The art exhibits “Fresh Perspectives” and “Journey Through Life and Beyond” opened last week on the top floor of King Street Station, a large, open industrial area with a welcome desk and inviting lounge space. 

The area has colorful ambient lighting, exposed brick, strategically placed art pieces and a steady thump of an amplified heartbeat, making the space feel alive.     

The opening consisted of three different displays: “Fresh Perspectives,” a collection of art pieces from various mediums curated by youth; Mohamed Abdullahi’s “Journey Through Life and Beyond,” which includes several interactive pieces centered around themes of morality and the human experience; and live jazz. 

Abdullahi’s exhibit focused on video and interactive pieces and had the constant sound effect of an amplified heartbeat. While “Fresh Perspectives” included several different types of art such as paintings, quilts and photography. 

This combination of different art mediums and exhibits in one space, paired with ambient lighting and jazz music, set an atmosphere of creativity and artistic energy for the opening. 

Aunna Stubblefield, a second-year biology major who attended the exhibit opening, liked the variety of artwork in the collections. 

“The one that I absolutely adored was an interactive art piece [from “Journey Through Life and Beyond’”] where it was an old Mac computer with a bunch of files on it and it was about life and death, and it just was beautiful. You could definitely see that this was picked by younger people who clearly added what they want from an art gallery into this,” Stubblefield said.

The “Fresh Perspectives” exhibit is the result of a program with Seattle City Light. The 50 pieces curated for the exhibit were all selected by youth and will become part of the Seattle Civic Art Collection.

The Seattle Civic Art Collection is an accumulation of around 4,000 works of art owned by the city. Its pieces are displayed and rotated throughout the City of Seattle at various locations. 

“We’ve been collecting since the late 70s, and so a lot of the collection is older and it’s traditionally white and male. So with this group, the youth were largely BIPOC young adults, and we really focused on wanting that fresh perspective to build and diversify the collection,” Maija McKnight, the public art project manager for the collection, said.

The program was designed to diversify the city’s art collection by teaching teens and young adults about art curation. Its goal is to introduce arts administration and curation as a legitimate career option for youth. 

The work for this specific collection started last year under Hasaan Kirkland, a teacher and artist who has led similar projects centered around art education for young adults. Kirkland developed this program due to the lack of diversity in the art selection process. 

“Fresh Perspectives” was curated by 10 young adults under Kirkland’s instruction. From the 30 artists selected by youth curators, the group went to studios, selected pieces, wrote the labels and created the whole experience of the exhibit. 

It’s clear the project that developed the Fresh Perspectives” exhibit is focused on diversity education and supporting local artists, with their initiative to include younger Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth in their project about art administration and curatorship.

The exhibits also go beyond just a location for art and strive to be spaces for community. When viewers arrive, there are couches, snacks, books and a welcoming vibe. 

“I think that one of our goals here for [ARTS at] King Street Station is to be a community space and to get the word out and get people to know this is a place they can come and find a community, hang out, and have a cup of tea or listen to jazz or eat a snack,” Tesla Kawakami said, visitor services coordinator and contracts coordinator. 

ARTS at King Street Station’s efforts to create a welcoming space for art education and appreciation show its commitment to being a community space for young people. 

Stubblefield recommends that other Seattle University students go. 

“It’s free! Like there might be little snacks out front; everyone is calm and inviting, and you just get to experience something that I don’t think people would know is there,” Stubblefield said.