Founded in opposition to overdevelopment and the expansion of the 710 Freeway, Arlington Garden is Pasadena's only dedicated public garden. In the 19 years since its inception, this three-acre urban oasis has blossomed into a vibrant wildlife habitat for Pasadena's native flora and fauna, an outdoor classroom, and the host to the only remaining orange grove along historic Orange Grove Boulevard.
We gather at Arlington Garden monthly to reconnect with the natural world and with our community. Here, we are reminded of what's possible when we come together to self-determine our collective futures through art, ecology, and the simple act of gathering among friends. This garden stands as a testament to the power of grassroots action and the transformative potential of communal stewardship.
This month, we are honored and ecstatic to host lucky dragons underneath the wisteria and olive trees. For more than 20yrs, lucky dragons have written a language for Los Angeles. They’ve articulated communities throughout their participatory approach to performance, have grown physical spaces such a Human Resources, and in the act of being who they are have left behind a map of ethos and eccentricities to encourage all those who find themselves within the ongoing play of Sarah and Luke. We have an embarrassing amount of love for art that these two humans bring into the world, and can’t wait to share this afternoon together wondering what they could possibly have in store to share.
An ongoing collaboration between Los Angeles-based artists Sarah Rara and Luke Fischbeck, lucky dragons research forms of participation and dissent, purposefully working towards a better understanding of existing ecologies through performances, publications, recordings, and public art.
lucky dragons have presented collaborative work in a wide variety of contexts, including REDCAT, LACMA, MOCA and The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Walker Art Center, London’s Institute for Contemporary Art, The Kitchen in New York, the 54th Venice Biennale, the Whitney Biennial, and The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others. The name “lucky dragons” is borrowed from a fishing vessel that was caught in the fallout from H-bomb tests in the mid-1950’s, an incident which sparked international outcry and gave birth to the worldwide anti-nuclear movement.