Acacia UniPod: Seed of Rwanda

Acacia UniPod: Seed of Rwanda is a public sculpture from Dario Mohr’s Acacia Forest series, on view on Gazebo Row at Snug Harbor. The work honors the indigenous heritage of Rwanda through a language of unity rather than tribal distinction. While the broader series often references specific cultural lineages, this piece intentionally departs from that framework.  

Rwanda’s contemporary identity is shaped by a collective commitment to stand as one people, rejecting tribal designations that were historically weaponized through colonial intervention to divide communities. The acacia tree, a symbol of endurance, regeneration, and ancestral presence across the African continent, is distilled here into a singular form: one pod, one seed, one nation. Rather than inscribing the names of tribes, the sculpture bears a single name, Rwanda affirming unity as an act of cultural sovereignty and healing.  

When: May 22-September 29, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
(The public art installation will be on view during park hours, rain or shine)

Where: Gazebo Road (View Directions and Site Map)

Admission: Free

Acacia UniPod: Seed of Rwanda does not erase difference; instead, it honors a shared future, one in which memory, land, and identity are held together without fragmentation. The work stands as a quiet monument to resilience, reminding us that growth is strongest when roots intertwine beneath the surface.  

This work expands on Mohr’s ongoing Acacia series, in which the acacia tree functions as a metaphorical “family tree of Africa.” Inspired by the artist’s 2022 solo exhibition Temple of Acacia at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn, Mohr has developed the recurring image of interwoven hands forming the acacia tree, bridging plant and human life, and collapsing boundaries between biological systems as a metaphor for collective growth. Through extensive travel across the African continent, including Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria in West Africa; South Africa and Rwanda in Central Africa; Kenya and Uganda in East Africa; and Morocco and Egypt in North Africa, Mohr has witnessed firsthand the layered intersections of culture, spirituality, and design. These experiences have shaped the visual and conceptual language of this work. 

About the Artist 

Dario Mohr is a New York City based interdisciplinary artist, curator and nonprofit leader. Born in 1988, Mohr received a BFA from Buffalo State College (2010), an MFA from The City College of New York (2019) and an Advanced Certificate in Art Education (2021). He creates reverent installations in the form of altars as well as other sculptural objects of an occult nature. Some solo shows include the Jacob Javits Center (during Nest Summit’s Climate Week as well as the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit), Lewis Latimer House Museum and Equity Gallery. Additionally, he has presented public sculpture at venues including Wave Hill as their inaugural Glyndor Terrace Public Sculpture Artist, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the 2024 Harlem Sculpture Garden exhibit in St Nicholas Park, Old Stone House, and Tafaria Castle’s Arboretum in Kenya. These works and many others have been activated by Mohr’s Happy Planting Day seed paper greeting card workshops and planting performance that brings new life into the world in memory of ancestors and in keeping with the ancestor veneration tradition of indigenous cultures inspired by his West African heritage, and ubiquitously practiced by indigenous communities globally.  

He has had several residencies including The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (EFA) SHIFT Residency, Materials for the Arts (MFTA), Arquetopia Residency in Peru, School of Visual Arts (SVA), Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), among others. Additionally, he had fellowships with Bronx Museum Artists in the Marketplace (AIM), ApexArt in Bogota, Colombia, and is a two-time Artbridge Fellow, among others. Mohr has been a recipient of several grants including NYSCA, NEA and various council grants including LMCC, Queens, Brooklyn and Bronx. He is also the founder and Director of AnkhLave Arts Alliance, Inc. which is a non-profit for the recognition and representation of people of color, particularly indigenous communities around the world. 

Snug Harbor visual arts programming is made possible through generous support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation.