ARTS at King Street Station Gallery
ARTS at King Street Station is a dynamic space for arts and culture in the heart of the city, dedicated to increasing opportunities for communities of color to generate and present their work.
Address
ARTS at King Street Station
303 S. Jackson St., Top Floor
Seattle, WA 98104
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Construction Updates: May 1 - October 1, 2023
The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) offices and ARTS at King Street Station gallery are both open during the construction of Station Space on the 2nd floor of King Street Station. To access ARTS on the third floor, please enter King Street Station via the Amtrak entrance off King Street and take the elevator to the 3rd floor.
Gallery Hours and Admission
Wednesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On First Thursdays, the gallery is open until 8 p.m.
Admission is FREE.
COVID Safety
In accordance with King County Public Health guidelines, ARTS at King Street Station will no longer require visitors to show proof of vaccination or wear face masks when visiting. We ask that you stay home if you feel sick and remain mindful of our community’s varying levels of comfort as we go through this transition.
Current Exhibitions: Space Cowrie, Perceiver/Perception; and The First 50 Years: Highlights from the Civic Collection, 1973-2023
The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) will host two new exhibitions at ARTS at King Street Station featuring emergent artists Le’Ecia Farmer and Eymah Nuzhat. These artistic works will be on view in addition to an exhibition of the City of Seattle’s Civic Art Collection.
Space Cowrie
July 27, 2023 - October 7, 2023
Space Cowrie is a multimedia exhibition exploring African diasporic desire - the whirring space of longing, grief, joy, and healing. Through experimentation with traditional and nontraditional forms, Le'Ecia Farmer examines both the fragmented and whole sides of individual and collective desire. Artworks will evoke sometimes tender and sometimes joyful experiences and reflect the artist trusting her intuition and ancestors. The exhibition will include portraits, textile pieces, constructed garments, and video installations. The work will utilize natural materials such as wool, raffia, and pigments in experimental ways.
Perceiver/Perception
July 27, 2023 - October 7, 2023
Eymah Nuzhat’s installation Perceiver/Perception transforms the narratives of women’s experiences of sexual assault through the lens of the perceiver, into powerful visual autobiographies. Nuzhat portrays the stories and emotions of abused women – particularly when the perpetrators are family members – and how this alters the victim’s self-perception over time. Her work also exposes how society’s reactions can shun the victim, which leads to the glorification of the abuser. Perceiver/Perception features watercolors, handmade gold paint, and gilding on traditional hand-glued paper.
The First 50 Years: Highlights from the Civic Collection, 1973-2023
May 4 – September 7, 2023
The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and its 1% for Art Program has been at the forefront of commissions with diverse artists to create Public Artworks and works for the City’s Civic Collection. Since the inception of the 1% for Art ordinance in 1973, the Seattle Civic Collection has grown to include 4,112 artworks, 3,674 of which are displayed throughout city buildings in city offices and public areas. The remaining 438 works are permanently sited in neighborhoods, parks, public buildings, and along roadways all throughout the city. The current exhibition at ARTS at King Street Station includes over 150 artworks that highlight the breadth and depth of the civic collection and regional artistry.
Images:
The Desquamation of Everything I Built Up for the World to See, Le'Ecia Farmer, Undyed and indigo dyed raffia, 2022
Holy Stain I, Eymah Nuzhat, Watercolors, ink, 24K gold paint, 24K gold gilding on paper, 2023
A City Makes Herself, Kristen Ramirez, photographic images on Inkjet 100% fiber paper, 2007; Purchased with Seattle City Light 1% for Art funds.
2023 Exhibition Calendar
October 5 - 7, 2023
On the Edge: 2nd International Latinx Performance Art Festival
November 2 - January 4, 2024
Places Between
Tammie Dupuis
Make it. Make Sense.
Antoine Fougere
Past Exhibitions
Space Cowrie and Perceiver/Perception
The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) will host two new exhibitions at ARTS at King Street Station featuring emergent artists Le’Ecia Farmer and Eymah Nuzhat. These artistic works will be on view in addition to an exhibition of the City of Seattle’s Civic Art Collection. Space Cowrie and Perceiver/Perception will be on view July 27 – October 7, 2023.
Images:
Mona Lisa Smile, Alison Bremner, Limited edition giclée, 2014; Purchased with Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art funds.
Olive Way, Agustina Forest, Gouache on paper, 2023
The First 50 Years: Highlights from the Civic Collection, 1973-2023 and Spotted in Seattle
The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) and its ARTS at King Street Station Gallery hosts two new exhibitions this spring celebrating the City of Seattle’s Civic Arts Collection and the work of artist Agustina Forest. The First 50 Years: Highlights from the Civic Collection, 1973-2023 and Spotted in Seattle celebrate the natural environment, people, and artists who call Seattle home. Agustina Forest's Spotted In Seattle is on view from May 4 - July 6, 2023, and The First 50 Years: Highlights from the Civic Collection, 1973-2023 is on view from May 4 - September 7, 2023.
Images:
Mona Lisa Smile, Alison Bremner, Limited edition giclée, 2014; Purchased with Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Art funds.
Olive Way, Agustina Forest, Gouache on paper, 2023
Happy Room — Mosaic Collage and digital indigiqueer: a showcase of trans transmedia
Happy Room — Mosaic Collage features everyday objects through the artistry and colorful lens of artist Naoko Morisawa. Juxtaposed with Morisawa’s mosaic collages is a collection of multi-media artworks from five multi-disciplinary, award-winning Indigenous artists in digital indigiqueer: a showcase of trans transmedia.
Images:
Left Image: Foreground: Happy Chair, Naoko Morisawa/Morisawa Studio, 20 x 13 x11 in., handcrafted, oil-stained wood, 2022. Background: Invisible world - on the way to the Shangri-La, Naoko Morisawa/Morisawa Studio, 30 x 40 in., handcrafted, oil-stained wood/ paper mosaic, acrylic and Japanese paper, 2022.
Right Image: 227 Indigenous Children, Elijah Forbes, digital illustration print, 2022
IMMINENT MODE: US
ARTS at King Street Station hosts IMMINENT MODE: US, an immersive exhibition that pairs built environments with one-of-a-kind fashion. Curated by Jordan Christianson, Adé A Cônnére, and Anouk Rawkson, IMMINENT MODE: US is comprised of eight teams who collaborate to create a unique piece of couture/wearable art displayed in a large-scale installation based on the theme US. Each team will explore and celebrate their unique cultural heritages and express that through their work. On view at ARTS at King Street Station through January 5, 2023.
Learn more about the exhibition.
Image: Adé A Cônnére wearing a garment by Jordan Christianson; Photo by Debora Spencer
Pantheon Anew
Saira Barbaric's Pantheon Anew is a collection of more than 30 collages plus video art and installation inspired by the past and present of Black diasporic spirituality. African people who were bought and sold in the 16th to 19th century Americas were regularly separated from their families and anyone from their region. Over the centuries, this artist’s ancestors took what they were allowed to build new systems of belief that helped to create protection, community, and new understanding.
Learn more about the exhibition.
Image: Skull Guard 2: Goat, Acrylic, foil, watercolor, paper, 2021
Hanako O’Leary: Izanami and Yomi and Molly Vaughan: Her Body and After Boucher
ARTS at King Street Station hosts two exhibitions, Hanako O’Leary: Izanami and Yomi and Molly Vaughan: Her Body and After Boucher, which explore themes of feminine power, transgender transformation, fertility, and self-determination. Both exhibitions will be on view from May 5 through July 7, 2022.
Learn more about the exhibitions.
Image: Detail from two images: War Mask 1, Hanako O’Leary, clay and glaze, 2018; Self-Portrait with Clove Cigarette #2, Molly Vaughan, oil on canvas, 61 x 5 in., 2020
The 1 Million - Multiple Species Eradication
The 1 Million - Multiple Species Eradication at ARTS at King Street Station explores bio/multi species extinctions and explores species affected by humanity's mass resource extraction. Artist Carol Rashawnna Williams created the large scale monoprint installation with seven contributing local/national visual artists: Amaranta Ibarra-Sandys, Paula Oliver, Noa Piper, Sydney Pertl, Kelly and Hope Bain, and Rosalind Davis Guterson.
Three additional installations will also be on view in the gallery: A Clearer View: The Last Days of the Alaskan Way Viaduct by Roxann Murray and Eirik Johnson; Home of Good: A Black Seattle Storyquilt by Storme Webber; and Diversity by Design by AIA Seattle's Diversity Roundtable.
Learn more about the exhibition.
Image: Detail from The 1 Million - Multiple Species Eradication, Carol Rashawnna Williams, with Amaranta Ibarra-Sandys, Paula Oliver, Noa Piper, Sydney Pertl, Kelly and Hope Bain, Rosalind Davis Guterson, Fabric, acrylic, safety pins, 2019-2022
1619: Resistance/Resilience/Remembrance/Liberation
The history of American chattel slavery, as an institution, had the primary function of feeding the greed of wealth and capitalism by white men of European descent both in Europe and the Americas. The commodification of human beings primarily from the continent of Africa provided a free labor force for over 400 years. There are many histories that are still debated and told through different lenses, but stories that are centered on the attributes, perseverance, and courage, of a great people are rarely shared.
Created and curated by Mr. Delbert Richardson of The Unspoken Truths, 1619: Resistance/Resilience/Remembrance/Liberation takes viewers on a chronological journey - from the beginnings of our origins in Africa, American Chattel Slavery, and the Jim Crow Era to modern-day African American originators, inventors, and innovators.
Two additional installations will also be on view in the gallery space: Diversity by Design by AIA Seattle's Diversity Roundtable and Home of Good: A Black Seattle Storyquilt by Storme Webber.
Learn more about the exhibition.
Image: Ceremonial Mask, 20th Century, Wood, Beads, Cowrie shells, courtesy of the American History Traveling Museum: The Unspoken Truths
Two Different Somali Perspectives: Hawo Ali and Abdi Ibrahim
September 7 - October 23, 2021 - Hawo Ali is a Seattle-based Somali-American artist and community activist. Centering on the flowers and scenery of her home country Somalia, her art is inspired by her arrival to the United States and the new flora of the land. Hawo’s paintings often include abstraction and strong colors to accentuate her portrayal of traditional Somali practices, artifacts, and narratives on Somali culture. These diverse narratives represent vivid depictions ranging from the resourcefulness of the native nomadic people to the native lions, tigers, and hyenas that make up the land.
Abdi Ibrahim is a Somali-American photographer based in Los Angeles. Raised in Seattle, Abdi is the son of two immigrants. Since his start in film photography at the age of 17, his work has been featured in numerous publications including New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Billboard Magazine. Abdi also works as a film and commercial director, where he has worked on campaigns for Apple Music, REI, Subaru, and The Fader. Abdi photographs his subjects in what feels like abstract worlds — creating an image that tells a story and a surreal aesthetic that is meant to be imaginative but rooted in reality; a cross between documentary and conceptual.
Learn more about the exhibition.
Image: Details from Spring Flower in Somalia, by Hawo Ali, and Happy Sad, by Abdi Ibrahim.
Noogu imow kulankeena Labo Ra'yi ee kala duwan oo Soomaali ah: Hawo Ali iyo Abdi Ibrahim, Kulanku wuxuu dhaciyaa September 7 ilaa October 23, 2021 Waxaana lagu qabaiyaa ARTS at King Street Station.
Xaawo Cali waa farshaxanley Somali-American ah oo joogta Seattle, bulshadana way u doodaa. Farshaxankeedu wuxuu u badanyahay ubaxyada iyo muuqaalka dalkeeda hooyo, Imaanashaha maraykankana iyo dhirta cusub ee dhulka ayaa dhiirrigeliyay inay sii wado.
Cabdi Ibraahim waa sawir qaade Soomaali-Mareykan ah oo deggan Los Angeles. Wuxuu ku soo barbaaray magaalada Seattle waxaana dhalay labo somaali ee soo -galooti ahaa. Cabdi wuxuu dadka ku sawiraa adduunyo qurxoon - wuxuu qaadaa sawiro ka sheekeynaya sheeko iyo bilicsanaan dhab ah oo loola jeedo inay noqoto riyo ku jirta xaqiiqda hada; Tani waa talaabo u dhaxaysa dokumenteriga iyo fikirka guud.
Close to Home
July 22 - August 14, 2021 - Close to Home challenges audiences to think intentionally about the idea of “home” through the use of paint, sculpture, quilting, and textural arts. The representations of “home” also span depictions of historical artifacts, abstract illustrations, to what home might look like in the future.
While being some of the most vulnerable to forced migration and displacement, the 14 artists in Close to Home actively celebrate the resilience of people of color using nuanced understandings of place.
Learn more about the exhibition.
Image: Metaphor of my mother, missTANGQ, Mixed media, 2018.
Artists of Color Expo & Symposium In-Person Gallery
May 4-21, 2021 - Artists of Color Expo & Symposium (ACES) is a BIPOC-centered and -led art conference. Its vision is to establish a space for artists of color to celebrate and center ourselves. ACES, partnering with ARTS at King Street Station, will feature performances, presentations, workshops, artist talks, films, discussions, and opportunities to meet local arts organizations. All programming will be offered online, with an in-person gallery to visit at ARTS at King Street Station.
Learn more about the exhibition.
The American War
February 6 - March 20, 2020 - The American War is an exhibition featuring photographic and video works, both created and found, by artists Pao Houa Her and Sadie Wechsler, that expose the legacy and residue that remains in Southeast Asia and the United States in the aftermath of what is known stateside as The Vietnam War.
Image: Detail from Legs for display,Sadies Wechsler, 2018.
Brighter Future: To be heard. To be seen. To be free.
November 7, 2019 - January 11, 2020 - Brighter Future: To be heard. To be seen. To be free. is a group exhibition of artworks created by more than 50 local artists of color reflecting on themes of freedom.
The exhibition is organized by the Ethnic Heritage Art Gallery Board, a collective of City of Seattle employees including people of Black, Latino, Native American, White, Asian, and Indian backgrounds who showcase local artists of color and build appreciation for diversity and social commentary expressed through art. The exhibition features 100 artworks including paintings, photography, sculpture, print, video and four installations.
Learn more about the exhibition.
Image: Detail from Dani, Mexico City, MX by Marilyn Montufar, Chromogenic color print, 2011.
Tagalog sa King Street
September 5 - October 5, 2019 - Tagalog sa King Street is a collection of one-act plays written and performed in the national language of the Philippines. With the creative use of live English surtitles and shadow puppetry, non-Tagalog speaking patrons can enjoy the innovative, brave new playwrights selected from the Virgin Labfest of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Learn more about the exhibition.
yəhaw'
Inaugural exhibition by Indigenous Creatives
March 23 - August 4, 2019 - In recognition of the Coast Salisha peoples on whose land the City of Seattle is built, the Office of Arts & Culture is honored to open ARTS at King Street Station with yəhaw̓, an Indigenous-centered exhibition.
yəhaw̓ is an expansive multi-city, yearlong project. It includes satellite installations across the Puget Sound region, performances, artist-in-residence, a publication, art markets, and culminates in a large-scale exhibition at King Street Station. The title yəhaw̓, is drawn from the Coast Salish story of Native people from all tribes uniting around a common cause and lifting up the sky together.
Image: Detail from Kali Spitzer (Kaska Dena and Jewish), Awapuhi, Archival pigment print from scanned tintype, 2016, Courtesy of the artist.
Borderlands
August 3 - October 29, 2017 - "BorderLands" explores the ideas of belonging and resistance. Immersive installations include artworks by Anida Yoeu Ali & Studio Revolt, RYAN! Feddersen, Satpreet Kahlon, Pedro Lasch, Henry Luke, Ries Niemi, Crystal Schenk, Carina A. del Rosario, and Inye Wokoma. In addition 2D- and 3D artworks from the City's collection will be on display in the installation "And She Persisted: Voices of Women Artists", featuring 38 women artists who challenge assumptions, take risks, and break barriers while creating objects of beauty and depth.