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Collectors Corner: Roberta and Elton Gumbel, Jr.
When Dr. Elton Gumbel died in 2006, he left behind hundreds of paintings and drawings. Many people knew Gumbel as an optometrist. He was the first black optometrist in Kansas City and the first licensed black optometrist in the state of Missouri. But he was also a prolific self-taught artist, who never had an exhibit or any other public exposure of his work.
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Honors: Carlos Perez
Transgenderism is more mainstream than ever in 2015, if only because of unprecedented media coverage surrounding the transition of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner. Local writer Carlos Perez stands to benefit from the trend with his new transgender stage drama, In Hyding, although he wasn’t influenced by the former Olympic champion and reality TV star coming out as female.