Art preparator Paul Churchill doesn’t have the easiest job to explain in a jiffy.“ People ask, ‘What do you do?’” Churchill says. “I tell them, ‘Basically, I’m a preparator,’ and
“You should make a movie of my life,” local jazz legend Myra Taylor (1917-2011) said to independent filmmaker Michael Assesandro years ago. He never forgot it. Now, Assesandro is part
After a lifetime of making art, Joseph T. Newton has had an especially busy schedule of showing his work in recent months.In late 2018, Newton participated in an exhibition featuring
Sheri “Purpose” Hall is an author of three books, including poetry, epistles and a collection of writings titled “Black Girl Shattered.” A dedicated social activist, Hall has been a steady
Appreciating art and accurately putting a golf ball may seem like disparate objectives. Yet “each requires a certain level of discipline and commitment and creativity,” says Casey Claps, manager of
Most of us have experienced the distinct pleasure of scrutinizing a work of art in person or studying a printed version in a book. We wonder, perhaps, what kind of relationship exists between the man and woman in the painting, or what might be going on in that house in the distance. Award-winning author and […]
Early this year, “Downbeat” magazine announced a global list of 25 cities where jazz “thrives.” Kansas City, alas, failed to make the cut. A friend in New York responded with outrage. Portland? I see her point, but I also understand how our jazz legacy is so often overlooked. Sure, we pay lip service to it […]
Spinning Tree Theatre, a not-for-profit company known for quality work and staging shows new to Kansas City audiences, has found a new home: the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center.The center, which houses a small theater as well as the Johnson County Museum, is where the theater company founded by Andrew Grayman-Parkhurst and Michael Grayman-Parkhurst will stage its ninth season.
Arnold Epley has devoted nearly half his life to the musical culture of Kansas City and he’s not finished yet. “I used to say, if you wake me up at 3 a.m. and shake me and ask, ‘What do you do?’ I would say, ‘I’m a singer,’” said Epley. Epley turns 80 years old May 18.
Last seen in KC in a 2017 solo show at Haw Contemporary, former Kansas City artist Ahram Park, now of Los Angeles, returns to the gallery May 17 with a new body of work inspired by his current surroundings. “Over the past two years, I have been walking around my neighborhood in Los Angeles, cutting […]
Funny what a difference just a few words can make. Not long ago Sidonie Garrett, executive artistic director of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, and the organization’s board of directors agreed to alter the theater company’s mission statement. It marked a major shift.
