Crenshaw Dairy Mart and Destination Crenshaw present Rest Stops: An Altadena Garden Initiative by Kenturah Davis, the first exhibition of a three-year garden initiative emerging from the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.

Born from the loss of Davis’s family homes and the devastation experienced across the community, Rest Stops imagines a network of sensory gardens as spaces for rest, gathering, ecological renewal, and remembrance. Inspired by Black quilting traditions, the project stitches together a network of green spaces designed to heal both land and community. Rest Stops coordinates a network of intimate, sensory gardens throughout Altadena, California—creating spaces for rest, reflection, ecological renewal, and community connection. The exhibition features prototypes and drawings that envision resilient, restorative spaces across Altadena, laying the groundwork for a larger initiative that will invite families who lost their homes to steward gardens on their burned lots.

With the goal of installing ten gardens by 2028, Rest Stops aims to help safeguard belonging, continuity, and rootedness by partnering with property owners in collaboration with landscape architect, Sarita Jaccard, to install new green spaces of native and edible plants, including species known for detoxifying soils and supporting local wildlife-creating landscapes that are both fire-resilient and restorative. Each garden will be scaled so that the layout won’t impede future construction. Our partnership with Angel City Reciprocity will provide Altadena lumber to create some of the seating using trees felled post-fire.

Rest Stops: An Altadena Garden Initiative by Kenturah Davis is the first collaboration between Destination Crenshaw and Crenshaw Dairy Mart highlighting the shared commitment to uplifting Black artists and strengthening Black- and POC-led arts and culture organizations across Los Angeles. Destination Crenshaw’s mission is to preserve, anchor, and celebrate the culture and creative leadership of Black Los Angeles while creating pathways for long-term economic and cultural ownership in South LA. Through alliances such as its partnership with CDM, Destination Crenshaw is working toward a future in which Black artists and culturally rooted institutions have the resources, relationships, and infrastructure necessary to thrive while shaping the future of arts and culture in Los Angeles.

This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of the Teiger Foundation, Creative Capital and Destination Crenshaw. Fellowships awarded to the artist from The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens and the Center for Art and Abolition further the research and development of the project. This endeavor would not be possible without the support of our donors and the following team of collaborators: