Brooklyn, New York, 2024
Opening reception: Saturday, June 28, 2025 – 2-5 pm (panel discussion at 3 pm)
We celebrate Asher Imtiaz’s exhibition, Thank God for Immigrants, with a reception and panel discussion. The artist will be joined at 3 pm by Aisha Sarwari and Malaika Franks for a conversation on The Love Ethics of Seeing. Invoking bell hooks, Imtiaz, Sarwari, and Franks will discuss the rewards, pitfalls, and ethical responsibilities of working with marginalized subjects. Sarwari is an author, a public speaker, and the co-founder of the NGO Women’s Advancement Hub. She focuses on the gendered aspects of migration, belonging, and caregiving. Her third book, Heart Tantrums and Brain Tumors was published in 2023. Franks is a systems designer and researcher whose work blends design and anthropology, drawing on methods such as participatory action research, ethnography, and active listening to support co-creation, systems change, and design thinking.
Thank God for Immigrants is a photographic meditation on presence, proximity, and dignity. In contrast to fear-driven narratives, these images invite viewers to see immigrants not as strangers, but as neighbors—rooted, resilient, and fully human. The exhibition challenges us to confront how we see and what we choose to ignore. It is a declaration of gratitude, a quiet resistance to dehumanization, and an invitation to stand closer.
This is a HOME exhibition.
