Northern is the new home of Olympia All Ages Project, a local, non-profit organization that — as the name implies — came to be as a vehicle to bolster Olympia’s all-ages music and arts scene. Officially open in May of 2009, just in time for Spring Arts Walk, Northern exists mainly as an art gallery and music venue, but umbrellas many other facets of self-expression.

As I look around it becomes obvious the pieces of art adorning Northern are all the work of local artists — one of the main purposes of this space I find myself in. Luz tells me the art is on display for a month and then rotates out. Most of the artists are young.

According to Luz, there’s nowhere else in Olympia that has gallery shows of this particular age group — 20 to 30-year-olds — or that displays so many varieties of artistic media.

Music is another big part of the Olympia All Ages Project, and DIY shows are commonplace at Northern. In addition to the obvious, sound workshops are available at Northern so that musicians and groups can help support themselves and learn how to run sound equipment, and Olympia Free Choir, advocated by Kimya Dawson and open to anyone, is known to practice and perform at Northern.