ON VIEW NOW

first there was a sea

Saturday, May 17, 2025 through Saturday, August 16, 2025

12Gates is proud to present our newest group exhibition, first there was a sea, curated by Azra Dawood and featuring artists, Aaron Cohick and Divya Victor; Priyanka Dasgupta & Chad Marshall; Utsa Hazarika; and Baseera Khan.
Imagined as a “continuum room,” the space of the gallery explores the shifting intersections of religion and race that have shaped South Asian lives in the United States. It features projects that connect multiple timelines in U.S. history, often through the use of objects and methods that speak to crossings or journeys.

GALLERY EXHIBITIONS

Featured
No Father - No Frontier
Mar 7
No Father - No Frontier
In Tandem: The Philadelphia Residency Show (12G Residency Cohort 2024)
Jan 11
In Tandem: The Philadelphia Residency Show (12G Residency Cohort 2024)
In Tandem: The 12Gates Residency Show Artists Presentation
Nov 18
In Tandem: The 12Gates Residency Show Artists Presentation
Fragments of a City’s Memory
Nov 1
Fragments of a City’s Memory
Secrets of the Sun
Aug 2
Secrets of the Sun
MFA Painting Thesis Show
Jun 7
MFA Painting Thesis Show
POWER / PLAY
Mar 15
POWER / PLAY
ALHAMDU | MUSLIM FUTURISM
Feb 2
ALHAMDU | MUSLIM FUTURISM
In Medias Res(idency)
Nov 10
In Medias Res(idency)
What is Destined: Stories of Resistance and Memory
Nov 3
What is Destined: Stories of Resistance and Memory
Proposals for a Memorial to Partition
Aug 4
Proposals for a Memorial to Partition
Remnants of Another
May 5
Remnants of Another
Numb Images
Feb 3
Numb Images
Sites of Ruin
Nov 4
Sites of Ruin
ALTER
Aug 5
ALTER
a language where yesterday and tomorrow are the same word. Kal fragments from a collective archive
May 6
a language where yesterday and tomorrow are the same word. Kal fragments from a collective archive
Yasi Alipour: The Pleasure of Futile Cycles
Mar 29
Yasi Alipour: The Pleasure of Futile Cycles
Shwarga Bhattacharjee: Excavation Paths
Jan 14
Shwarga Bhattacharjee: Excavation Paths
Slavs and Tatars: Bacteria Bar Opening Reception
Oct 15
Slavs and Tatars: Bacteria Bar Opening Reception
Hasteem: We are Here
Sep 3
Hasteem: We are Here
The Beetroot Robe
May 7
The Beetroot Robe
Chasing Chalawas: Arts, History, and Transnational Cultural Sites
Mar 24
Chasing Chalawas: Arts, History, and Transnational Cultural Sites
A Space for Monsters
Feb 5
A Space for Monsters
It is the Sea that Connects Us
Oct 2
It is the Sea that Connects Us
Undisciplined Pleasures, Vigilant Defiance - Sarah K. Khan
Mar 6
Undisciplined Pleasures, Vigilant Defiance - Sarah K. Khan
Immanence: Tazhib in America | Behnaz Karjoo
Jan 11
Immanence: Tazhib in America | Behnaz Karjoo
Season of Migration to the North II - Mohammad Omar Khalil.
Nov 1
Season of Migration to the North II - Mohammad Omar Khalil.
A People’s Tribunal: 28 Exhibits
Oct 19
A People’s Tribunal: 28 Exhibits
Clear-Hold-Build
Sep 6
Clear-Hold-Build
Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary
Jun 7
Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary
Featured
Shwarga Bhattacharjee: Excavation Paths
Jan 14
Shwarga Bhattacharjee: Excavation Paths
Hasteem: We are Here
Sep 3
Hasteem: We are Here
The Beetroot Robe
May 7
The Beetroot Robe
A Space for Monsters
Feb 5
A Space for Monsters
It is the Sea that Connects Us
Oct 2
It is the Sea that Connects Us
Undisciplined Pleasures, Vigilant Defiance - Sarah K. Khan
Mar 6
Undisciplined Pleasures, Vigilant Defiance - Sarah K. Khan
Season of Migration to the North II - Mohammad Omar Khalil.
Nov 1
Season of Migration to the North II - Mohammad Omar Khalil.
A People’s Tribunal: 28 Exhibits
Oct 19
A People’s Tribunal: 28 Exhibits
Clear-Hold-Build
Sep 6
Clear-Hold-Build
Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary
Jun 7
Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary
Plucked From The Womb Like Something Tart - Riya Hamid | Asif Hoque
Apr 5
Plucked From The Womb Like Something Tart - Riya Hamid | Asif Hoque
"Take it like a ... "; contemporary trends in the aesthetics of violence
Feb 1
"Take it like a ... "; contemporary trends in the aesthetics of violence
of beast | of virgin - Saba Taj
Dec 7
of beast | of virgin - Saba Taj
American Peril: Imagining the Foreign Threat
Nov 2
American Peril: Imagining the Foreign Threat
STORIES OF REFUGE - TANIA EL KHOURY
Sep 6
STORIES OF REFUGE - TANIA EL KHOURY
NAZAR
Jun 22
NAZAR
We got used to new Us
May 4
We got used to new Us
UNRULY POLITICS
Mar 2
UNRULY POLITICS
A Vision for My Father Rajie (Roger) Cook
Feb 13
A Vision for My Father Rajie (Roger) Cook
Diaspora Letters - Beeta Baghoolizadeh
Jan 23
Diaspora Letters - Beeta Baghoolizadeh
Back To The Future: HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AND SOUTH ASIA
Oct 6
Back To The Future: HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AND SOUTH ASIA
the closer i get, the further i find | Jaret Vadera
Sep 8
the closer i get, the further i find | Jaret Vadera
Hira Nabi - What do the trees tell us? - a video installation
Aug 19
Hira Nabi - What do the trees tell us? - a video installation
Black Boys Look Blue | Amol K. Patil
Jun 28
Black Boys Look Blue | Amol K. Patil
Masterminding Our Ordered Rage - curated by Atif Sheikh
May 5
Masterminding Our Ordered Rage - curated by Atif Sheikh
New Collaborations In Printmaking - Mathew Greentree, Kathy Heyward & Damon Kowarsky
Apr 6
New Collaborations In Printmaking - Mathew Greentree, Kathy Heyward & Damon Kowarsky
UNWRITTEN WILLS - Nandini Bagla Chirimar
Feb 18
UNWRITTEN WILLS - Nandini Bagla Chirimar
Shringar Ras - Exploring Love and Devotion in Pahari Painting - Murad Khan Mumtaz and Susana Marin
Dec 2
Shringar Ras - Exploring Love and Devotion in Pahari Painting - Murad Khan Mumtaz and Susana Marin

 

Featured
Sheherzade's Gift
Oct 20
Sheherzade's Gift
Madad
Sep 2
Madad
Lived Experiences
May 19
Lived Experiences
God Particle
Apr 1
God Particle
Another Day Lost
Feb 24
Another Day Lost
Be Home Here
Jan 8
Be Home Here
Ruins and Fabrications
Nov 6
Ruins and Fabrications
"perform(art)ive" by 12G
Oct 25
"perform(art)ive" by 12G
We Leave, We Never Leave, We Return Endlessly
Sep 4
We Leave, We Never Leave, We Return Endlessly
Defining Home - Antonio Puri
May 1
Defining Home - Antonio Puri
Zabardust (Fabulous)
Feb 6
Zabardust (Fabulous)
Presence' Tense
Dec 5
Presence' Tense
Readymade | Contemporary Art from Bangladesh
Oct 3
Readymade | Contemporary Art from Bangladesh
Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time
May 2
Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time
American Beauty
Mar 7
American Beauty
H1B
Jan 18
H1B
Cinephiliac - Art Transcending Technology & Motion
Nov 1
Cinephiliac - Art Transcending Technology & Motion
Contemporary Art from Nepal
Sep 6
Contemporary Art from Nepal
Text Embodied: Transformation of Text into an Experience of Art
May 3
Text Embodied: Transformation of Text into an Experience of Art
Judy Blum Reddy & Krishna Reddy
Apr 5
Judy Blum Reddy & Krishna Reddy
Hybrid
Mar 1
Hybrid
Salaam Bombay: Beauty & Chaos in the Urban Environment
Jan 26
Salaam Bombay: Beauty & Chaos in the Urban Environment
"Multiples"
Nov 2
"Multiples"
CARE Package c/o Philadelphia, PA
Oct 5
CARE Package c/o Philadelphia, PA
MENAKA GOPALAN & HIBA SCHAHBAZ
Jun 30
MENAKA GOPALAN & HIBA SCHAHBAZ
Qasim Riza Shaheen: In A World Where There Are Five Women, I Am The Seventh
May 16
Qasim Riza Shaheen: In A World Where There Are Five Women, I Am The Seventh
Damon Kowarsky : “If you look at the city from here”
Apr 6
Damon Kowarsky : “If you look at the city from here”
Fiber Philadelphia 2012
Mar 2
Fiber Philadelphia 2012
Paintings by Daisy Rockwell and Book Launch
Feb 3
Paintings by Daisy Rockwell and Book Launch