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KCKCC Art Gallery plans Rangoli demonstration

by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC public information manager

The Kansas City Kansas Community College Art Gallery is holding “The Art of Rangoli” in celebration of its upcoming exhibition “Experience India.”

Artist Kaushika Panchal of KP Artworks will be doing a demonstration from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 22 during “The Art of Rangoli” event.

The event will be in the KCKCC Art Gallery, which is on the lower level of the Jewell Student Center on the KCKCC Main Campus, 7250 State Ave. All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public.

The “Experience India” exhibition is on display now through March 31 featuring artworks from Kalpana Lalgudi and her students from the school of piKalsso Art.

Rangoli is a popular folk art where people make colorful designs on the floor in their house. The design is created using colored rangoli powders, ground rice powder, flowers and diyas. The purpose of rangoli is beyond decoration. It represents the happiness, positivity and liveliness of a household and is intended to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good luck.

From early petroglyphs to a flourishing contemporary art scene, India’s vibrant artistic legacy is the result of a variety of cultural influences. The diversity of art from this area, which includes anything created in the historical regions of modern-day India, Bangladesh and areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, is reflected in vivid, distinct and enchanting styles that represent many different civilizations. Because some of the world’s major religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam either began or flourished in India, much of Indian art is based on the religious, cultural and architectural subject matter.

KCKCC art exhibit features African-American theme

The KCKCC Art Gallery’s latest art exhibition is “From Tanner to Knight: An African American Art Expose.” The show is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and will close Feb. 25.

A virtual reception is planned from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22. The Zoom link to the reception is https://kckcc.zoom.us/s/4254863870?fbclid=IwAR3wPL30P9zvS71-s68xo234cbW9URrzBJhfnxRye3IxfMQiJ_7O4aePZPo.

The exhibition includes 17 artists featuring 24 works of art, including work from renowned artist Jonathan Knight, an internationally known watercolorist and oil painter who also is known for his pastels and printmaking. Knight, who is from Daytona Beach, Florida, and now resides in Kansas City, Missouri, is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society. There are three pieces of Knight’s works exhibited for sale, most notably, “Lily Pond VIII.”

The show was co-curated by Dr. Curtis V. Smith, a retired professor from KCKCC and board member of the Greater Kansas City Area Print Society, and KCKCC Art Gallery Coordinator Shai M. Perry.

With several fine art prints in the exhibit, Smith wants to use this opportunity to educate the community about the art of printmaking. Most artists work in cooperation with a professional printmaker to create a fine art image that can be sold as a limited edition.

One of the United States’ greatest printmakers, Ron Adams, is in the exhibit. Adams, who died in 2020, was recognized as a master printer of the highest order, producing powerful images of African Americans.

Other nationally recognized artists featured include an abstract untitled mixed media study on handmade paper by Sam Gilliam. There is a retrospective of Gilliam’s art planned at the Hirschhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., later this year.

Joyce Jane Scott’s “Repent” is a mixed media lithographic silkscreen print with embossing. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and recognized nationally for her figurative sculptures and jewelry using freeform off-loom bead weaving techniques.

Clarissa Sligh is an African American book artist and photographer based in Asheville, North Carolina, who co-founded the Coast-to-Coast National Women Artists of Color Project. Her artwork is “Passages, Family No. 3,” a signed and numbered archival pigmented inkjet print.

The works of art featured in the exhibition by Kansas City area artists include Michael Toombs, Glyneisha Johnson, Russell Easterwood, Alexander Austin, Danny Hinds, Maurice Copeland, and Hank Smith.

A nod is also given in the form of two historic reproductions of art during the career of Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937). Tanner was a towering historical figure in American art history who became the first African American to gain international acclaim for his paintings. A resident of Kansas City, Kansas, for a short time after World War I, he completed three paintings while living with his parents. Tanner’s “Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City,” an oil on canvas completed in 1885, was the first painting by an African American to hang in the White House (Clinton, 1998).

For more information on the art exhibition or to schedule a visit, contact Perry at 913-288-7408 or at [email protected].

Story from Kelly Rogge, public information manager, KCKCC

New business opens on Strawberry Hill

Artworks by Charlie Podrebarac are among those at the new Strawberry Hill Forever business in the Strawberry Hill area of Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo from Kathy Hanis)

Strawberry Hill Forever, 406 N. 5th St., Kansas City, Kansas, is now open for business from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily and will remain open through Thursday, Dec. 23, and closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas and throughout the holiday.

The mission of Strawberry Hill Forever is to create a destination for shoppers to purchase merchandise from makers, artists and designers, in Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County, from communities throughout the state of Kansas, according to owner Kathy Hanis.

The new business on Strawberry Hill features art from Kansas artists Stan Herd, Charlie Podrebarac, Mike Savage, Roy Inman, Jamie Lavin, Anthony Oropeza, Darryl Woods, Strawberry Hill artists Marijana Grisnik, Elaine Grisnik, the late Mary Ann Bartkoski and more.

Strawberry Hill Forever is seeking makers and artisans from Strawberry Hill to Piper and Bonner Springs and Argentine to Quindaro. Strawberry Hill Forever plans to work and support youth entrepreneurs and neighborhood organizations.

Strawberry Hill Forever merchandise will include art, jewelry, T-shirts, apparel, signs, home décor, consignment and diverse gift options and specialty items. Some of Kansas City’s best artists will showcase their outstanding art. Other items will eventually include “Strawberry Hill” candles, jewelry, Diversi-Tees, a cookbook, memory books, guest athletes, and book signings.

“It all came about in a dream and the interest and support has been overwhelming. I am passionate about creating hometown pride that is spreading throughout the Strawberry Hill neighborhood and the Kansas City community every day,” said Kathy Hanis, owner, Strawberry Hill Forever LLC.

The new business has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Strawberry-Hill-Forever-109480358259216.