Its been a pleasure and an honor to launch America: Now and Here in your fair city. To all of our staff, partners, supporters, volunteers, and citizens of Kansas City: Thank You!
We hope that you will continue on this journey with us; please follow us on twitter, like us on Facebook, leave comments on our blog; please keep contributing to the conversation.
Sincerely,
Team ANH
p.s. needless to say, we survived the tornado.
p.p.s. next stop Detroit (July 8th-24th); we’d love to see you there!
Photo from the Library of Congress showing a tornado touching ground in Lebanon, Kansas, in 1902.
Keeping us company is one (very tiny) Laurie Anderson and her dog, a man made of ceramic climbing out of a full oil drum, a giant shopping cart, and a row of balloons proclaiming security. Even in looming disaster, we’re surrounded by art.
We’ll update when the gallery resumes normal operation.
If you’ve seen the giant Barbara Kruger truck making stops around Kansas City, you may have met local artist Cory Imig. In addition to work as an all around production assistant for America: Now and Here, she has also filled the role of docent for the truck, serving as a local ambassador of sorts for ANH.
Below is a brief interview we had with Cory about her time with ANH, the art community in Kansas City, and her future plans.
We recently asked some of our younger visitors what their favorite parts of America: Now and Here have been, and we captured their answers on camera.
If you’ve already been through the America: Now and Here gallery, please leave us a message on our Facebook page letting us know which works were your favorite and not to be missed.
And if you haven’t been to America: Now and Here yet, what are you waiting for? We reopen tomorrow morning at 11am for our last week in Kansas City. (next up: Detroit, opening July 8th – come and visit!)
Still from "Candy Apple Red," directed by Todd Norris, part of Kansas City Moving Images
On Friday night, America: Now and Here will close out its Kansas City film program the way it began, with a free, outdoor screening of locally produced short films. The lineup, called “Kansas City Moving Images,” will begin as soon as its dark enough for the projectors to light up the screen on the wall in front of the Third Eye Event Space, across from the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center.
Bring a blanket, lawn chair, and a picnic to enjoy the show, which will begin a little after 8pm on Friday, May 27th. (Facebook event page here)
Kansas City’s Vi Tran appears in a number of the “unstaged” plays being performed at America: Now and Here. In no small part due to his acting and work as a singer-songwriter, storyteller, and arts advocate, Vi is a bit of local celebrity, and one of the most recognizable faces at the gallery.
On Thursday night, Vi, along with the ten other actors, will be part of “Conversations Overheard,” an evening featuring performances of the curated lineup of plays created specifically for American: Now and Here. For details on the evening, visit the Facebook event page here, and also read more about Vi and the other actors here.
Another full lineup of events for our third of four weeks in Kansas City. Our Brown Bag Lunch conversation series start off each day from now through Friday, with topics on pop culture and the do it yourself/maker movement. Other events include an evening of poetry and jazz, screenings of our locally and nationally curated film lineups, a bike ride, and an field trip to explore a neighborhood near Troost Avenue and E. 44th Street.
Make note of a special offsite event on Friday evening, when director Julián Zugazagoitia will be in conversation artist and ANH founder Eric Fischl at the Nelson Adkins Museum; then rush back to the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center for a performance by the Urban Bush Women.
Where can you find a live, folky rendition of “Home on the Range”, tasty street tacos, and Al Gore, all in one place? The America: Now and Here Campfire with Barclay Martin, of course!
Alright, Al Gore was only there in image, but with mobile food trucks Port Fonda and KC Coffeehouse parked outside, and Kansas City musician Barclay Martin hosting the evening, the event was unique, fun, and friendly.
On Thursday night, America: Now and Here hosted Bread Dinner KC at the Leedy-Voulkos. It was was an overwhelming success; the event went beyond our wildest expectations and was incredibly successful and also incredibly felt by everyone there.
We had over seventy diners bear witness to Artist Corps ceramicist Roberto Lugo taking the pot of $1100 for his proposed residency in Alabama. Since his proposal was only for $504 however, he gave the remaining money back to BREAD KC, who never takes a profit from these meals. So we can all feel very proud that we helped to fund the work of 4 VERY gifted and devoted young KC artists, while providing an event that brought artists, young and old, together, to quite literally break bread, and discuss artwork that was proposed to them.
It’s been a fantastic first week for America: Now and Here/Kansas City in the Crossroads. We’ve hosted everyone from local seniors and school kids to out-of-state college tours and transplanted dance groups. The best news yet?
We’re not even close to being done.
Here’s a look at what’s going on this weekend:
