Bryan F. Le Beau

March 1, 2019

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art Hires a New Executive Director

Sean O’Harrow has been named executive director of Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. He will be the fifth executive director in the museum’s 25-year history. In a recent telephone interview, O’Harrow said he feels “fortunate and honored” to be chosen for the post.

November 2, 2018

Arts News: Preserving “The Folly Experience”

The doors have reopened on the renovated, historic Folly Theater. The first-floor lobby and shareholders lounge display revitalized finishes, furniture and lighting. A new curved..

September 17, 2018

Arts New: Architect Marlon Blackwell to Speak at Annual Mary Atkins Lecture

In 1995 the Mary Atkins Lecture Series was established to honor and foster the legacy of Mary McAfee Atkins, whose bequest, combined with that of William Rockhill Nelson, provided funding for the building of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

July 4, 2018

A Novel Approach

In July 1814, 16-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin departed her home in England and travelled to France with the already married poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Two years later, during the summer of 1816, they took up residence in Geneva, Switzerland, where, housebound by abnormally low temperatures that earned 1816 the epithet, “the year without a summer,” their companion George Gordon (Lord) Byron, suggested that the group engage in writing ghost stories.

Articles

March 1, 2018

‘An Opportunity to Catapult the Airport Well Into the 21st Century’

Barring another City Council revolt like the one that sent a publicly approved plan for a new airport into a tailspin last fall, Kansas City will be getting a new airport designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). SOM is one of the oldest and largest architectural, urban planning and engineering firms in the nation, with an airport track record second to none. The proposed $1 billion single terminal will replace the three existing terminals built more than four decades ago.

January 24, 2018

The Job: Rachael Blackburn Cozad

Except for the few collectors among us, most people know little about the work of fine art appraisers and the prominence in the profession of Kansas City’s Rachael Blackburn Cozad. Cozad, the daughter of two artists, the holder of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art history has been prominent in Kansas City art circles since her arrival in 2001 to begin an 11-year tenure as executive director of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

Articles

January 8, 2018

‘A Long Time Coming’

The threat of rain may have forced organizers to move the Kansas City Museum’s construction kickoff indoors, but it hardly discouraged people from attending the Oct. 10 ceremony. The iffy weather may have even helped underscore the importance of the event, as being inside Corinthian Hall made clear how much it needs restoration and renovation if it is to fulfill its promise for the future.

October 31, 2017

From Controversy and Criticism to Kansas City Icon

This year marks a milestone for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: the 10th anniversary of its internationally acclaimed Bloch Building.

Author: Bryan F. Le Beau