Glendale “Through the Eyes of Artists” artwork created by artist Edith Waddell

A new exhibition in Union Station, Journeys: LA Communities Through the Eyes of Artists, and a special series of artist-led tours will kick off a year of activities to celebrate fifteen years of this award-winning series. The work is currently on view in the passageway connecting Union Station East and West.

Established in 2003, the Through the Eyes of Artists series was created in the tradition of colorful travel destination posters to encourage riders to explore communities throughout the expanding Metro transit system. Each artwork focuses on a particular neighborhood or city within Los Angeles County and highlights special, often lesser-known or under-appreciated facets of those communities. Lush urban gardens, backyard barbecues, street parades, cemeteries and even a fantastical underwater world are among the subjects for these idiosyncratic works of art.

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).

Click here to check out the artists and their artwork.

Long Beach “Through the Eyes of Artists” artwork created by artist Christine Nguyen

Exhibition-related tour series:

In addition to the exhibition, Metro Art has organized a series of free artist-led tours of Journeys at Union Station in July, August and September. Interested members of the public are encouraged to attend and learn more about the artworks.  The summer tour schedule is as follows:

Artist Led Tour #1, July 22: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Walter Askin (Pasadena), Sarajo Frieden (Venice), Sam Pace (Leimert Park),  Christine Nguyen (Long Beach)

Artist Led Tour #2, August 19: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Wakana Kimura (Inglewood), Shizu Saldamando (Little Tokyo)

Artist Led Tour #3, September 23: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Jane Gillespie Pryor (Whittier), Aaron Rivera (Lakewood), Edith Waddell (Glendale)

Click here for more information about Metro Art.

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