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