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OPENING SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15, 12-4pm

Sequoia Tangerine Kimmel
Melilt l ak ngiltii a kotek

November 15, 2025 - January 31, 2026

Gallery hours Fri/Sat 11-4pm

Pilele Projects is excited to present Sequoia Tangerine Kimmel's exhibition, Melilt | ak ngiltii a kotek (where I come from). Kimmel is a Palauan-Mexican American artist from Santa Cruz, California. Their work embraces their Palauan heritage and culture by carrying on the tradition of Palauan Storyboards. Typically carved into wood, Palauan storyboards illustrate many legends of the Palauan people. Kimmel’s work translates this tradition into the medium of ceramics, preserving those legends in the form of everyday objects. The exhibition will feature a selection of their ceramics as well as an installation of her personal collection of Palauan storyboards.

Email hafa@pileleprojects.org

Tataotao i Tano’ (Body of the Land)
2024
Ink on paper
90” x 80”

Tataotao i Tano’ (Body of the Land)
2024
Ink on paper
90” x 80”
Detail

I Estorian Tataotao i Tano’ (Story of Body of the Land)
2025
Site-specific installation
Inkjet print on paper, 7 sheets, 8 ½” x 5 ½ “
Audio, 1 minute 47 seconds (looped)

I Estorian Tataotao i Tano’ (Story of Body of the Land)
2025
Site-specific installation
Inkjet print on paper, 7 sheets, 8 ½” x 5 ½ “
Audio, 1 minute 47 seconds (looped)
Detail

I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena)
2025
Comb-bound book, 21 pages
1st Edition of 20

Isa Gagarin
I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena)

June 28 - August 9, 2025

Pilele Projects is honored to present Isa Gagarin's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena). Gagarin will present three works that represent i tinituhon, the beginning, of incorporating Chamoru language into her creative practice. Themes of beginning, birth and rebirth can be found in the exhibition’s centerpiece, a large ink-on-paper painting Tataotao i Tano’ (Body of the Land), it is accompanied by an audio and text work I Estorian Tataotao i Tano’ (Story of Body of the Land), and an artist book I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena). Drawing from Gagarin’s experiences of visiting Laso’ Fuha in Guåhan (Guam), studying a kantan Chamorita song and recalling the sounds of luring dukduk crabs out of their shells, the artist invites the audience into a moment when her worldview is transformed through learning her maternal heritage language.

Pilele Projects has printed 20 copies of Gagarin's artist book, I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena), for sale during the exhibition. The book is an experimental score written by Gagarin, in collaboration with Minneapolis-based musician Nona Invie. Written for a performance which took place in June 2025 at Invie’s music residency at the venue Berlin in Minneapolis, I Hagan Sirena tells the story of an imaginary descendent of Sirena, a legendary figure from a Chamoru folktale. The story becomes embedded into Gagarin’s personal narrative, as she shares experiences of reconnecting with her motherland and grandmother tongue. In this hybrid poetry and musical score, storytelling is incorporated with ambient sounds, a kantan Chamorita song and simple instrumentation using hands, shells and sand. Gagarin invites the reader into a dreamlike space where the light, air and waters of Guåhan (Guam) are embodied by sonic textures and spoken Chamoru.

Isa Gagarin is an artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Mni Sota Makoce). Her work draws from experiences of relating to her birthplace of Guam (Guåhan) through visual art, storytelling and Chamoru language revitalisation. Educated in painting and drawing, Gagarin’s artistic practice has expanded to include experimental writing and performance. Gagarin was born in Guam and was raised throughout the US including Hawai’i. Her Chamoru heritage comes from her maternal lineage (Barrigada, Hagåtña), which also includes ancestry from Europe, and she inherits Filipino ancestry from her paternal lineage (Ilocos Norte, Philippines). Gagarin received an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University (2018), and earned her BFA in Painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (2008).

ARTIST TALK with Isa Gagarin, Saturday, July 19, Noon Pacific Time

Isa Gagarin gave an artist talk on July 19 . We beamed her into the gallery space at Pilele Projects from her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Mni Sota Makoce). She gave a virtual tour of her exhibition and shared insight into her creative process. Presented in an informal bilingual format, Gagarin shared the ways in which learning fino' Chamoru (Chamoru language) has transformed the way she thinks about and creates her work.

Email hafa@pileleprojects.org

Taotaomo'na (Ancestor) Portrait
October 14, 2023

Sid M. Duenas
New Nuebu Call Back
February 24 - April 30, 2024

Dan Taulapapa McMullin
Queer Theirstories of Polynesia
May 12 - July 28, 2024

UNFORGETTING
September 28 - Dec 7, 2024

Taotao’mona Portraits: Mali’e Inetnon
March 29 - May 10, 2025

JP / Jason Pereira
Tā Vā: a prism of time through space May 17 - June 14, 2025

Isa Gagarin
I Hagan Sirena (Daughter of Sirena)
June 28 - August 9, 2025

Pilele Projects3307A West Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90018

Gallery hours exhibition dependent.
See Current
Appointments can be made by email or direct message on our Instagram page.

hafa@pileleprojects.org

Founded by Mariquita “Micki” Davis and Edward Sterrett, Pilele Projects is an exhibition and workshop space dedicated to supporting projects by Pasifika artists in Southern California. We are working towards developing grant funded residencies for artists, cultural practitioners, curators, and scholars emerging from and focused on Pacific Island cultures and their diasporas.

Pilele Projects takes its name from the creative director’s Chamoru Grandfather who ran a Mom and Pop store and Laundro-mat in post-war Guam. The store was beloved in the village for being more than a convenience. It was a community center, a place for ceremonies, and a support for local artisans.