This is the last weekend to see the 2016 Charlotte Street Visual Artist Awards Exhibition at Kemper at the Crossroads (read Neil Thrun’s review), open Friday 10:00am-9:00pm and Saturday noon to 4pm. Sunday, the Living History Volunteer Corps will be on site at the WWI Museum to share stories of the Great War era, free to the public. Also on Sunday, the Kansas City Symphony Family Series presents Presto Mambo at the Kauffman Center.
Culturally, it’s a quiet weekend, so we’ve included a Monday night event from the KC Rep and a recommendation of an ongoing show at the Nelson that will fascinate and charm. For more ideas this weekend and throughout the week, visit Kansas City’s most comprehensive arts calendar at kcstudio.org/events.
Charlotte Street Foundation 2016 Visual Artist Awards Exhibition
September 2, 2016 – January 17, 2017 | Free
Kemper at the Crossroads
The Charlotte Street 2016 Visual Artist Awards exhibition features Charlotte Street’s 2016 Visual Artist Awards Fellows: Shawn Bitters, Madeline Gallucci, and Rodolfo Marron III.
The 2016 Charlotte Street Awards Fellows were selected through competitive processes, which began with open calls for applications from artists based in the five-county Kansas City Metro Area. The selection process culminated with in-person studio visits with 10 finalists. The 2016 Charlotte Street Visual Award Panelists included, Erin Dziedzic, Curator + Head of Adult Programs at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art; Nicole Caruth, Director, Pedagogy + Public Practice at The Union for Contemporary Art; James McAnally, Executive Editor and Co-Founder, Temporary Art Review and Founder, Co-Director, Curator, The Luminary; Rita Gonzalez, Curator and Acting Department Head Contemporary Art Department at Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Please see charlottestreet.org or kemperart.org for more information.
A Day in the Life
January 8 | Free
National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial
Taking place all day, living historians will bring history to life during the monthly Day in the Life program, which will focus on the tremendous burden placed on soldiers during the war. Additionally, Living Historians will share a presentation as part of the In the Know series at 2 p.m. in which they provide a behind-the-scenes look at what being a living historian entails.
PRESTO, MAMBO!
January 8 @ 2:00 pm
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
A concert about the music of the Americas takes an unexpected turn when Max, an energetic and impulsive young boy, makes his way onto the stage to “help” the orchestra. Soon Max is on a whirlwind adventure that takes him from the concert hall to the vibrant lands of Latin America. Max learns the magic of Latin rhythms and how to “dance” with the music with help from his new friend, Mambo the dog, the orchestra and the audience. A Platypus Theatre production.
Playwright Slam
January 9 @ 8:00 pm | Free
Spencer Theatre, Olson PAC, UMKC Campus
The Playwright Slam brings together Kansas City’s artistic community for a night of theater revelry in which everyone is invited to participate. The public is invited to bring a 1-3 page script that will be read out loud by actors chosen from the audience. Theme to be announced.
This event is FREE and open to the public but tickets are required.
Emperors, Scholars, and Temples: Tastemakers of China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties
August 12, 2016 – July 9, 2017 | Free
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the arts of China reached full maturity. Painting, calligraphy, porcelain and textiles flourished, and new styles and techniques emerged. The imperial court, scholars and temples supported this profusion of creativity, each establishing distinctive, yet overlapping artistic styles.
Emperors held court in the Forbidden City in Beijing in unparalleled splendor. Courtiers, empresses and concubines wore extravagant garb and beautiful jewelry. Across the empire, an educated class of scholars pursued elegant and cultured lifestyles. Buddhism was also an inspiration for the arts. Thousands of ornate temples stored precious relics and images of Buddhist deities.
Presenting rarely seen objects from the Nelson-Atkins Chinese collection, the exhibition explores currents of taste during this five hundred-year period.
Right: Coat, Early 18th century, Chinese. Brocade, 54 x 81 inches. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 35-184/1.
