DREAM TEMPLE (for Octavia), Journey to Serenity, and Manifestations
DREAM TEMPLE (for Octavia)
March 7, 2024 - May 23, 2024
Reception: March 7, 2024
Who can afford to dream? Given the systemic racism and racial trauma that Black people often face in society, DREAM TEMPLE (for Octavia) aims to counteract the exhaustion and stress that is carried intergenerationally while also creating a portal of healing and imagining.
Artists Mia Imani Harrison and Mayola Tikaka use the writings of Octavia Butler, who prophesied 2024 as the year society in the United States grows unstable, to create a gathering space for Black folx to be heard and to hear each other. As Seattle is morphing into a new version of itself, how might we also visualize a future where rest instead of productivity is central?
DREAM TEMPLE (for Octavia) is an opportunity to revitalize the area by creating space to imagine new possibilities for the city. By bringing together members of the community to share dreams and learn new practices around rest, the program aims to counteract the extractive nature of capitalism and create a portal for healing and imagining.
Space plays a huge role in our ability to rest, and ultimately sleep. We plan to stage our Dream Temple at the King Street Station Gallery to honor the role that King Street Station plays in the movement of people, ideas, and culture. However, this time we are creating a portal to slow down, and transform the area for communal gathering and rest.
What to Expect
DREAM TEMPLE (for Octavia) features an enclosed resting space with low lighting that contains resting mats, an altar, and projections featuring imagery of Black rest and contemplation of Octavia Butler’s work. Over the course of the exhibition, the space will feature rest rituals, interviews, and performances by the artists.
Artist Bios
Mia Imani Harrison
Mia Imani Harrison is an international interdisciplinary artist. She researches how communities can heal individual, communal, and societal trauma by creating works that live between art, ritual, and science. This “third-way” mixes unconventional methods (dreams, rituals) and science (ethnography, geography, psychoanalysis) to create new ways of being and becoming.
Her creative and collaborative work has lived in Akademie Schloss, KVS - Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg, Kunsthalle Gent, PICA, Prater Galerie, Seattle Art Museum Lab, Savvy Contemporary, Wa Na Wari and more. Her written work lives via Art Papers, Cultured Magazine, Contemporary And, Daddy Magazine, Frieze, Hyperallergic, Vice, and more. She recently co-published the first academic article about dream technology and the radical rest movement.
Mayola Tikaka
Mayola Tikaka is an international architect and art director. His work lies in the implications of space through data, human organization and their cultural influence through the lens of architecture. He specializes in scenography, brand identity and spatial storytelling.
Recent projects and awards include: AIA LA NextLA 2022 Merit award – Echo Park Co-Living with West of West (Los Angeles); Retail scenography and brand experiences – Garrett Leight California Optical *longlisted on the 2023 Dezeen Awards, Metabolic Selves – An interactive digital exhibition 2020 – Serpentine Galleries (London); A contributor for the Race Space Architecture Project 2020 (London), and more.
Image: Detail from Dreaming Black Futures (Vienna), Digital collage, 2023.
Journey to Serenity by Nahom Ghirmay
April 4, 2024 - May 23, 2024
Reception: April 4, 2024
Nahom Ghirmay's work explores the complexities of identity and emotional experiences through a range of mediums. Central to his artistic vision is a desire to capture our shared humanity, inspired by the stories and sentiments of those around him.
This series is a visual expression of the physical and spiritual journey to find peace amidst the chaos. As an immigrant, I spent lots of time wondering and searching for a sense of home. Ultimately, I came to realize home wasn’t a physical place, but the journey.
Image: The Flower Lady, Nahom Ghirmay, Acrylic, oil, and pastel on canvas, 30" x 24", 2020.
What to Expect
Journey to Serenity features 2D painted works depicting figures at rest, displaying gentle affection, or transporting flowers.
Artist Bio
Visual artist Nahom Ghirmay found his way to Seattle in 2010 after an extensive immigration journey from Eritrea through Sudan and South America. These diverse experiences have deeply influenced his artistic perspective, reshaping his concept of "home." By sharing his art, he hopes to cultivate empathy, understanding, and to create a space for meaningful dialogue.
Manifestations by June Sekiguchi
April 4, 2024 - May 23, 2024
Reception: April 4, 2024
June Sekiguchi‘s work addresses cultural identity, cross cultural exchange, and personal narratives through an interplay of surface pattern and structural form.
She makes pattern-based sculptures, large scale immersive installations, and public art. Her process starts with researching the culture, history, and environment of a site or project. She then takes that source material and processes, deconstructs, and re-structures forms, focusing on metaphorical rather than literal interpretations of the references she uncovers.
Image: Silkpunk Transport, June Sekiguchi, Scroll cut MDF and acrylic, LED lights, 2018.
What to Expect
Manifestations features 3D abstract sculptural objects, including large building-block structures and a large abstract representation of a cricket.
Artist Bio
June Sekiguchi was born in Fayetteville, AR and received a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She works primarily with scroll cut wood in her studio practice, making sculptures and site-specific installations. Her current work is in the public art realm.
Sekiguchi is an arts activist and advocate co-founding and participating in several non-profit and artist-run spaces in the Seattle area. Her interests involve social justice issues, cultural exchange, mental health, and elder communities. She is currently an independent art curator for Era Living and curates for the gallery at Asia Pacific Cultural Center in Tacoma, WA, where she serves on the board. Sekiguchi is a recipient of a GAP and Fellowship from Artist Trust and five 4Culture grants.
She has participated in residencies in the Pacific Northwest including Willapa Bay AiR, Vashon Artist Residency, and the James and Janie Washington residency, as well as abroad in Cambodia and Laos. She has exhibited extensively in the Salish Sea area, including San Juan Islands Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Vashon Center for the Arts, the Wing Luke Asian Museum, and Bellevue Arts Museum. She lives in Tacoma and is represented by ArtX Contemporary in Seattle.