An Evening with The Stolen Dove

Honoring Alex M. Odeh (1944-1985) 

Saturday, July 18, 2026

6-9pm

839 N. Cherokee Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90038

Sculptural element by Khalil Bendib

Presentation of The Stolen Dove at 7pm

Performance by Joshua Oduga at 7:10pm

Reading from Whispers in Exile (1983)

Hamasat fi al-ghurbah (همسات في الغربة)

Light refreshments will be served

As part of the current exhibition, Summer 26, 839 will host a special evening program centered on a bronze sculpture by Algerian American artist and cartoonist Khalil Bendib. The work is a component of his monument to slain Palestinian American poet, teacher, and civil rights leader Alex M. Odeh. 

The Stolen Dove, a project developed by artist Jon Rubin and launched in January 2026 in collaboration with the Grand Central Arts Center and the Odeh family, revisits the monument installed in front of the Santa Ana Public Library and dedicated in 1994. The memorial, the only in the United States to depict the physical likeness of an Arab American, has endured repeated acts of vandalism, including the theft in 2020 of the dove of peace held in Odeh’s outstretched hand. The dove was later recovered and reattached.

More recently, the dove was removed again, this time in coordination with the City of Santa Ana, the Odeh family, and with Bendib’s permission, so that it may circulate, carrying forward the story of Odeh’s life and work. By setting the dove in motion, the project invites participation in what may be understood as a living monument. The dove began its journey with Odeh’s daughter Helena and wife Norma, and is traveling to a series of homes and institutions connected to and inspired by Odeh’s legacy. Each host temporarily cares for the object and shares its story with their communities. The dove is scheduled to be returned to the statue in fall of 2027.

The evening at 839 will include an electronic music performance by Joshua Oduga, an interdisciplinary artist, curator, gallery director, and writer whose work is included in Summer 26. A selection from Whispers in Exile, Odeh’s 1983 book of poetry and essays, will be available in English and Arabic. 

Alex M. Odeh was born in Jifna, Palestine on April 4, 1944. He earned a BA in Political Science from Cairo University in 1967, and an MA in Political Science from Cal State University Fullerton in 1978. He was assassinated on October 11, 1985, by a tripwire bomb planted in his office at the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Santa Ana, California. No one has ever been held accountable for his murder. The documentary film, Who Killed Alex Odeh?, directed by Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans, premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Excellence. The film examines the assassination and traces the extremist networks behind the attack.

Jon Rubin is an interdisciplinary artist who creates collaborative interventions into public life that re-imagine individual, group, and institutional behavior. He is a Professor in the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, and has exhibited widely, including at the Shanghai Biennial; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Mercosul Biennial; the Carnegie International; and The Lyon Biennale; as well as in backyards, living rooms, and street corners. He is the recipient of the Carole Brown Award for Creative Achievement, the Andy Warhol Foundation Curatorial Fellowship, and the International Award for Public Art. He is the founder and organizer of National Museum, and co-curator of National Museum of the Aftermath at OXY ARTS in Los Angeles through August 8, 2026.

Grand Central Art Center (California State University, Fullerton) fosters connections between contemporary art and community engagement through exhibitions, artist residencies, and collaborative initiatives in and around Santa Ana, aiming to inspire creativity, foster inclusivity, and enrich the cultural landscape by connecting diverse communities with transformative art experiences. To learn more, visit: grandcentralartcenter.com. To inquire about hosting The Stolen Dove within approximately 30 miles of the Odeh monument at the Santa Ana Public Library, contact grandcentral@fullerton.edu.

Khalil Bendib is an Algerian American artist and political cartoonist based in Berkeley, CA, whose work addresses issues of power, identity, and representation across global contexts. He received a BA in Algiers, an MA from the University of Southern California, and has exhibited and published internationally. His 1994 monument to Alex M. Odeh in Orange County was his first public sculpture.

Joshua Oduga is a first-generation Nigerian American interdisciplinary artist, curator, gallery director, and writer based between Los Angeles and London. His artistic, curatorial, and research practices focus on archives, alternative histories, oral and musical traditions, exhibition systems, and the relationship between contemporary art, performance, and infrastructure. His work has been exhibited at the Torrance Art Museum, PAM, Durden and Ray, and the Claremont Colleges. He has curated and organized exhibitions and public programs with Art + Practice, the Hammer Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Various Small Fires, and Jeffrey Deitch Gallery. In 2021, Oduga co-founded Central Server Works with Rachael Oduga as an artist-run gallery, publishing house, and interdisciplinary production platform focused on exhibitions, publishing, film, sound, and performance. Oduga holds an MFA in Fine Art and an MA in Arts Management from Claremont Graduate University, and will begin a PhD in Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art in fall 2026.

839, founded by art historian Liz Hirsch and artist Joshua Smith in 2024, is a contemporary art gallery operating out of a 1924 duplex in Hollywood. The exhibition calendar, currently organized through 2027, features artists working across various media based between Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Berlin, and Michoacán.

Summer 26 is 839’s third annual group exhibition, bringing together represented artists, invited collaborators, and friends. Coinciding with the gallery’s second anniversary, the show offers a snapshot of the program at this moment, with work by Steven Durland, Olivia Gibian, Andrés Janacua, Jeremy Jansen, Hea-Mi Kim, Kyle Knodell, Seanna Latiff, Natalie Lerner, Ruhee Maknojia, Tucker Neel, Never Work, Joshua Oduga, Maddy Peters, Carolyn Lockhart Schoerner, Joshua Smith, and Pilar Wiley. On view Saturdays 12-6pm and by appointment through August 22, 2026.

20% of sales from the exhibition will be donated to London-based mutual aid group The Sameer Project, working to support displaced families in Gaza since early 2024, and established in memory of Gaza-born farmer Sameer Abu Salim (1943-2024). 

For images and inquiries: info@839gallery.com

Special Thanks 

The family of Alex Odeh; Jon Rubin; John Spiak, Director/Chief Curator of Grand Central Arts Center, Santa Ana; Emily Drumsta, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin; and RoRo’s Chicken, Hollywood.

Accessibility and Parking
We recommend public transit or parking in front of Bancroft Middle School on Las Palmas Ave., a short walk from the gallery. Please note that the gallery has a porch with four steps. Cats live on the premises; guests with allergies may wish to plan accordingly.