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Since 2003, Metro has been commissioning artists to create unique visions of different L.A. neighborhoods and communities for their "Through the Eyes of Artists" series. Created in the tradition of colorful travel destination posters, the works are displayed on board Metro trains and buses and intended to encourage riders to explore new destinations within the transit agency's ever-expanding network.
Each of the pieces "focuses on a particular neighborhood or city within Los Angeles County and highlights special, often lesser-known or under-appreciated facets of those communities," according to Metro. Now, after 14 years aboard the county's buses and trains, the Through the Eyes of Artists series will be getting its own exhibition at—where else?—Union Station. Twelve of the more than 40 works commissioned to date are now on view in the Metro Art Passageway Gallery in the walkway connecting Union Station East and West.
“Artists notice details in our environments that many of us don’t,” Maya Emsden, head of Metro’s art and design programs, said in a statement. According to Emsden, the exhibition showcases artists’ observations and "their distinctive, sometimes quirky interpretations of the communities they know well."
The twelve artists featured in the exhibition and the communities they have highlighted include Jonathan Anderson (Gardena), Walter Askin (Pasadena), Sarajo Frieden (Venice), Wakana Kimura (Inglewood), Christine Nguyen (Long Beach), Mary Ann Ohmit (Azusa), Sam Pace (Leimert Park), Jane Gillespie Pryor (Whittier), Aaron Rivera (Lakewood), Artemio Rodríguez (East Los Angeles), Shizu Saldamando (Little Tokyo), and Edith Waddell (Glendale).
There will also be a series of free, artist-led tours of the exhibit at Union Station in July, August and September. Details can be found here.
Union Station is located at 800 North Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles. The Metro Art Passageway Gallery is located in the walkway connecting Union Station East and West.
