Media Release

Spring Arts & Culture Festival

Lawrence, KS – The Spencer Museum of Art’s Student Advisory Board (SSAB) will host its fourth annual Arts and Culture Festival on Saturday, May 7 from 1 to 4 PM. The event, which is free and open to everyone, will feature art by local and student artists, KU cultural group information booths, live music, KU African Drum Ensemble, the launch—with help from Kansas Public Radio’s Laura Lorson—of the 2011 Southwest Junior High “Bulldog” podcasts about the Spencer’s collection, the opening of the annual It Starts with Art!children’s art exhibition, and the opening of the SSAB’s juried student-art exhibition Converging Identities. Also, Irish artist Alen MacWeeney will give a talk in the 20/21 Gallery about his photographs that are featured in the exhibition That Invisible Dance: Art and Literature under the British Empire from the 1800s to Beyond, followed by a screening of his documentary Traveller (2002).

Participating local artists and KU cultural groups will display and sell their work in booths. Visitors will be able to talk to artists and also take part in activities both inside and outside of the Museum. KC Irish Dance will take the stage in front of the Museum at 1:30 PM, when children may participate in a 3D chalk-drawing contest. Young visitors will also enjoy face-painting, mask-making activities, and the It Starts with Art! children’s art exhibition, which features works created by students in Saturday classes at the Museum. Thick Lizzy, a local Thin Lizzy cover band, will perform in front of the Spencer from 2:30 to 3:15 PM. The KU African Drum Ensemble will perform from 3:30-4 PM.

Irish artist Alen MacWeeney will lead a tour and talk about his striking photographs on view in That Invisible Dance. MacWeeney will then screen his 80-minute documentary Traveller in the SMA Auditorium. The film was inspired by his experiences photographing Irish travellers, an indigenous ethnic minority known for its nomadic lifestyle. MacWeeney’s visit is co-sponsored by the Spencer and KU’s Center for Global & International Studies.

Converging Identities, the SSAB’s third-annual juried art show, will open in the Raymond White Teaching Gallery. Thanks to a generous donation, a total of $1,000 in prize money will be awarded to the top five artists; each will receive a $200 Richard P. Nadeau Memorial Award.

The event aims to unite members of the KU and Lawrence communities of all ages through visual and performing arts. Annette Becker, Lenora, Kansas, senior and SSAB president, says the Spring Arts & Culture Festival is an important way for artists to connect with other artists.

“There are not many opportunities for KU students to interact in a meaningful way with the Lawrence community, and I feel the same goes for student artists and professional artists,” Becker says. “This event is an opportunity for all of these groups of people to show off their art, meet each other and enjoy a wonderful day filled with cultural happenings.”


Outside

1:30-2 PM – Irish Dancers
2:30-3:15 PM – Thick Lizzy
3:30-4 PM – KU African Drum Ensemble
Face Painting
Mask- Making
Artist Booths


Inside

12:30-1 PM – It Starts with Art! Children’s Art Exhibition Opening (Lobby Gallery)
2-2:30 PM – Alen MacWeeney Talk (20/21 Gallery)
2:30-3:30 PM – Alen MacWeeney Film Screening (Auditorium)
2:30-3 PM – SWJH Bulldog Podcast launch (Reception Room, with Kansas Public Radio’s Laura Lorson)
3-3:30 PM – Converging Identities Student Juried Art Show Opening (Raymond White Teaching Gallery)

Media Contacts

Elizabeth Kanost

Elizabeth Kanost
Communications Manager
785.840.0142
elizacat@ku.edu

Kristina Walker

Kristina Walker
Director of Education
Spencer Museum of Art
785.864.0137
kewalker@ku.edu