Still from Community Voices short form documentary series on the process behind the Leimert Park Station artwork by Metro Art commissioned Ingrid Calame who was assisted by William Watters and Jasmin Morgan of Right Way Foundation
It’s hard to believe, but the K Line has been open for a month!
To mark the occasion, Metro Art is celebrating Community Voices, an award-winning short form documentary series. The series unfolds over the course of 10 years and highlights personal stories that give context to the significance of the K Line’s opening.
Made by director and producer Mobolaji Olambiwonnu of Dreamseeker Media/Seeker Films, Community Voices documents slice-of-life moments from community members over the years as the K Line is built. Each of the 28 mini documentaries was filmed at a site reflective of its subject.
- The first six short documentaries, which were completed in 2012, chronicled a diverse cross-generational group of residents, students, faith leaders and small businesses reflecting on the importance of increased transit options for South Los Angeles through original poetry, personal history, and local landmarks.
- A new set of six documentaries, filmed in 2019, go deeper into homes, cultural institutions, and local gathering spaces—often linking one documentary to another through conversations on community belonging, empowerment and transit.
- Sixteen short documentaries, completed between 2016 and 2021, share the community-driven artwork development process for K Line stations, including studio visits with the 14 Metro Art-commissioned artists, student workshops, public presentations and more.
Watch the compiled Community Voices playlist, including the six new videos, here:
You might have seen this capstone video in the series which features an original poem by Rhys Langston. The video debuted just in advance of the K Line’s opening day for the seven new stations.
Mobolaji Olambiwonnu’s thoughtful approach to Community Voices was informed by his background as a former resident of the neighborhood.
“I learned so much that I did not know about this community I love and spend time in often. I used to live just north of Leimert Park for many years and still hold the whole area from there to Inglewood close to my heart, so any opportunity to return and connect is wonderful,” shared Olambiwonnu.
“It was a deeply enriching experience to be with artists of all types and people I would never have met had it not been for this work. I will continue to carry those relationships and that deeper connection with me.”
For his work on the series, Olambiwonnu was honored with three Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals Hermes Creative Gold Awards, an AVA Digital Gold Award, an International Competition for Marketing and Communication Professionals MarCom Gold Award. He also received a prestigious International Videography Award.
Mobolaji Olambiwonnu is the director of the recent feature documentary, Ferguson Rises, which received the Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award in 2021. A trailer for the film, which also screened at the 2022 Pan African Film Festival, is online as part of the PBS/Independent Lens series.
About Metro Art
Metro Art enhances the customer experience with innovative, award-winning visual and performing arts programming that encourages ridership and connects people, sites and neighborhoods throughout LA County. A diverse range of site-specific artworks are integrated into the growing Metro system, improving the quality of transit environments and creating a sense of place.
Click here for more information about the Metro Art program. Follow Metro Art on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe for email updates.
Categories: Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project, Metro Art