Art Roundup: April 1, 2011 to April 8, 2011

Weekly roundup of the best art shows and art related events in and around the Lawrence/Kansas City area.

Click the link below for our calendar events April 1, 2011 through April 8, 2011.

Calendar link for events

Highlights:

• Jest for Wolfbats: All Fools Day Parade
Escapist Skateshop (405 Southwest Blvd in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, April 1, 7:30-10:30pm

From the organizers:
A Wolfbat War Vessel will be launched down the street from Inkubator Press, 115 W. 18th St, after the defeat of two alien pinatas. Once the defeat occurs, the war vessel will battle its way through First Friday streets and end at Escapist Skateshop /Gallery, where a grand finale battle with 4 more alien pinatas will take place. SEDLEC OSSUARY, fireworks, fire and more! Pinatas filled with free gear and goodies! All masks and pinata sculptures are collaborations with KCAI and Wichita State Univ art students. Prints will be on display by Dennis McNett and WolfBat Studio.

Flag of Japan (Jake) by Tex Jernigan

• Flag of Japan Portraits
Blue Gallery (118 Southwest Blvd in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, April 1, 6-9pm

From the organizers:
Star Base Projects “Flag of Japan Portraits” featured is a one night only, interactive event allowing First Friday attendees to be featured in “Flag of Japan Portraits”. Digital versions of portraits taken that evening will be available at www.StarBaseProjects.com, recommended donation to participate. Poster prints of previous “Flag of Japan Portraits” will be available for purchase $25 each.
All proceeds from this event will go to the American Red Cross for Japan relief.

Veggie Sushi Rolls, created and photographed by Aly Young

• Lawrence Raw Foods Potluck
South Park Gazebo (1141 Massachusetts St. in Lawrence, KS)
Friday, April 1, 6-7:30pm

From the organizers:
This is the first of what will be a monthly potluck on the first Fridays of each month. Everyone welcome! Please bring an organic, vegan, raw dish to share and a plate/bowl/utensils/personal beverage. If you have no idea what to bring– fresh fruit, salad or a veggie tray would be something easy and tasty! Another idea is to search for “raw, vegan recipes” online. There is an abundance of online resources for raw recipes. Come share great living food with great people!

Desperate Pee by Jin Shan

• Spring Student Night: 2011: A Space Odyssey
Spencer Museum of Art (1301 Mississippi Street in Lawrence, KS)
Thursday, April 7, 5:30-7:30pm

From the organizers:
The Spencer Student Advisory Board is hosting its annual spring student night. This year’s theme, “2011:A Space Odyssey,” celebrates the Spencer Museum of Art’s current artist-in-residence, Jin Shan, and his exhibition “It Came From the Sky.” It is going to be a Space BLAST!!!

A moonbounce (pending), KJHK DJ, and Costume contest with prizes: Dress up in a space-suit or as your favorite sci-fi character! Free food from local businesses, photobooth, KU DDR Club, and Out-of-this-world activities. The SSAB would like to thank KU Student Senate, Coca-Cola, and the SMA for their generous support.

Flag of Japan Portraits

Flag of Japan (Jake) by Tex Jernigan

• Flag of Japan Portraits
Blue Gallery (118 Southwest Blvd in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, April 1, 6-9pm

From the organizers:
Star Base Projects “Flag of Japan Portraits” featured is a one night only, interactive event allowing First Friday attendees to be featured in “Flag of Japan Portraits”. Digital versions of portraits taken that evening will be available at www.StarBaseProjects.com, recommended donation to participate. Poster prints of previous “Flag of Japan Portraits” will be available for purchase $25 each.
All proceeds from this event will go to the American Red Cross for Japan relief.

Spring Student Night: 2011: A Space Odyssey

Desperate Pee by Jin Shan

• Spring Student Night: 2011: A Space Odyssey
Spencer Museum of Art (1301 Mississippi Street in Lawrence, KS)
Thursday, April 7, 5:30-7:30pm

From the organizers:
The Spencer Student Advisory Board is hosting its annual spring student night. This year’s theme, “2011:A Space Odyssey,” celebrates the Spencer Museum of Art’s current artist-in-residence, Jin Shan, and his exhibition “It Came From the Sky.” It is going to be a Space BLAST!!!

A moonbounce (pending), KJHK DJ, and Costume contest with prizes: Dress up in a space-suit or as your favorite sci-fi character! Free food from local businesses, photobooth, KU DDR Club, and Out-of-this-world activities. The SSAB would like to thank KU Student Senate, Coca-Cola, and the SMA for their generous support.

Fools Rush In

No Shot Red Ryder by Guinotte Wise

• Fools Rush In
VML Gallery (2020 Baltimore Ave. in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, April 1, 5:30-7:30pm

From the organizers:
More than 20 local artists are participating in the group show; 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to Hope Lodge, the remarkable Kansas City American Cancer Society residential facility in Quality Hill that provides free housing for individuals undergoing treatment for cancer, or their family members.

Preview Party: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Free beer, wine, soda pop and hors d’oeuvres. Silent Auction: 6:30-7:30 p.m. No minimum bid required! Final bids close promptly at 7:30 p.m.

Pictionary: Photos by Megan Mantia

• Pictionary: Photos by Megan Mantia
Plenum Space (504 E 18th Street in Kansas City, MO)
Friday, March 4, 6-10pm (Ongoing until Mar. 25)

From the Organizers:
As an artist I’ve never been able to sit still. These days I’m primarily a documentary photographer, but I also dabble in performance and am a trained printmaker/ bookbinder. Documentation is truly what I live for, in any format. I will travel anywhere to see something incredible or document an artist I follow, to show people back in KC or merely to gather history for the future. I call it taking the‘long view’—I know all …of the writing, documents, video and photography I’m gathering will be hugely important later on.

This show attempts to represent my spectrum of photo-documented subjects grouped by like kinds. Daily events are often gross, awkward or controversial, and I never hesitate to integrate those moments with the pleasant, posed or funny. It calls to mind the Wolfgang Tillmans reference, “If One Thing Matters, Everything Matters.” I believe that we lose so much as moments slip away, and it’s an endlessly entertaining and engaging challenge to strive to capture life (all of it!) as it runs faster than us.

This show has been installed the same way I adorn my bedroom—the viewer not separated from the piece by glass, images spontaneously strewn about, an intimate feel. Each photo is available for sale in a range of sizes upon request. For this show only, I am offering a special piece: a custom photo album of 4×6 reproductions of every piece in the show (edition of 5 at $600 each).

Megan Mantia holds a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute, graduating in 2006 with a double major in Printmaking and Art History. She is the full-time photographer for local art-band collective Ssion and community arts non-profit Whoop Dee Doo. Megan also serves as Treasurer to Whoop Dee Doo’s board and is currently coordinating their first-ever annual gala fundraiser. Her show Glory Days is on view at the Writers Place until March 25, featuring her life’s work of diaries and debuting a brand-new photo series in collaboration with Leone Anne Reeves. Also, catch her piece (collaborating with Christopher Good) in the upcoming Urban Culture Project group show The Dinner Party, opening March 18. She would like to thank her mom for always providing excellent food at her art events!
http://www.meganmantia.com