Shiva Ahmadi's 2017 animation Ascend will be on display in the Detroit Institute of Arts' first comprehensive reinstallation of its contemporary art galleries in nearly 20 years, Reimagine Contemporary Art. Showcasing over 120 artworks from the DIA's collection, this reinstallation recognizes Detroit as a vital creative center that is part of a global conversation about art's role in resistance, reinvention, and revolution. Reimagine Contemporary Art opens to the public on November 15, 2026.
Ahmadi’s animated video Ascend is inspired in part by the famous photograph of the Kurdish-Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi, who tragically drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as his family sought to escape the Syrian Civil War. In the seven-minute work, an idyllic and tranquil scene of playful monkeys descends into darkness, with floating bubbles and balloons morphing into bombs—familiar motifs in Ahmadi’s work, akin to the candy-colored confetti that appears in several of her paintings, which the artist describes as a device for “sugarcoating” ugly truths.
Learn more at dia.org.
