Archive for category: Black History Month

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Area artist and activist continues illusory and vexing work

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Ryan Tenney is an artist, activist and farmer in Kansas City. His artistic intent is very elusive and his work is vexing. It feels like an endless line of questions without a resolution. He is the kind of scholar that would prefer you find him in his garden or at YJ’s snack bar if you wanted to talk about his work. We at ArtsKC suggest you do so.

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Two UMKC graduate students bring Anthony Burns trial to life in new play

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Edwin Brown III, and Maya Loren Jackson are graduate acting students in UMKC’s Department of Theatre and are making their Coterie stage debuts in this co-production of And Justice for Some: The Freedom Trial of Anthony Burns [1858]. Brown III plays Anthony Burns, an escaped slave who makes a new life for himself only to be captured and returned to his owner. Brown III maintains an emotional peace in this role that is excruciating to watch. Jackson plays several roles but, most importantly, the pivotal role of Judge Loring, who rules on Anthony Burns’ legal fate. You won’t question her as the white male judge because she portrays him with complete control. The seven actors in this play portray a range of 40 characters, switching in and out of gender and race, which makes for a remarkable feat of acting.  At the end, the audience is asked to vote on the fate of Judge Loring, who followed the The Fugitive Slave Laws, but did not act on the morals of the time.

UMKC is a supporter of  ArtsKC. The Coterie Theater is an ArtsKC Ovation Grant Recipient.

Looking to keep your mind in the creative loop? Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get up-to-date information on upcoming artistic events in the Kansas City area.

KC area performer creates positive impact by inspiring local youth through dance

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Christopher Peacock is a dancer with formal training under Tyrone Aiken, the Executive Director of Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, and Sean Duus at the Kansas City Ballet School. Peacock is also the founder of a young dance school in Kansas City called Victory In Motion Contemporary Dance Company, which emphasizes cooperative relationships and positively impacts the Kansas City youth. In addition to his plethora of performing engagements, Peacock is the Arts Resource Coordinator at the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, the Ballet Director at Inspired Arts, and co-creator of the Christian hip-hop dance crew called Dancing Under the Influence of Christ (D.U.I.) ArtsKC is inspired by the energy Christopher Peacock is bringing to the arts in Kansas City, both as a performer and educator.

You can watch a great commercial for Victory in Motion Dance Company starring Christopher Peacock here.

Looking to keep your mind in the creative loop? Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get up-to-date information on upcoming artistic events in the Kansas City area.

Kansas City ensemble The Buhs release Can’t Let Go music video

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The Buhs is a show-stopping ensemble of some incredible musicians in Kansas City: Diverse Jazz trumpeter Hermon Mehari, rapper Reach, Hearts of Darkness drummer Brad Williams, singer Lee Langston, singer Julia Haile, drummer Ryan J. Lee , keyboardist Kinyon Price, guitarist Tim Braun, bassist Ben Leifer, singer Anthony Saunders, and rapper Les Izmore.  They are Kansas Cities darlings, traveling the world and representing us. They just released a music video for Can’t Let Go, an original song written by Saunders, Haile, Williams, Braun, Leifer, and Mehari – filmed in Paris just days after the terrorist attacks in November. This is the first single of what will be a full album of original songs to debut this year. We at ArtsKC cannot wait!

Check out KCUR’s feature on Can’t Let Go, and The Buhs performing their original How To Fish. The Buhs member Hermon Mehari is an ArtsKC Inspiration Grant recipient.

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Local jazz researcher and artist to present book at West Wyandotte Library

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In Moon Over Vine, Sheron Smith provokes the mood of Kansas City’s historic 18th and Vine jazz district. Smith has been researching the phenomenal jazz history of the “Paris of the Plains,” as Kansas City was once known during the 1930s and 40s. As a common juncture of east to west travel, Kansas City boasted more than 150 entertainment venues that birthed the Kansas City jazz style. Smith’s research into this part of Black history has become her KC Jazz Collection, an ongoing series of vibrant paintings that capture what she imagines this flourishing Black community to have looked like. Moon Over Vine is also part of the book Rhapsody In Blue on Canvas, which Smith illustrated. She will be presenting her book on Sat. Feb 27th between 10am – 2pm at the West Wyandotte Library in KCK.

Sheron Smith’s work is on permanent display at Waldo’s Pizzas’ Tap Room. She also has abstract work at the Central Exchange building, West Wyandotte Library, and the Buttonwood Art Space. Smith is a participant in the ArtsKC Now Showing Program.

Looking to keep your mind in the creative loop? Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get up-to-date information on upcoming artistic events in the Kansas City area.

Two KC Black artists receive Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award

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Folk music is a creative crossroad, which we boast here in Kansas city. The genre stems from a tradition of oral history or songs that have no author. This week, the Folk Alliance International conference will be held at the Westin Hotel at Crown Center. The conference draws over 2,000 artists and fans dedicated to folk music. This year Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee will be awarded the Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award as both of them passed away in 1986/1996 respectively. These two Black artists established themselves as a duo in New York in 1942 breaking onto the folk scene alongside Leadbelly. They worked from 1958 – 1980’s, touring, and recording dozens of albums. Despite their later fame as “pure” folk artists playing for white audiences, Terry and McGhee also fronted a jump blues combo which was considered “race” music. This was how they remained faithful to their roots and their audience. The Folk Alliance International conference runs from Feb. 17 – Feb. 21.

Folk Alliance International is an ArtsKC Catalyst Grant recipient.

Looking to keep your mind in the creative loop? Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get up-to-date information on upcoming artistic events in the Kansas City area.

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