Art, Resilience, and the Legacy of 1984

In 2024, ICAAD — an international human rights center — and Vishavjit Singh created the 1984 Art Exhibit in New York City to mark the 40th anniversary. Now, joining forces with artists Harsimran Sandhu and Simi Kattaura, and in partnership with the Sikhlens Arts and Film Festival and Cerritos College, the next edition of this exhibition comes to California.

This exhibition uplifts voices that have been historically silenced, celebrates collective strength, and opens space for dialogue, healing, and imagination. Illustrations, sculptures, rare photographs, film, and poetry speak to community power, intergenerational experience, movement-building, flourishing despite trauma, and liberation. Together, these works honor the past while celebrating the resilience and creativity of the Sikh community.

PROGRAM

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  Jaspreet K. Singh

  Co-Founder and Advocacy Strategist, ICAAD

  Human rights lawyer and 2024 OHCHR Minority Fellow

  “ICAAD and Its Human Rights Advocacy Work”

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  A human rights lawyer, artist and technologist, Jaspreet co-founded ICAAD, a U.N. ECOSOC-affiliated organization working at the intersection of law, technology, art and community-driven activism to dismantle structural discrimination. Since 2010 he has argued appellate asylum cases on behalf of survivors of gender-based violence and Sikhs facing persecution, and has built data systems powering evidence-based advocacy in India and the Pacific Islands. In 2024, as an OHCHR Minority Fellow, he brought the transnational repression of Sikhs in the diaspora before the 17th UN Forum on Minority Issues, calling for a dedicated UN Special Rapporteur.

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  Jessi Kaur

  Poet, Author and TEDx Speaker

  Author of three children’s books and two-term Fine Arts Commissioner, City of Cupertino

  “The Dark Saga of 1984: Turning a Poem into a Film”

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  Jessi is the author of three children’s books — Dear Takuya, The Royal Falcon and The Enchanted Garden of Talwandi — used in diversity education in schools across the US, UK and Canada, and she produced The Royal Falcon as a musical with a multicultural cast. A frequent speaker at international conferences, including the Parliament of the World’s Religions, she co-founded the International Institute of Gurmat Studies and served two terms as Fine Arts Commissioner for the City of Cupertino. She shares the story of her poem The Dark Saga of 1984 and the process of bringing it to the screen.

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  Gurpreet Kaur Phokela

  Vocalist and Music Educator

  Trained in Hindustani classical music (sitar and vocal) and tabla

  “Song Performance”

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  Trained in Hindustani classical music (sitar and vocal) and tabla, Gurpreet taught physics, music and drama for 15 years in India and taught kirtan for 19 years at SCOC. She is also a Rangoli artist, plays a range of instruments, and is an avid learner of Gurbani.

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  Vishavjit Singh

  Artist, Activist and Creator of Sikhtoons.com

  Co-creator of the 2025 Webby-winning short American Sikh; covered by The New York Times, NPR and BBC

  “My Journey into Art and Activism”

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  A New York City–based artist, performance artist and TEDx speaker, Vishavjit has traveled the country in his Captain America persona, speaking on identity, bias, vulnerability and the power of storytelling at schools, universities, government agencies and companies including NASA, Google, Amazon and Apple. He co-created the Oscar-qualifying animated short American Sikh, winner of nine awards including the 2025 Webby for best animation. His work has been covered by The New York Times, NPR, BBC, The Atlantic, The Guardian and Time.

Tickets for the Sunday, November 1 opening reception are $250 per person. The room holds 120. Share the page with friends who care about Sikh stories, art, and community.