Meleko Mokgosi’s platform level station artwork will recognize everyday people who work in Beverly Hills. The artwork will celebrate both the important work of historic labor leaders who fought for worker’s rights, and contemporary workers
Rigo 23’s artwork engages Beverly Hills’ history as Tongva land and a place called “a gathering of waters.” In the artwork, water will be depicted in different stages of stillness and motion, animated as the Metro rider walks by. A waterscape framed by plant life strengthens connectedness to the natural world and history’s slower tempo, while also offering a respite from the hustle and bustle of the commute. Enlarged portraits of indigenous plants represent gifts to Spanish explorer Portola’s expedition by local Tongva representatives, a gesture of welcoming and generosity at the center of Los Angeles’ origin story. This generosity would not be reciprocated by the waves of European arrivals. The Tongva people and their culture were nearly erased by foreign cultural and religious impositions as well as the introduction of diseases to which the locals had no defenses. This project aims to contribute to the reversal of a multi-century long process of erasure, forgetting and replacing.
Devon Tsuno is creating an artwork for the entrance of the station that speaks to agricultural history in Southern California and the role of Japanese American gardeners.
