Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture, known by locals as MoPOP, is throwing it back to the '80s with its upcoming exhibit on the life, activism, and art of Keith Haring. Curators are busy preparing the original artwork, pop shop prints, and even old yearbooks of Haring's for the October 11 debut.

"This is so different from everything we do," curator Amalia Kozloff said. "Haring was this artist who started in fine arts but also did graffiti and was involved in the early hip-hop movement in New York. There's this intersection of the pop show and commercialism. He is such a perfect intersection of everything we want to discuss as a museum."

Transported into Haring's world
While MoPOP is a museum, the displays housed behind the colorful walls aren't typically artifacts you'd find in the halls of an established art history collection. Instead, visitors can expect to see Dorothy's red slippers, the house from Coraline, or Jimi Hendrix's guitar. While showcasing the work of a modern artist may not seem typical for MoPOP, the museum's curation is anything but ordinary.

The entrance to the Haring exhibit mimics the gates of a New York subway station, a nod to Haring's roots as a street artist. Most of his early subway work was done in chalk and has been difficult to preserve. However, MoPOP has exclusive access to two pieces.

On the makeshift subway walls at the entrance are names scribbled in blocky graffiti lettering. They were written by the members of MoPOP's Youth Advisory Board, who played an active part in curating the exhibit.

"One of the things we wanted to do was bring in youth collaboration, because that was one of the biggest things [Haring] did," Kozloff said. Each of the youth artists received a stipend for their work and provided artist statements about how Haring inspired them.

Throughout his career, Haring worked with young artists, including LA2, whose work is now on display in a separate gallery in the museum.

As visitors walk past the displays, they're transported into Haring's world, featuring over 250 pieces from a private donor's collection. Guests first walk through his early drawings, then his commercial work, his gallery work, and finally an entire panel dedicated to his social activism. Kozloff has included many Easter eggs as a nod to Haring, and she put thought into each detail - the playlist over the speakers includes artists Haring encountered in New York, like Fab 5 Freddy and Art of Noise, and even the shape of the exhibit from above reflects his style.

One of Kozloff's favorite things is seeing visitors make the connection between Haring's name and his iconic work. "As soon as they see his images they go, 'Oh, yeah I know that!'" she said. "His imagery is so a part of our zeitgeist and our pop culture."

Activism and AIDS
Kozloff is also excited to highlight Haring's work as an LGBTQ+ activist, as the exhibit's launch coincides with LGBTQ+ History Month.

"It intersects well with MoPOP's mission, this intersection of pop culture and activism and social justice," Kozloff said.

During his life and career, Haring was outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights, especially as the AIDS epidemic decimated the community. Many of his pieces include cartoonish illustrations of the naked body and depictions of violence against LGBTQ+ people.

Haring ultimately died of AIDS-related complications at the age of 31. Part of showcasing his life and career is highlighting the reality of the AIDS epidemic. Kozloff spent a long time deliberating on how the museum, which is often considered one of Seattle's best family-friendly activities, would handle such a topic.

"We do have what you could call a 'content warning,' and there will be one outside and one at ticketing, but there's not a judgment," Kozloff said. "We never make a judgment. Just be aware that this is an exhibit that includes nudity and some violence."

While it is up to each family to decide what is best for them, the Haring exhibit does have a large wall and an additional warning for viewers before they enter the section of the room that houses the more graphic images. "We are exceptionally family-forward, but pop culture spans a lot of things, and there are some difficult topics in it," Kozloff said. "As a museum that thinks about equity and social justice, there are always those conversations we want to have and we want to add context. We present that information so folks can be exposed to that."

At the end, visitors will find a community resource wall, which highlights local LGBTQ+ organizations and resources for young people to get connected with for support, community, and information.

Kozloff hopes people who come with a vague recognition of Haring's art style leave with a greater appreciation for the Queer man who changed New York's art scene and the legacy he left behind in his short time.

"People are familiar with his style and his artwork - it's been out there and repeated and copied. It's inspired so many other artists, and I hope they come to the exhibit and see how it started," she said.