Sep 16 2021
-
Feb 20 2022
Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial

Presented by Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

To mark Missouri’s Bicentennial, Kemper Museum invited an advisory group of 13 civic partners comprising curators, educators, artists, and cultural leaders to identify themes and through lines related to the state’s history and select works of art from the museum’s Permanent Collection that can illuminate these ideas. The exhibition will open on September 16, 2021 and remain on view through February 20, 2022.
This exhibition speaks broadly to the issues that have affected and continue to affect our state as we enter Missouri’s next century. The works on view will contribute to discussions around honoring ancestral histories; exploring and reflecting on relationships between Indigenous Peoples and cultures of the Missouri landscape; human’s impact on the Missouri River; the surreal descriptors of nature veiling issues of inequality; the people and experiences less widely known, recognized, and understood in the Midwest region; and the global connections created and sustained by jazz music and its deep roots in Kansas City.
Themes put forth by Advisory Partners will be explored through more than 50 works including Frederick James Brown’s (American, 1945–2012) They Had the Right to Sing the Blues (1995), Wilbur Niewald’s (American, born 1925) Current River II (1965), Bisa Butler’s (American, born 1975) A Man’s Worth (2019), Alvin Eli Amason (Native American, Sugpiaq/Alutiq Alaskan, born 1948) So Tall (1990), Elizabeth Layton’s (American, 1909–1993) I am Loved (1977), and Romare Bearden’s (American, 1911–1988) Family (1971).
Collectively, these works inspire us to bring new perspectives to our understanding of Missouri’s unique history as well as to consider the ways that the themes and issues at play in our state fit into a more global framework. Contemporary artists often respond to the world around them, exploring both large societal issues and personal experiences through their work. As we bring our own histories to the gallery, we have the opportunity to interpret them within a new context.
Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial is organized by Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Erin Dziedzic, director of curatorial affairs; Jade Powers, assistant curator; and the following Advisory Partners:
CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE MISSOURI BICENTENNIAL ADVISORY PARTNERS
Dr. Dina Bennett | Director of Collections & Curatorial AffairsAmerican Jazz Museum
Gaylene Crouser | Executive DirectorKansas City Indian Center
Anne Ducey | Former Senior Graphic Designer & Exhibit CoordinatorKansas City Public Library
Paul Gutierrez | Director of Visitor Experience & Public ProgrammingKansas City Museum
Kimi Kitada | Jedel Family Foundation Curatorial FellowCharlotte Street Foundation
Kathy Liao | Artist, Artist INC Program SpecialistMid-America Arts Alliance
Toya Like | Associate Professor and Interim Chair of Race, Ethnic and Gender StudiesUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City
Eleanor Lim-Midyett, Ph.D. | Assistant ProfessorKansas City Art Institute
Lee Wong Medina | Former Second Secretary Associated ConsulConsulate of Mexico in Kansas City
Glenn North | Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative ImpactKansas City Museum
Joey Orr | Andrew W. Mellon Curator for ResearchSpencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas
Daniel Wildcat | Indigenous and American Indian Studies FacultyHaskell Indian Nations University
Dr. Carmaletta Williams | Chief Executive OfficerBlack Archives of Mid-America

Admission Info

Free timed tickets are encouraged to visit Kemper Museum. Register here.

Dates & Times

2021/09/16 - 2022/02/20

Location Info

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

4420 Warwick Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111

Parking Info

FREE