Fresh Perspectives and Journey Through Life and Beyond

Fresh Perspectives: City Light Percent-for-Art Purchases for the Civic Art Collection

February 6, 2025 - April 5, 2025

Reception: February 6, 2025

Since the percent-for-art ordinance was adopted in 1973, the Seattle Civic Art Collection has grown to include over 4,000 artworks, which are displayed throughout city buildings, Seattle neighborhoods, parks, public buildings, and along roadways throughout the City.

The Fresh Perspectives youth curatorial program has become an integral part of selecting new work to add to the City’s collection. Thanks to dedicated funds from the City Light percent-for-art, the 2024 cohort of 10 youth curators, under the tutelage of artist and educator Hasaan Kirkland, selected 50 artists for consideration for purchase by City Light for the collection. The final selection was made by a purchasing panel of City Light employees.

This exhibition features those purchases, which have now become a permanent part of the City’s collection, showcasing Seattle’s rich artistic heritage.

Opening Reception

Live Jazz Nights with Jahnvi Madan (more below). Enjoy hot tea service by tea& and delectable cookies from Hood Famous Bakeshop.

What To Expect

Fresh Perspectives contains 2D and 3D works featuring abstract imagery, landscapes, and representations of the human form.

Image: 3 Faces (phases) by Gerardo Peña.

Journey Through Life and Beyond

February 6, 2025 - February 22, 2025

Reception: February 6, 2025

Journey Through Life and Beyond is an immersive exploration of the human experience, capturing the profound transitions between life, death, and what may lie beyond.

This exhibition invites viewers to walk through a sensory-rich narrative that mirrors the passage of time, the weight of memory, and the fragility of existence. Each installation—whether rooted in vibrant life stages or the silence of near-death reflections—serves as a portal into the universal and deeply personal moments that define our existence.

Inspired by the interplay of dreams, spiritual beliefs, and surrealism, the exhibition weaves an intricate tapestry of expressionism, where reality and imagination blur. Visitors are encouraged to reflect on their own journeys, engaging with themes of identity, mortality, and legacy.

Journey Through Life and Beyond does not seek to offer answers but instead creates space for introspection, posing a single question: how do we make peace with the impermanence of life while finding meaning in its transitions?

What To Expect

Journey Through Life and Beyond features digital media depicting contemplations of life, memory, loved ones, and death, with representations of ghostly figures and humans traversing natural landscapes.

Artist Bio

Mohamed Abdullahi is a filmmaker and photographer whose work bridges the realms of experimental cinema and storytelling. Drawing heavily from his vivid dreams and personal experiences, Abdullahi crafts narratives that delve into the complexities of life, death, and the surreal landscapes in between. His art is deeply influenced by expressionist and surrealist traditions, as seen in the works of cinematic visionaries like Andrei Tarkovsky, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Gakuryu Ishii.

Rooted in his spiritual beliefs, Abdullahi’s work offers a unique perspective on the human condition, exploring themes of memory, identity, and mortality. Through a fusion of dreamlike imagery and philosophical undertones, his films and photographs invite audiences to ponder the ephemeral nature of existence. His creative practice serves as a reflection of his worldview, blending the mysticism of religion with the rawness of lived experience, resulting in a body of work that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.

To learn more about Mohamed Abdullahi or inquire about his work follow him on Instagram or visit his website.

First Thursday: Live Jazz Nights

Join us on First Thursdays in February, March, and April for Live Jazz Nights with Jahnvi Madan.

Jahnvi believes in music as a tool for community-building and self-expression. Live Jazz Nights are an embodiment of what she wants to see more of in Seattle: shows that introduce new audiences to Seattle Jazz, feature young and local artists, and create a sense of community and belonging.

Jazz is inherently an inclusive and expressive art form: celebrate it in a warm, informal, welcoming, and deeply creative space. Wander the art gallery while listening, strike up a conversation with a new friend, or sit and watch the band play. Come for the vibes, stay for the music!

Artist Bio

Named Northwest Emerging Artist of the Year by Earshot Jazz, Jahnvi Madan is an Indian American clarinetist, composer, and educator currently based in Seattle. 

With her quintet, she has performed her original music all around Seattle and at several well-known Jazz Festivals, including the Washington D.C. Women in Jazz Festival, the Westerlies Festival, and recently at Earshot Jazz Festival, as their youngest commissioned composer. 

Madan has received funding for her musical projects from the City of Seattle, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, New England Conservatory, Artist Trust, and more. With this support, she recorded her debut album in November at Studio Litho in Seattle; it will release in Spring 2025. 

Madan is passionate about creating spaces of belonging with her performances – spaces that welcome first generation people of color, Indian people, into the rooms they are so often absent from, while still bringing along people from all walks of life. She strives to write music that speaks to her lived experiences and navigates difficult topics while still centering resilience, in this way paving a new pathway while paying homage to the spirit of Jazz.