columbia art league

With end of year giving season firmly upon us, on this week's show Diana Moxon chats with 10 arts leaders from 9 local arts agencies to find out about some of the magic and meaningful moments their organizations have inspired, and what they would do with a $100,000 donation.

Keeping it eclectic this week Diana Moxon chats with the two women behind the annual Boone County Art Show: Mary Wilkerson from Central Bank of Boone County (which has hosted the show for 63 years), and Kelsey Hammond from the Columbia Art League. Plus Karen Mareck Grundy talks dance with Diana and about changing the name of her organization from the Missouri Contemporary Ballet to Mareck Dance. Artist Sarah Nguyen talks about the origin and inspiration for her large scroll works intricately carved with an x-acto knife. And St Louis-based flutist, Wendy Hymes, talks about learning to play African rhythms and her upcoming concert at the University of Missouri on October 10th. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Columbia Art League's annual Art in the Park festival returns to Stephens Lake Park this weekend. Diana Moxon checks in with its Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, to find out how she's feeling about her first Art in the Park festival and what she's looking forward to. Plus there are chats with two of the visiting artists, Webb City MO painter, Michael Steddum, and from Springfield MO, ceramic artist, Kendle Durden. There's also music from The January Lanterns, one of the musical acts performing at the Roots n Blues tent at the festival. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist, Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

This week's Speaking of the Arts smorgasbord includes the Missouri Symphony Orchestra's hiring of a new Conductor, three local artists whose portrait works make up a new show at the Boone History and Culture Center, the return of the musical comedy 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown' to Maplewood Barn, and a Pop-Up postcard show at the Columbia Art League. Diana Moxon finds out from the MOSY's Executive Director, Trent Rash, who the four finalists are for the person who will take up the mantle of Conductor/Music Director for the orchestra and its conservatory. Artists Lisa Bartlett, Amy Stephenson and Jane Mudd plus curator Audrey Florey talk about their new 'For the Love of Locals' portraiture exhibit. Maplewood Barn Theatre Director Russell Becker and actor Sean Dennehy give a sneak peek at their upcoming production. And CAL Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, chats about the 350 entries to the gallery's Pop-Up Postcard show. Opening and closing musical credits with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

A swedish mystic artist, a woman who runs with wolves, a mid century painter who explored the micoscopic and the massive, a musical revue set in an unmarked bar on Christmas Eve, and the chance to acquire art and support an organization that has been supporting artists for over 60 years. And it's all on this week's show, with actor and director Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri and playwright Julia Valen from GreenHouse Theatre Project talking about their Urban One Acts: 'Hilma' and 'Wolf Play'; Stephens College's Macklanburg Theatre director Jennifer Hemphill chatting about reworking the musical revue 'And the World Goes Round'. In the fine art world Hannah Reeves from Sager Reeves Gallery talks about becoming a partner of the Sager Reeves gallery, and the work of Lawrence Kupferman; and Kelsey Hammond from the Columbia Art League gives a peek at the second annual Patrons' Party. Opening and closing music with thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com).

On this week's show a cross-section of Columbia's arts instigators, each working creatively to change expectations. The Missouri Symphony Orchestra is taking classical music out to local drinking holes and Executive Director Trent Rash talks about Preludes at the Pub; the University of Missouri's theatre department teams up with the international Climate Change Theatre Action to present 13 short plays written by playwrights around the world following the prompt of "Envisioning a Global Green New Deal" and director Kasey Lynch talks about their production; Film-maker Matt Schacht talks about the return of the COMO Shorts Film festival and the importance of giving film makers a local platform; and at the Columbia Art League the Interpretations show returns and Diana talks with Executive Director Kelsey Hammond along with artist John Fennell and writer Lori Younker about their experience of interpreting each others' work. Opening and closing music credits with thanks to Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

The 14th annual Roots n Blues festival returns to Stephens Lake Park from September 24th-26th and features a line-up of almost exclusively women artists. On this week's show Diana Moxon chats with Roots n Blues co-owners, Tracy Lane and Shay Jasper, about the devastation of the past year, programming an all women festival, and navigating public health protocols. Plus director Hephzibah Niamh and actor Lena Ajans talk about this weekend's one-night only Guerl-rilla Theatre at Talking Horse Productions, and the Columbia Art League's Kelsey Hammond and Jabberwocky Studio's Linda Schust give a peek inside the Art Bus. Opening and closing music thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

As Spring arrives so too do the arts events multiply and this week host Diana Moxon visits with five local people and places to chat about upcoming events: Director Chris Bowling discusses Columbia Entertainment Company's Carol Burnett Show: A Collection of Sketches; Orr Street Studio's Director, Mallory Donohue, chats about reopening the studios for First Friday; The Unbound Book Festival's Executive Director, Alex George, reviews some of the festival's upcoming events; Dr. Joy Powell lifts the lid on the University of Missouri's Chancellor's Arts Showcase; and Columbia Art League Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, explains why their 'Tiny Things' exhibit makes you go 'awww!' Opening and closing music thanks to guitarist Yasmin Williams (www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com)

Theatre, cabaret, cinema, art exhibits - they are all going on whether we are there in person or watching from afar. On this week's show host Diana Moxon chats Academy Awards and the world of Ragtag Cinema with its Co-Executive Director, Barbie Banks; explores local artists' interpretation of Dante's Divine Comedy with the Columbia Art League's Kelsey Hammond; and goes behind the scenes with Audra Sergel, Rochara Knight and Enola White to find out more about this weekend's Cabaret for a Cause: Lovers, Losers and Loners.

In a year when there were almost no arts as we knew them, there was instead a plethora of arts as we had never seen before. In Part I of a 2-week Arts Year in Review, host Diana Moxon chats with 4 local arts leaders about what their highlights and reflections on the year. Alex George from Skylark Bookshop talks books, virtual book tours and community support; the Columbia Art League's Kelsey Hammond remembers some of her favorite art shows and reflects on the importance of us all deepening our mental stretch; Columbia Daily Tribune arts writer, Aarik Danielsen, looks back on some of his conversations and virtual events; and Talking Horse Production's Artistic Director, Adam Brietzke, talks about the theatre's monologue contest and how COVID shone a spotlight on the importance of the performing arts to so many people. Opening and closing music with thanks to Yasmin Williams www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com

We have grown accustomed to the endlessness of arts cancelations but on this week's show Diana Moxon checks in with two artists who have shows on real life walls: Jenny McGee whose new show 'Special Midwest Places' opens at William Woods Mildred Cox Gallery this week, and Anastasia Pottinger whose 'Awful//Cute' photography show is on display at the Columbia Art League's South Gallery. For documentary film-makers though, a world in pandemic is pretty hostile to their art form, and Diana's third guest this week is film-maker - and Assistant Professor at the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism - Robert Greene, who talks about the critical state of documentary film-making and what a world dominated by giants like Netflix are doing to the industry.

As we officially head into Fall next week, Diana Moxon checks out the autumn schedules at Skylark Bookshop (Alex George), Columbia Art League (Kelsey Hammond), Ragtag Cinema (Barbie Banks), and the University of Missouri Theatre Department (Joy Powell) and chats with 4 of Columbia's art leaders and creators who are planning on keeping the community engaged as the nights draw in. The music at the beginning and end of the show is a song called 'Restless Heart' by Yasmin Williams, whose music can be found on Spotify and on her website at www.yasminwilliamsmusic.com.

Imagine being a teenage dancer, you've been thrust into the spotlight, you're on tour for the first time, and your mentor tells you: 'You do not have friends, and you will be going through your career alone.' For Darren Gibson, this was the start of his journey as a principal ballet dancer. Today he is the ballet master at Stephens College, and on this week's show he talks about the lonely journey of being a black, male dancer and how critical it is for today's young black and brown ballet dancers to have teachers who look like them. And in the Second Act of the show Diana talks with the Columbia Art League's Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, about a different kind of color loneliness in CAL's new show, Monochrome, and its ROYGBIV variations.

Do we go ahead or do we cancel? The question facing all arts organizations as they try to navigate these liminal times. On this week's show Columbia Art League Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, looks back on her first year running one of Columbia's oldest arts organizations; Talking Horse Productions' Artistic Director, Adam Brietzke, chats about trying to plan in a turmoil and about a new theatrical event that is coming up in a safe space; and a new operatic and musical theatre voice, Anthony Blatter, talks about his career and his hopes for racial equality in the world of the performing arts.

This week Diana talks to Ragtag Cinema's Barbie Banks about the importance of lifting up black voices in film; Columbia Art League's Kelsey Hammond turns the tables and asks Diana about her 11 years of running Art in the Park; Monica Palmer chats about the Missouri Symphony Orchestra's upcoming Hot Summer Nights Greatest Hits Season; AND author Jill Orr talks about the latest - and possibly last - novel in her Riley Ellison mystery series, The Full Scoop.

As we all navigate our way to the new normal, the arts quietly carries on feeding our souls. Nobody ever felt worse after reading a good book, or listening to Mozart, or standing before an artwork that spoke to them. On this week's Speaking of the Arts Diana Moxon checks in with Ragtag Cinema, the Columbia Art League, the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Skylark Bookshop and Talking Horse Productions and finds out along the way about how difficult it is to tell Mick Jagger apart from Mozart, what Talking Horse Productions' Adam Brietzke thinks about murder hornets, upcoming drive-in movies, a new memoir for dog lovers, and the range of famous artists whose influences are on display in the Columbia Art League's Visual Mixtape online exhibit.

This week, with the help of sound effects, Diana cycles around Columbia visiting arts organizations to find out what we can all enjoy from the comfort of our sofas. In the world of Ragtag film, this week they open an Irish paranormal comedy, 'Extra Ordinary' and a documentary 'Pahokee' plus there's another chance to see this year's CoMo shorts and the 1991 movie 'Hook'. Skylark's Alex George talks about this week's Housebound Unbound book events; the Columbia Art League's Kelsey Hammonds talks about their new show, which opens on April 27th, called 'Visual Mixtape' and discusses the artistic influences on her own body of work; at Talking Horse theatre, Adam Brietzke and Kathleen Johnson, demonstrate another improv game; and the Missouri Symphony Orchestra's Monica Palmer meets Diana at the Missouri Theatre for a chat about the composer Rachmaninov.

The opportunities to enjoy the arts from the comforts of home continues. First up on this week's show, Skylark Bookshop's Alex George reviews two new novels, 'Golden State' by Ben Winters about a dystopian future where telling a lie puts you in jail, and a new comically toe-curling essay collection by Samantha Irby called 'Wow, No Thank You' plus Alex gives a little insight into how artwork is chosen for a book cover; Columbia Art League's Kelsey Hammond looks at their new online photography show by Dan Farnum called 'Young Blood' (https://columbiaartleague.org/virtual-gallery-shows); Talking Horse Productions' Adam Brietzke and The Stable Boys' Kathleen Johnson give Diana another improv lesson that involves a poop joke; Ragtag's Barbie Banks tells us how we can binge watch a Columbia-made soap opera, 'Nettle Pointe' by Sasha Goodnow; and finally the Missouri Symphony's Trent Rash takes us a tour of George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'.

These are strange and unprecedented times for all of us. With all arts and culture events canceled, all venues shuttered and no end in sight, this week Diana chats to Michael Donovan, the Executive Director of the Missouri Arts Council (MAC) about what resources are available for artists and arts organizations, and what conversations MAC is having with funders and organizations around the state. In Act Two, Monica Palmer, the Development Director for the Missouri Symphony Orchestra talks about why the arts are so important to the public good and some of the ideas that she is working on to keep us all engaged during our quarantine time. And in Act Three, the Columbia Art League's (CAL) Executive Director, Kelsey Hammond, discusses what online events CAL is planning and how she's trying to navigate organizing Art in the Park whilst uncertainty abounds.

With another fabulous year of the arts coming to a close, Diana Moxon sits down with some of the non-profit arts directors who made 2019 such a stellar year: Director and Co-owner of the Roots n Blues festival, Tracy Lane; Executive Director of the Columbia Art League, Kelsey Hammond; Director of the Unbound Book Festival and Owner of Skylark Bookshop, Alex George; Ragtag Cinema Director, Barbie Banks; and Missouri Symphony Orchestra Development Director and actor/director/improvista, Monica Palmer. Plus there's the new single from Audra Sergel, 'This Life', and a composition by Viet Cuong from the 2018 Mizzou International Composers Festival, released this summer, called 'Electric Aroma (A Most Disagreeable Noise).