The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) will host “The Earth Under Our Feet,” a free site-specific, immersive performance that evolves over three days, incorporating clay and inspired by the symbols of the spiral and the mandala.

The program includes the construction of a clay wall, 5-8 p.m. Thursday, June 6; and an interactive public performance by transdisciplinary artist Ashwini Bhat, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, June 9 on SBMA’s front terrace, 1130 State St.




After 35 years in Southern India, Bhat now lives and works in the foothills of Sonoma Mountain, California. Coming from a background in literature and training in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance, Bhat uses sculptures, installations, video and text to develop a visual language exploring the intersections between body and nature, self and other.


Bhat invites public participation in the process, using the South Asian practice of foot wedging, urging participants to “notice our entangled connection to the ground we stand on.”

“In this collaborative shaping of clay, we build a sense of belonging, of repair of community, self and place,” Bhat said.