The “Exposure 20: Safe Spaces” exhibition will run Aug. 24-Dec. 7 in Gallery 210 at UMSL. (Graphic courtesy of Gallery 210)

Gallery 210 at the University of Missouri–St. Louis will open its new season Aug. 24 with “Exposure 20: Safe Spaces,” an exhibition featuring the work of four area artists.

Pieces from Sage Dawson, Katherine Simóne Reynolds, Shabez Jamal and Rachel Youn will define and examine safe spaces in the current political landscape.

“The artwork evokes a deeply personal sense of awareness,” Gallery 210 Director Terry Suhre said. “It presents intentionally constructed or accidental communities that benefit from the compassion of friends, family or an institution.”

The Aug. 24 opening begins at 4 p.m. with an artists’ panel moderated by local poet, curator and critic Jessica Baran. A reception will follow from 5-7 p.m.

This exhibition is part of a yearlong series that ties to UMSL’s Common Read program, which encourages the university community to read the same book and have wide-ranging conversations about diversity and inclusion.

“Exposure 20: Safe Spaces” is also the latest in a series of group exhibitions that feature artists who live and work in the St. Louis region. The series originated in the late 1990s and was housed in the Cecille R. Hunt Gallery at Webster University. Gallery 210 took ownership of the series in 2005 with “Exposure 8.” Since then, it has become one of the gallery’s most anticipated programs.

Support from the Missouri Arts Council, Center for the Humanities and College of Arts and Sciences made the exhibition possible.