Big Rumi by Ghada Amer Displayed on Ruth Wittenberg Triangle
Big Rumi, a sculpture by Ghada Amer, Featured at Ruth Wittenberg Triangle as part of Village Alliance’s Art in Plazas Program. The installation marks the reintroduction of public art to Ruth Wittenberg Triangle.
Big Rumi by Ghada Amer on Ruth Wittenberg Triangle
New York, NY – The Village Alliance has partnered with the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art to present Big Rumi, a sculpture by the artist Ghada Amer, on Ruth Wittenberg Triangle. The installation is Amer’s first public art installation in the U.S.
The latticework on Big Rumi is formed by Arabic script.
Ghada Amer frequently incorporates language — English, French, and Arabic— into her work, using the notions and nuances of translation to pull at the tensions of East and West that are ever-present throughout her practice.
The latticework of Big Rumi (2024) is formed by the repetition of the Arabic quote attributed to the 13th century mystic poet, Rumi, which, translated into English reads: “You are what you seek” or “What you seek is seeking you.” Molding this text into spherical forms allows for repeated reflection on not only Rumi’s cryptic aphorism, but also on the very nature of language and translation.
For Amer, this quote is particularly poignant and hopeful: In a world where so many are quick to ask for solutions or answers to our problems from external forces, it serves as a kind reminder of the value of self-reflection and self-trust.
"The Village Alliance's Art in Plazas program is dedicated to transforming our public spaces into canvases for creativity, and the installation of Ghada Amer’s Big Rumi is a major, exciting evolution of that mission,” said Scott Hobbs, Executive Director of the Village Alliance. “As the first sculptural element in the program, this collaboration with the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art brings a powerful voice and a deeply resonant message of self-reflection to the heart of Greenwich Village, further cementing our neighborhood’s identity as a vital crossroads for art and profound ideas.”
“To see Big Rumi, Ghada Amer’s sculpture, installed in downtown New York, reminds us the beauty of language and the diversity that resides within it,” said Mohammed Al-Thani, Founding Director and Curator at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art. “‘You are what you seek’ embodies the hope, resilience and empowerment that city continues to have on its people.”
“Big Rumi brings a powerful and uplifting message to Ruth Wittenberg Triangle, a beloved public space in the heart of the Village. I'm proud to support this collaboration between the Village Alliance and Ghada Amer, which celebrates artistic diversity, invites reflection, and continues the Village's legacy as a home for creativity and cultural dialogue,” said NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents the Village.
About Village Alliance
The Village Alliance supports clean, safe, and vibrant commercial corridors within our District boundaries. We do this by providing additional sanitation and safety services, advocating for public space improvements, and implementing creative marketing and community-building to attract and retain local business.
About the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art
The Institute of Arab and Islamic Art (IAIA) is an independent, non-profit center that promotes and advances the artistic and cultural dialogue between New York City and the Arab and Islamic worlds. Through outreach programs, a multidisciplinary exhibition space, a knowledge-building facility, residency program and an emphasis on collaborations with cultural organizations, IAIA provides a convivial, welcoming environment to learn about and engage with an often over-simplified culture.
About Ghada Amer
In a practice that spans painting, sculpture, ceramic, garden, and installation, Ghada Amer pulls at the threads of cultural dualities—feminine and masculine, craft and art, figuration and abstraction, East and West—with sensitivity and specificity. Appropriating sexualized imagery—often sourced from pornographic magazines—Amer subverts the masculinist tropes that permeate them, reimagining women in moments of ecstasy, pleasure, and tenderness. Amer’s work is in public collections around the world, and she is regularly invited to prestigious group shows and biennials.
She was recognized with a mid-career retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York in 2008 and a larger, more extensive one at the MUCEM and across other venues in Marseille, France in 2022. Amer studied at the Villa Arson École Nationale Supérieure in Nice, France, at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA, and at the Institut des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques in Paris. She lives and works in New York.
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