Root Division: Cian Dayrit

Come join us at for our monthly Second Saturday series featuring an exciting in-person event for two incredible exhibitions. Our openings are always free to the public of all ages. There will be light refreshments available. See you there!

Curated by PJ Gubatina Policarpio

Root Division is proud to present Liberties Were Taken, the first solo exhibition in the Bay Area of Philippine-based artist Cian Dayrit. Known globally for artworks rooted in activism and a thorough study of history, Dayrit investigates notions of power and identity as represented and reproduced in monuments, museums, and maps. His work unravels the layering of complex power structures, oppressive systems, and the legacies of colonialism that continue to dominate Philippine society. The exhibition brings together embroidered textiles, elaborate paintings, and multimedia works created over a decade of participatory actions and solidarity work with landless farmers, Indigenous, and marginalized groups in the Philippines and around the world. Deploying visual tools, such as text, maps, and symbols, the artist positions land as a site of struggle through historical references, protest imagery, and grassroots counter-cartography.

Host or Publisher Root Division