Happily Ever After: Art and Storytelling with the 2026 O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival
What happens when a fairy tale moves beyond the pages of a book—into a painting, a piece of music, or a dancer’s movement?
This fall, Gallery B612 invites you to explore that question through Happily Ever After, on view at our Pioneer Square gallery from October 31, 2026, through January 2, 2027. Bringing together artists with distinct approaches to storytelling, the exhibition opens a door to imagined worlds while finding moments of magic in everyday life.
Developed in conversation with the 2026 O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival: Once Upon a Time, a program of Margolis Arts Foundation, the exhibition connects visual art with a larger celebration of dance, music, folklore, and cultural exchange. Gallery B612 is proud to support the festival as a community sponsor. Together, the gallery exhibition, a planned mini concert, and the festival offer different ways to experience the stories that connect us.
Discovering Stories in the Artworks
Throughout Happily Ever After, familiar subjects take unexpected turns. Animals become companions and characters, landscapes invite us to wander, and ordinary objects seem to hold stories of their own.
The exhibition brings together EVAN (Choi Seok Hyun), Andrea Brice, Carrie Xiao, Dailin Li, David Silvy, Elizabeth Dillinger, Emma Tutty, Irina Semernya, Jenna Brechbiel, Joy Hagen, Karen Gjelsteen, Katja Bakker, Kirsten Rae Simonsen, Krystal Teale, Lauren Knollmeyer, Lezlie Jane, Nicholas Spindler, Sarah Corwin, Sofia Krasnovskaya, Tina Ostrander, and Usako Nan (Nannaya Nantinayaruj).
Among these artists, the following works offer a closer look at the many forms storytelling takes throughout the exhibition.
Sofia Krasnovskaya’s paintings pair children with imaginative creatures and unexpected adventures. A fantastical bicycle carries a company of human and animal travelers, while other scenes offer quieter encounters with nature. These images capture the freedom of childhood imagination, when the boundary between the possible and impossible remains wonderfully open.
In Kirsten Rae Simonsen’s Hanging Garden, Queen of the Night, and Welcome to Pleasure Dome, delicate plants and animal figures inhabit softly colored, dreamlike spaces. Their unusual arrangements reward a closer look, inviting viewers to imagine the relationships unfolding within them.
Tina Ostrander’s Wonder, Discover, and Marvel approach curiosity through expressive figures: one gazes toward floating celestial forms, another bends close to a snail, and a third encounters a butterfly. Each turns a small act of attention into an imaginative event.
Other works find storytelling in places and objects closer to home.
Joy Hagen’s Once Upon a Time—Ode to the Pike Place Market Cherry Trees’ Demise connects the exhibition’s theme with a recognizable Seattle reference.
Lauren Knollmeyer’s Reawakening, Light Shines Through, and Daydream offer luminous landscapes and pathways that suggest a journey waiting to begin.
Nicholas Spindler’s images of cats, chairs, and shadows bring a playful sense of mystery to domestic interiors.
Jenna Brechbiel’s Spellbound gathers candlelight, flowers, and tabletop objects into an atmospheric still life. Meanwhile,
Usako Nan’s Share, Cheer, and Flower Embrace introduce an exuberant world of decorative detail and affectionate characters.
Lezlie Jane’s Pond Party and Redhead bring a playful presence to the exhibition. Their evocative titles offer starting points for imagined stories, inviting viewers to consider the characters and encounters that might unfold beyond the frame.
Together, these works expand what a fairy tale can look like. Some invite adventure; others ask us simply to notice the wonder in familiar things. This spirit of storytelling also reaches beyond the gallery, finding another expression in EVAN’s artwork for the 2026 O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival poster.
From Festival Poster to Gallery Walls
A special connection between the exhibition and the festival comes through EVAN (Choi Seok Hyun / 최석현), whose Twelve Zodiac – Tiger was selected as the official artwork for the 2026 O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival poster.
The painting’s yellow tiger, vivid red background, and surrounding botanical forms create an image that is both commanding and playful. It offers a striking visual introduction to a festival where Korean stories meet new interpretations.
Visitors will also encounter EVAN’s imaginative world, featured in the exhibition’s main image.
Shipped from Korea for this exhibition, EVAN’s original paintings give Seattle audiences the opportunity to experience his work in person. For those who first discover his art through the festival poster or online, this is a chance to spend time with the actual paintings—their scale, surfaces, colors, and details.
Also featured is David Silvy, whose digital artwork My Beautiful Mother received an Honorable Mention and was named runner-up in the O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival Poster Competition.
Following this recognition, David was invited to exhibit a limited-edition print in Happily Ever After, creating another connection between the festival’s visual art competition and the gallery exhibition.
These works invite audiences to discover the artists behind the festival imagery and experience their contributions within the gallery.
A Gallery Experience with Live Music
A mini concert is also planned as part of the exhibition programming, bringing live music into the gallery. Surrounded by artwork, audiences will be invited to listen, look, and experience how music changes the atmosphere of a space. It is another opportunity to gather around the exhibition and enjoy the exchange between artistic forms that lies at the heart of this collaboration.
Concert details will be announced through Gallery B612’s website and social channels.
The Story Continues
at the O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival
On November 14 and 15, the journey continues at Broadway Performance Hall with the fifth annual O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival, a program of Margolis Arts Foundation.
Founded by MiYoung Margolis, the festival takes its name from the Korean legend of Gyeon-u and Jik-nyeo, lovers separated by the Milky Way. Crows and magpies gather to form a bridge, allowing them to reunite. That image guides the festival’s purpose: bringing artists, cultures, generations, and audiences together.
This year’s production, Once Upon a Time, unfolds in three acts, connecting Korean folklore with stories and artistic traditions from different cultures.
Act I: The O-Jak Bridge
The opening act introduces the legend at the heart of the festival through ballet, Korean contemporary fusion, and original music.
Participating artists and organizations include MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective, Sound Ballet Conservatory, Independent Seattle Ballet Project, and Evergreen City Ballet, with original prologue music by Donald J. Stewart.
Through these collaborations, the bridge becomes both a story onstage and an expression of the community creating it.
Act II: Timeless Tales, Reimagined
As a mother turns the pages of a storybook, new worlds unfold through dance.
This act brings together Equipoise Dance, Moonlit Chinese Dance Troupe, ARC Ballet School, Evergreen City Ballet, and MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective. Contemporary movement, Chinese dance, and ballet offer distinct perspectives on the stories we inherit and imagine.
The act also features a new work marking Tatiana Linardopoulou’s choreographic debut, introducing another creative voice to this year’s festival.
Act III: When Tigers Smoked Pipes—Korean Fairy Tales
The Korean expression “when tigers smoked pipes” carries the same storytelling invitation as “once upon a time”—a doorway into a distant, imaginative world.
This act welcomes Sullae Creative Art Company from Korea, alongside Morado Korean Dance, America K-pop Association, and Bellevue Tae Kwon Do’s MooHan demonstration team.
Korean music and storytelling, traditional dance, martial arts, and K-pop share the stage, connecting cultural heritage with contemporary expression.
Royale Princess Wishes also joins this year’s festival, adding to its storybook atmosphere.
The gathering of these artists and organizations gives Once Upon a Time its distinctive character: many artistic voices contributing to a shared experience.
The Exhibition on the Theater Screen
During intermissions at the 2026 O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival, audiences can also enjoy a video presentation of artworks from Happily Ever After on the theater screen, bringing the gallery exhibition into the festival experience.
For gallery visitors, the presentation offers another way to encounter familiar works. For those discovering the exhibition for the first time, it provides an invitation to visit Gallery B612 and experience the artworks in person.
Celebrate with Us
Begin at Gallery B612, where a painting might remind you of a childhood story—or introduce you to an entirely new one. Return for live music, then follow the journey to the festival stage.
We also invite you to celebrate the exhibition’s opening at our Gallery Reception & Costume Ball on Saturday, October 31, from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Guests are encouraged to wear Fairy Tale Chic attire, from elegant classics to imaginative interpretations. One guest will receive the Most Charming Award, including two complimentary tickets to the 2026 O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival: Once Upon a Time. Light refreshments will be provided, and RSVP is kindly requested.
We look forward to sharing this season of art, music, and storytelling with you.
Happily Ever After
October 31, 2026–January 2, 2027Gallery B612 | Pioneer Square520 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Gallery Reception & Costume Ball
Saturday, October 31, 2026 | Noon–1:30 p.m.
Dress: Fairy Tale Chic, optional but encouraged
2026 O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival: Once Upon a Time
A program of Margolis Arts Foundation
Community Sponsor: Gallery B612
Broadway Performance Hall
Saturday, November 14 | 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 15 | 3:30 p.m.
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