Students and staff contemplate this months art exhibit “All the Flowers Are For Me” by Anila Quayyum Agha’s at the Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery.
Photo by Steven Holgvin/Cuestonian

By Lindsay Darbyshire
Staff Writer

Having diversity means having a wide range of people from different origins, ethnicities, and personalities in a given space without fear of discrimination.

For Cuesta College, one of these cherished safe spaces can be found in the Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery, located in room 7170 on the San Luis Obispo campus.

The gallery will host an exhibition during the fall semester displaying the work of four artists whose creations exemplify diversity.

Anila Quayyum Agha’s piece, an approximately 500-pound, 5-foot intricately designed steel cube, is named “All the Flowers Are For Me.”

For the first time, the turquoise version of the piece will be suspended in the air with a light shining from the inside in the gallery for the public.

The inspiration for the art, according to Agha, came from Islamic art and architecture.

Agha, who was born in Pakistan, said she wanted to take the beauty of the East to the West. Her goal, she said, is to break the misconception around the controversial views of middle eastern countries in the United States.

“As a person of color, I wanted to create a space for myself… [I wanted] to invite people into my space,”said Agha, who encourages those her view her art to form their own thoughts about the piece.

Emma Saperstein, the gallery curator, said she chose the piece to be displayed as an opportunity to communicate the importance of diversity to the public.

Art galleries are a vital way to expose the community to contemporary art, Saperstein added.

Agha’s “All the Flowers Are For Me” will be on display from Aug. 24 to Sept. 22. The gallery will be open free to the public on weekdays from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. It will also be open the first and third Saturdays from 12 to 4 p.m.