Take a stroll on a street in Osaka, by way of Ballard

The popularity of sister cities is on the rise. Articles are touting Berlin as an artistic haven of cheap rents and big spaces like New York City in the 1970s. Then there was that New York Times piece claiming Oakland and Brooklyn as coastal twins. In Seattle, artists also have investigated the idea. Last year Gretchen Bennett and Yann Novak created East River Project in which they swapped street noise and art from Williamsburg and Seattle, creating a hybrid space.

Artist Nhon Nguyen has now inaugurated a space in Ballard by creating a wraparound installation that works as a kind of immersion. Belltown's BLVD Gallery has a project room tucked upstairs at Triple in Ballard. It's a subtly discombobulating experience. The pocket-size space depicts a street scene from Osaka, Japan. The walls are covered in evolving murals of buildings, a cherry tree in bloom, and a small screen showing images of Osaka. A parallel space of Seattle's Gas Works Park is being created in Osaka.

BLVD Gallery Project Room at Triple, 5227 Ballard Ave.; 206-448-8767; blvdart.com. Through April 12. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday- Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

-- Nate Lippens