The Son in ‘The Butcher’s Son’

Portrait of local artist, Vi Tran. Photo by Jim Barcus

Vi Nhan Tran was smuggled out of Vietnam and captured by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia before finding refuge in a Red Cross camp in Thailand. It’s a story of a lifetime — and all before he was three years old. Tran’s only memory from that part of his life is busting his head open…

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Siah Armajani: Bridge Builder

A RENDERING OF A BRIDGE

This fall, over 30 drawings, sculptures and architectural maquettes by internationally renowned artist and architect Siah Armajani will be on display at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. “Siah Armajani: Bridge Builder” will showcase five decades of work focusing on bridges, highlighting Armajani’s technical expertise as well as his symbolic and political investment in the bridge form.…

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Artist to Watch: Samantha Gossard

Portrait of mezzo-soprano, Samantha Gossard. photo by JIM BARCUS

Mezzo-soprano Samantha Gossard’s first big role came during second grade in a musical called Steamboatin’. “I was ‘Mississippi Meg’ and I had a big monologue and a big solo, all requiring a thick southern accent — definitely a comedic role. I remember everyone laughing so much and thinking I was ‘adorable,’  and I remember my…

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This Guy Walks Into a Bar and Sees a String Quartet Playing

Classical music group performs.

Classical Revolution KC is part of a growing trend to bring classical music out of the concert hall and back into people’s lives via serendipitous discovery. “If you just grab a random 30-year-old off the street and ask, ‘Do you go the symphony?’ they’ll say, ‘No.’ It’s just not their scene,” said Nick Bell, co-founder…

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The Power of Play

This photo shows Arabella Grayson standing next to her private collection of African American paper dolls.

To make a paper doll you need paper, utensils used for drawing and/or coloring, an imagination, and illustrated clothing for the doll. Now, go back 150 years and make that paper doll black. To the previous list of materials, add a hidden agenda, hatred and cruelty toward a certain people, and a narrow definition of…

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