KC Studio editor Alice Thorson has provided a few calendar picks for this Fourth of July weekend. Tomorrow is First Friday in the Crossroads, with opening receptions for KCAI Crossroads Gallery, Todd Weiner, Weinberger and more. Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey pressent Festival on the Vine, June 30 – July 2. Stop by the World War I Museum tomorrow night to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme with Kansas City Celtic Pipes and Drums. Learn about the human brain with Brain: The Inside Story at the Museum at Prairiefire through September. And this is the last weekend to see Bank Job at The Living Room Theatre. For more ideas, visit Kansas City’s most comprehensive arts calendar at kcstudio.org/events.
A selection of First Friday openings in the Crossroads:
The Position We’re In
July 1 – September 2
KCAI Crossroads Gallery
KCAI Crossroads Gallery’s summer exhibition, “The Position We’re In”, featuring the work of Hamish Fulton, Kent Monkman and Guido van der Werve, opens July 1 and runs through September 2. It explores place and body through a variety of media. Each artist’s work invites viewers to consider political ramifications, empathize with a similar experience, and examine anomalous contexts. The exhibit opening is July 1 from 6-8 PM.
Thomas Gieseke – Circus Maximus
July 1 – July 30
Todd Weiner Gallery
Gieske’s newest body of work is a culmination of work since his previous exhibition at the Todd Weiner Gallery entitled Farglebargle in July of 2015. Circus Maximus, the current exhibition, harnesses Gieseke’s expansive imagination onto canvas. Each of the tight hand acrylic works intricately details scenes of a created dream world. Gieseke’s subjects range from IPhone wielding monkeys in the Congo to the hairpin turn of a Ben Hur-like chariot race in the arena. Gieseke commands each scene in Circus Maximus expertly depicting not only the characters but also masterfully setting each uncanny constructed reality. Gieseke brings twenty-five years of design experience to his illustrations. His long career has resulted in a many collaborations with acclaimed artists. His achievements include co-creating the design for the happy meal box, a feature in the American Showcase of Illustration, and a successful west coast show in February of 2014 with the Copro Gallery. Gieseke now focuses on creating fine art with the tools he gained during his prosperous design career. Circus Maximus, the featured piece in the exhibition is a large scale painting portraying the turn of an allout interspecies chariot race. Throughout the ages, the masses have gathered to cheer on competitors who compete for the champion’s glory. Gieseke pins a pair of Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaurs devouring the neighboring horses against a moped riding monkey in the foreground. A massive cyclops robot looms in the background as the cheerleaders balance on the skulls of the fallen victors.
THE SUMMER COLLECTIVE
July 1 – August 27 | Free
Weinberger Fine Art
Weinberger Fine Art is excited to announce the upcoming exhibition, THE SUMMER COLLECTIVE | SIX PAINTERS SPANNING ABSTRACT TO REALISM. This exhibition is on view from July 1 – August 27th and highlights work recently curated from six painters with various perspectives, ranging from abstract to realism, related to the subject of landscape. The painters featured in THE SUMMER COLLECTIVE are Francis Livingston, Richard Mattsson, Jeff Robinson, Clare Doveton, Daryl Thetford, and Jennifer Rivera. The concept of landscape pervades the show with works including abstracted prairie landscapes, realistic Kansas City landscapes, ambiguous colorful abstractions, fantastic sky-scapes, and paintings of urban settings and places.
The gallery will also feature recent figurative work by Dean Kube and the abstract color-fields with integrated embroidery of Raul de la Torre.
Festival on the Vine
June 30 – July 2 | $20 – $75
American Jazz Museum – Gem Theater
It’s not just a Block Party this year – it’s a three-day festival!
It’s all happening on The Vine! Join Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey for dancing, art, live performances and more at Festival on The Vine. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the food and entertainment at KCFAA’s FREE First Friday Block Party.
To purchase tickets for the performances at the Gem Theater, click here and use the promo code: FOV when placing your order to receive a 50% discount on tickets or call 816.471.6003.
Thursday, June 30
Feature on KC Dance Companies, 8 p.m.
Owen/Cox Dance Group, Wylliams Henry Dance Theater, City In Motion , Störling Dance Theater and others TBA
Friday, July 1
KCFAA Free First Friday Block Party 5-7 p.m.
Dallas Black Dance Theatre, 8 p.m.
Saturday, July 2
Youth Performance Matinee, 2 p.m.
AileyCamp The Group and others TBA
Saturday, July 2
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance– Denver, Colorado – 8:00 p.m.
Somme Commemoration
July 1 @ 8:00 pm | Free
National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial
The centenary of the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles in history with over 1 million casualties, will be commemorated around the world on July 1. Join the in the nation’s commemoration, with the Museum and the Kansas City Celtic Pipes and Drums in an evening ceremony and performance.
Brain: The Inside Story
March 5 – September 5
Museum at Prairiefire
Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, Brain: The Inside Story investigates the remarkable organ that controls every function of our life. Right now your brain is ignoring thousands of sights and sounds to zero in on a specific few, processing information as small as the meaning of a letter, forming new memories, and keeping your heart pumping. But how does the brain do it all?
Brain: The Inside Story explores the way the human brain works, specifically as it relates to senses (Your Sensing Brain), emotions (Your Emotional Brain), thoughts (Your Thinking Brain), how the brain ages (Your Changing Brain), and how technological advances may change our brains in the future (Your 21st Century Brain).
Bank Job by John Kolvenbach
June 30–July 2 @ 8:00 pm
July 3 @ 3:00 pm
Two brothers find themselves in the executive washroom of the bank they just robbed…with no way out.
This idiosyncratic comedy will have you rolling, as this unlikely duo wield Kolvenbach’s pointed narrative like an old-school knife fight. Financial gain, family dynamics, and fated encounters all play into this story that embraces the petty sibling condition under the least petty of circumstances. A new comedic drama by one of The Living Room’s favorite voices.
Directed by Scott Cordes & Katie Gilchrist
Starring Matt Weiss, Rusty Sneary, Shawnna Journagan, Harvey Williams, & Gary Neal Johnson.
