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Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, April 29, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org
Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Kansas City Art Institute students with Professor Kat Dison Nechlebová writer writer Blair Schulman.
BLAIR SCHULMAN- On May 1, Midwest Agenda celebrates its fifth anniversary, marking five consecutive years of daily coverage dedicated to documenting contemporary art across the American Midwest.
Founded in 2021 by critic, writer, and speaker Blair Schulman, Midwest Agenda is anindependent, free, and publicly accessible platform documenting regional cultural activity. Through artist features, exhibition announcements, critical commentary, and reporting, it amplifies artists and institutions often overlooked by national art media.
Over five years, the project has documented thousands of exhibitions and events across twelve states, creating one of the most consistent public archives of Midwestern art. Midwest Agenda’s coverage has tracked key developments impacting artists and communities, including shifts in public arts funding, debates around public art and civic space, the role of artificial intelligence in creative practice, political impact on the arts and the increasing influence of artist-led initiatives.
Its social media platforms extend this work through direct, public-facing critiques of how current events shape artistic production and cultural conditions across the Midwest.
The anniversary underscores several conclusions drawn from the archive:
• Independent, decentralized media platforms are essential to documenting contemporary art ecosystems where visibility remains a barrier
• Art in the Midwest is deeply connected to civic, political, and community life As Midwest Agenda enters its sixth year, it continues its commitment to daily publication and long-term documentation, reinforcing its role as both a news source and a living archive of the region’s cultural landscape.
Support Midwest Agenda with a tax-deductible donation through its fiscal sponsor,
Blair Schulman
Insta: midwestagenda
TikTok: midwestagenda
KCAI Sculpture Students- Inspiration for sculpture is everywhere. It can be informed from the rock on your hike, the smile of a stranger, or a song on your playlist. In KCAI’s Sculpture School, you’ll explore the conceptual, spatial, material, and processes that can bring your vision to life. In Sculpture, learn to transfer abstract ideas into materials and form. Weld, mold, cast, fabricate, or computer code your imagination into artwork.
At the Sculpture School, students explore object-making, digital pieces, and installations. Discover sound and video, performance, kinetics, and multimedia art. Dive into collaborative, culturally diverse ventures and create community art projects.
Work on both small and large-scale pieces in our outdoor foundry or the new digital lab.
Make work that is relevant to contemporary issues and global art practice.
Kansas City Art Institute is located at 4415 Warwick Blvd. KCMO www. kcai.edu |