Morel_hi_resThe rooftops of Downtown Kansas City will come alive on Tuesday evening September 20, at 6:00 pm,when composer and musician Daniel Morel presents Kansas City Calling with the Jibrish Horn Quartet and members of the University of Missouri, Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance Horn Studio.

The performance will take place at Prairie Logic, the public art installation and performance venue on the Green Roof above Cosentino’s Parking Garage, 1261 Main St, on the 6th floor.

Kansas City Calling is an evening-length musical happening that evokes both the bustling past and thriving current day of Kansas City. The program draws on original and borrowed music to represent the history of Kansas City with a wafting soundscape that builds over the course of the evening. The entire rooftop will come alive with historical sounds, virtuosic solos, displaced melodies, and an ambient hum that coalesces into the story of Kansas City told through music. The program concludes with a final concert featuring the Jibrish Horn Quartet and members of the UMKC Conservatory Horn Studio.

Daniel Morel is a Kansas City-based composer whose works are permeated with the Western sensibilities of his Colorado upbringing, drawing on influences ranging from prairie thunderstorms to classic American poetry.  Performance details and further information are available at www.danmorel.com.

This performance is free and open to the public and is part of the 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect brought to you by the Art in the Loop Foundation with the support of the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement District, City of Kansas City, Missouri, KC Streetcar Authority, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Trust and Development Fund, ArtsKC and many corporate sponsors.

 

ahwisgvsgo'iLocal artist and choreographer, Maura Garcia, will present “Ahwisgvsgo’i” a dance performance on Thursday, August 25th, between 11:30 and 1:30 pm, in Oppenstein Park at 12th & Walnut St.

“ᎠᏫᏍᎬᏍᎪᎢ (Ahwisgvsgo’i)” means she/he is always planting in the Cherokee language.  Maura Garcia‘s multi-media project about indigenous planting traditions, the elements and our places in the world.  The idea for Ahwisgvsgo’i came from a desire to explore the process of growing; to strengthen our connection to the natural world and one another; to uplift Cherokee, Mattamuskeet and other southeastern Indigenous traditions; to create great art; to tell good stories.

Originally from North Carolina, Maura is an Indigenous woman (Cherokee/ Mattamuskeet) who brings her own mixed-blood southern story to all of her work. She has been the recipient of numerous honors:  Charlotte Street Foundation’s Urban Culture Projects Studio Residency Award (MO) in 2009 & 2010, a guest artist studio award from theUniversity of North Carolina’s Department of Dramatic Art (NC) in 2011 & 2012, the Jewish Community Center’s Community Arts Fellowship Grant (KS) in 2013, an ArtsKC Inspiration Grant (MO) in 2014, a 2015 Rocket Grant Project Award (KS/MO) and was selected to participate in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian 2016 Artist Leadership Program. Learn more about Maura at http://www.mauragarciadance.com/.

This performance is free and open to the public and is part of the 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect brought to you by the Art in the Loop Foundation with the support of the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement District, City of Kansas City, Missouri, KC Streetcar Authority, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Trust and Development Fund, ArtsKC and many corporate sponsors.

On Friday, August 26, between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Matthew Bennett will present “Then & Now” a musical performance in Ilus Davis Park, 11th & Oak St, Kansas City, MO.

“Then and Now” will feature American music from the Colonial period to the present performed on period-appropriate instruments. This unique performance will allow the audience to experience music as it was performed in early America and hear how it changed over the years.

Matthew brings a joyful dedication to his work in orchestral music, the avant­garde, music education, and historical research. He has been a member of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra, and the Eutin Opera Orchestra in Germany. His solo and chamber recital work has included Juilliard’s Morse Concert Hall, NYC’s Advent Lutheran Church, and The Lied Center of Kansas. In teaching, Matthew has served as Guest Violin Professor at Pittsburg State University, Director of Chamber Music Studies at Bishop Seabury Academy, and private pupils for 11 years. In his own education, he immerses himself in music otherwise forgotten ­­ bringing the works and lives of Colonial American composers to print and to practice.

This performance is free and open to the public.  Food trucks will also be present.

Alison Greene will present “Walking on Eggshells” a  performance on Thursday, August 18, between 11:30 and 1:30, in Oppenstein Park, at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City.

“Walking on Eggshells” is a metaphor that is often used when describing a feeling of being trapped by another’s will and when our voice is silenced.  The installation and performance of Greene’s artwork flips the meaning of this metaphor and presents a perspective where walking on the eggshells, as hard and painful or slow as it may be, is the purpose; to transform an uncomfortable feeling into a liberating one of self-compassion and divine expression.

Alison Moyna Greene is a multidisciplinary artist currently living and working in Kansas City Missouri.  Alison received her Master of Fine Arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2006 and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2003.

Food will be available for purchase from local food trucks, Cheeesy Pop’s (http://cheeesypops.com/) and Pie Hole (http://www.pieholekc.com/).

This performance is free and open to the public and is part of the 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect brought to you by the Art in the Loop Foundation with the support of the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement District, City of Kansas City, Missouri, KC Streetcar Authority, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Trust and Development Fund, ArtsKC and many corporate sponsors.

IMG_2026CONNECTIONS

Presented by Jon Michael Johnson and SITU INC.
11:30am and 12:30 pm, Friday, August 19, 2016
Starts at Union Station Streetcar Stop

CONNECTIONS is a site-specific performance piece.   This mostly improvised event, as presented by Jon Michael Johnson and SITU INC., will follow one passenger as he boards the streetcar at Union Station.  He will be connected with someone new at each stop as the streetcar progresses through the route.  Will it be someone too different, someone too much the same, someone laughing,  crying,  spying,  hiding, someone lost — or found?
The theater of life will play out on the enclosed “stage” of the streetcar.  Each interaction should give us a glimpse into how we connect with those around us, and by extension, the community at large.  As the streetcar makes its way around the route and back to Union Station, CONNECTIONS will be an opportunity to tell a few tales — some tall, some with a spark of truth — and with the telling and a little luck, maybe we can create a “connection” or two.
Make a connection on Friday, August 19 at 11:30am and again at 12:30pm, starting and ending at the Union Station Streetcar stop.

This performance is free and open to the public and is part of the 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect brought to you by the Art in the Loop Foundation with the support of the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement District,  City of Kansas City, Missouri, KC Streetcar Authority, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Trust and Development Fund, ArtsKC and many corporate sponsors.

Annette Hope Billings will present “A Net Full of Hope” a poetry performance on Thursday, August 11, between 11:30 and 1:30, in Oppenstein Park, at 12th & Walnut in Downtown Kansas City.

In the words of the poet: “In our divisive society, much exists that serves to further a sense of separateness. Despite this, well­spoken poetry remains as unifying a force as it has ever been. The written/spoken word yields influence on the common fabric of our lives. It can connect threads of human experience­­love, loss, anger, hunger for justice, grief­­ by weaving in hope. There seems to be a frequent urge to cast stones at one another. What my poetry suggests and demonstrates is the casting of hope in written/spoken form.”

Billings is known for the dramatic presentation of her work. She is an award-winning poet, actress and playwright. Her most recent collection of poetry is “A Net Full of Hope,” available on Amazon.

Food will be available for purchase from local food trucks, Greg-Go BBQ and Bop N Bowl.

This free performance is part of the 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect brought to you by the Art in the Loop Foundation with the financial support of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, KC Streetcar Authority, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Trust and Development Fund, ArtsKC and many corporate sponsors.

Kansas City’s newly opened streetcar stops are not just a place to sit and wait!

On Friday, August 12, from 11:30 to 1:30 at the Metro Center Northbound Streetcar Stop (12th and Main, adjacent to the Town Pavilion), multi-instrumentalist Amado Espinoza, along with his wife Karen Lisondra, will surprise pedestrians and streetcar commuters alike with their cosmopolitan playfulness, performing music from around the globe – with a twist: their instruments are made from recycled materials and found objects!

Constructed by Amado himself, you will hear a classical Arabic flute made out of a broom, an Andean pan-flute made from dried-up markers, a Bolivian guitar made from a cookie tin, and much more, inspiring listeners of all ages to use their imagination and help protect our environment. A concert to indulge the eyes, ears, and our inherent necessity to be a little silly, it might just make you tap your feet while waiting for the next streetcar!

Espinoza’s music is rooted in the spiritual traditions of the Andes mountains, while drawing inspiration from his musical-wanderlust personality. As a current Charlotte Street Studio resident and recent recipient of an ArtsKC inspiration grant, he is artistic directing and composing for a new theatrical collaboration called “We Are The Landscape” scheduled to debut this fall.

He will be performing with his wife and collaborator, Karen Lisondra, who is back in KC after more than a decade touring the globe with different South American theatre companies.

This free performance is part of the 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect brought to you by the Art in the Loop Foundation with the financial support of the City of Kansas City, Missouri, KC Streetcar Authority, Missouri Arts Council, Neighborhood Trust and Development Fund, ArtsKC and many corporate sponsors.

©Paul Andrews PhotographyOn Friday, August 5, between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. KC Streetcar patrons will have a unique opportunity to experience new and original music composed by local artist Stacy Busch for the KC Streetcar!

Soundtrack for the City is a musical experience designed specifically for the Kansas City Streetcar. Busch composed 9 new and original songs that are inspired by the various stops along the streetcar route.  To participate in the performance simply hop off the streetcar and listen to the music.

Interested in learning more? Meet the artist, Stacy Busch, at the Metro Center NB stop, 12th & Main Streets, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Want to check out the music now? Click on the links below to play the audio files:

This soundtrack for the city promotes artistic participation and accessibility with playfulness and provides rich and thoughtful songs that feel integral to the culture of Kansas City.  The composition and performance are part of the 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect. For information visit www.artintheloop.com or contact Ann Holliday, Art in the Loop program director, ann@downtownkc.org.

07-19-16-ArtInTheLoop_Kickoff2016_001Many of the artists and performers participating in the 2016 Art in the Loop Project have provided examples of books, music, film, performances, and other sources that they draw inspiration from. They invite you to learn more about the things that feed their creativity and influence their work… many of which can be found in the Library’s catalog!

Download the reading list here:   http://www.kclibrary.org/sites/default/files/ArtInTheLoop2016_ReadingList%20copy.pdf

 

The 2016 Art in the Loop Project flyer is now available. Click here to download the complete calendar of performances and list of art installations.

The 2016 Art in the Loop Project: Connect infuses the center of Downtown Kansas City with innovative and engaging temporary art that will refresh, intrigue and surprise Downtown employees, residents, and visitors. The project is a curated outdoor exhibition of 10 temporary artworks and 17 performances presented in four locations Downtown:

1) Ilus Davis Park at 11th and Oak;

2) KC Streetcar stops, located along Main Street between 4th Street and Pershing Road;

3) Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park at 12th and Walnut; and

4) Prairie Logic on the Green Roof, 6th floor above Cosentino’s grocery store at 13th and Main.

PLEASE NOTE:

Due to forecasted rain, this performance will take place in Kirk Hall at the Kansas City Public Library, Central Library, 14 West 10th Street.  You can still enjoy your lunch with the performance; food will be available for purchase at the Central Library coffee shop , the Nine Muses.  They offer sandwiches, salads, house made snack packs plus baked goods from scratch. The food trucks will remain in Oppenstein Park.

 

Join artist Timothy Amundson, Turkey Creek Institute for Phenomenal Awareness for a performance of Water Yield  on Thursday, July 28, from 11:30-1:30, in Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park, 12th & Walnut.

Amundson will bring an exhibition of photo-sculptures to the park on Thursday creating a virtual tour of Turkey Creek.  Empty space between the flags will be activated for a participatory exploration with an immersive soundscape and artifacts gathered at the creek.

Come hungry, food trucks will include Cajun Cabin (http://www.cajuncabin.org/) and KC Pinoy (http://kcpinoy.com/).

For more information about the artist and artwork visit http://turkeycreekinstitute.tumblr.com.

For more information about Art in the Loop visit www.artintheloop.com.

 

Photo, Copyright 2008 Mike Strong www.kcdance.com

Photo, Copyright 2008 Mike Strong www.kcdance.com

The Nritya School of Indian Dance and Music will perform on Friday, July 29, from 11:30-1:30 in Ilus Davis Park at 11th and Oak  as part of the Art in the Park project.

Dance is the universal language of the world. Dance is a way of expression, an identity. As with most traditions, dance is different around the world, in every country that you travel to. Certain genres can identify a particular destination, a way of life. As with music, it is highly emotive.

Hema Sharma is the artistic director of Nritya, founded in 1988. Nritya is a versatile company of dancers who work primarily in the South Indian Classical dance style called Bharatha Natyam, and folk dances. Nritya produces dynamic and captivating programs that appeal to all ages.

Enjoy lunch with food trucks Estrella Azul  and Greg-Co BBQ.