Ahuja which can be viewed here. 

"We believe Dicta can educate and inspire people everywhere to better understand the timeless and ceaseless struggle for human rights and the importance of finding ways to stay engaged," said Hansdeep Singh, co-founder of ICAAD.

Clifford Chance partner and lead on the firm’s relationship with ICAAD Celeste Koeleveld said, “Our sponsorship on Dicta is the latest in a variety of pro bono initiatives in which Clifford Chance has supported ICAAD. We are proud to promote legal activism and heighten awareness of human rights efforts and social justice with this exhibit.”

View the Dicta exhibit here. 

Dear friend,

We have many exciting updates to share around the Artivism program and ICAAD's release of Dicta, Artivist-in-Residence Harbani Kaur Ahuja's new exhibition. 

The first 10 poems of Dicta received an excellent reception through their release via the ABA Journal over the past three months. The ABA Journal is one of the most widely read legal publications in the U.S. and in addition to the release of the gallery, an article was published on Harbani and her work. 

Harbani was also featured on the Legal Talk Today Podcast. Listen to Harbani’s interview with Laurence Colletti; she reads LA v. Lyons and shares what the piece means to her and her process in creating Dicta. Click here to listen. 

Harbani was also interviewed for Law360 Pulse. In the article, you can read about how poetry influences her work as an attorney and get a preview of one of the poems from the next Women's Rights series: Walmart v. Dukes. Check it out here.  

We also have four blogs inspired by Dicta that were published over the past three months. One, written by two Masters students at Columbia University focuses on Racial Equity in NYC Public Schools.

The second and third articles are a two-part series entitled "Police Cannot Police Themselves." And the fourth is a case study on the Supreme Court's impact in relation to a case on racial justice in employment law. You can read those four blogs on ICAAD's Ideas blog.

What's on the horizon for Dicta?

We have partnered with Y’all, a creative design firm, to develop and launch an immersive virtual exhibit for Dicta on International Human Rights Day, December 10th. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for the rollout of the Women’s Rights Dicta series. 

We've also opened a call for applications to invite the next cohort of Artivists-in-Residence.

With your support, we’ll be able to bring on more artivists next year and launch even more exhibits that educate people on human rights and inspire them to activism by moving them from the heart.

Thank you for your continued support!

In April, we hosted a virtual concert that brought together 5 incredible Sikh artists around the theme of resisting injustice and building equity. One of those incredible artists was Harbani Kaur, our current artist-in-residence who is currently working on a project called Dicta.

In the video, Harbani shares two poems and discusses her process around creating them.

She shared:

“We, as people, often view the law as a larger than us concept that we don’t quite understand or find accessible. We often also view it as the equivalent of justice. My intention with Dicta was to expose the gap between the law and justice.”

While the virtual exhibit development is still underway, we wanted to share her sneak preview from the event with you. Enjoy!

Links:

Dicta Sneak Preview

We’re excited to share that Harbani has now completed 16 poems in the Dicta exhibit, and it is difficult for us to resist releasing her amazing work at this stage. Each and every poem is deeply moving in this crucial moment for legal activism. When completed, the exhibit will allow the viewer to trace societies’ current struggles and successes to the sacrifices of ordinary people who chose to defy systems of injustice, armed only with the belief that the “arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” 

The ARTivism program amplifies the impacts and innovations of art, technology, and law to inspire greater public awareness and social action, and for Dicta, to map the evolution of the rule of law. As a part of that integration, the ICAAD team has been working to build an interactive virtual exhibit and developing the educational context cards that will accompany each poem. This historical context will provide the narrative for legal activism and explain how these momentous cases came to be. The virtual exhibit is currently in a beta testing phase as we continue to refine its features.

We are planning a sneak peak for DVN Donors in mid-April. Stay tuned!