For Adults

Free hands-on workshops, films, lectures, and performances are scheduled throughout the year. The Museum strives to represent artists and visitors of diverse genders, nationalities, artistic influences, media, and ethnicity. Admission is always free and the Museum is fully accessible in order to warmly welcome visitors with special needs. Groups of ten or more may schedule free docent-led guided tours of the Kemper Museum’s permanent collection and special exhibitions, to see more information visit the Museum's Tours page.

Programs in Conjunction with Magnetic Fields

Reflections: The Artists of Magnetic Fields presented by Erin Dziedzic

Thursday, June 1, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
5:00–6:30 p.m.
FREE | Members Only | RSVP to Teresa Woods: twoods@kemperart.org

MEMBERS ONLY

Join co-curator Erin Dziedzic for in-depth sessions, each focused on five artists in Magnetic Fields. 

Four unique sessions, 5:00–6:30 p.m.

Session I: Thursday, June 1 
Session II: Thursday, July 27
Session III: Thursday, August 24
Session IV: Thursday, September 7

RSVP to Teresa Woods: twoods@kemperart.org

Exhibition Opening and Artist/Curator Panel Discussion, Magnetic Fields

Thursday, June 8, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
5:00–8:00 p.m.
FREE | No registration required

With Special Guest Artists

5:00 – 8:00 p.m. exhibition opening and cash bar | 7:00 p.m. panel discussion

A conversation on topics of American abstraction (history, themes, and influence) kicks off the opening of the groundbreaking group exhibition Magnetic Fields, featuring artists Candida Alvarez, Lilian Thomas Burwell, and Shinique Smith, moderated by co-curators of the exhibition Erin Dziedzic and Melissa Messina. Members: show your membership card for a complimentary beverage at our cash bar beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Focus Videos: Artists in Context, Five African American Artists

Thursday, June 22, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
6:00–6:30 p.m.
FREE | No registration required

​5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. video

Five African American Artists (1971; 30 min.) 

A series of recorded artist talks and lectures offer insight into the lives and practices of Magnetic Fields artists.

 

Focus Videos: Artists in Context, Salon | Artist Talk | Howardena Pindell: Travelogues

Thursday, July 13, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
6:00–7:00 p.m.
FREE | No registration required

5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. video

Salon | Artist Talk | Howardena Pindell: Travelogues (2016; 52 min.) 

A series of recorded artist talks and lectures offer insight into the lives and practices of Magnetic Fields artists. 

Focus Videos: Artists in Context, The Collecting of African American Art XII: Pamela J. Joyner in Conversation with Leonardo Drew and Jennie C. Jones

Thursday, August 3, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
6:00–7:00 p.m.
FREE | No registration required

5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. video

The Collecting of African American Art XII: Pamela J. Joyner in Conversation with Leonardo Drew and Jennie C. Jones (2016; 40 min.)

A series of recorded artist talks and lectures offer insight into the lives and practices of Magnetic Fields artists. 

Workshop: Archiving for Artists

Sunday, August 27, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
1:00–3:00 p.m.
FREE | RSVP to reservations@kemperart.org, Subject: Archive; space is limited to 30

Presenters Marilyn Carbonell, Head, Library Services, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and founder of the Kansas City Artists’ File Initiative, and Janet Simpson, Executive Director, the Kansas City Artists Coalition will cover the basics to start a dynamic archive as unique as each artist and lead into brief one-on-one consultations.

RSVP to reservations@kemperart.org, space is limited to 30.

Double Visions: Abstraction and the African Diaspora

Thursday, August 31, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. program
FREE | No registration required

5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. program

Licia E. Clifton-James, Professor of Art History, UMKC, and Adrienne Walker Hoard, Professor of Fine Art and Black Studies, UMKC, discuss their respective study, scholarship, and artistic practices that focus on the African diaspora in modern and contemporary art. Both are advisors to the Magnetic Fields exhibition.

Focus Videos: Artists in Context, Artist Panel | The African American Art World in Twentieth-Century Washington, DC, part of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art Symposium

Friday, September 8, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
6:00–7:00 p.m.
FREE | No registration required

5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. video

Artist Panel | The African American Art World in Twentieth-Century Washington, DC, part of the Wyeth Foundation for American Art Symposium (2017)

A series of recorded artist talks and lectures offer insight into the lives and practices of Magnetic Fields artists.

Magnetic Fields Catalogue Launch and Conversation with Valerie Cassel Oliver and Jennie C. Jones, moderated by co-curator Erin Dziedzic

Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
6:00–7:00 p.m.
FREE | No registration required

5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. program

In partnership with The New York Armory, Kemper Museum hosts a conversation with artist Jennie C. Jones and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Senior Curator Valerie Cassel Oliver on topics related to abstractions past, present, and future. Advanced copies of the Magnetic Fields exhibition catalogue will be available to preview and pre-order.

Programs in Conjunction with Firelei Báez

Artist Talk: Firelei Báez

Friday, August 18, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
6:00–7:00 p.m.
FREE | No registration required

5:00 p.m. cash bar, 6:00 p.m. artist talk

Dominican-born, New York–based artist Firelei Báez discusses her newly commissioned atrium project at the Kemper Museum and her interest in themes of anthropology, science fiction, black female subjectivity, and women’s work.

Kemper Museum Annual Block Party

Saturday, August 19, 2017
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
6–10:30 p.m.
FREE | All Ages

Kemper Museum’s third annual block party features music, food trucks, exhibition tours, family activities, a Museum Shop trunk show, and an outdoor movie to close the evening. Kansas City Art Institute offers tours of their ceramic and sculpture facilities.

Audio Tours

To hear insight from the artists themselves, an exhibition audio tour is available inside the Kemper Museum app. Download the app via iTunes or the Android marketplace to hear the artists speak about selected works.

Drop-In Gallery Tours

Every Saturday from 1:00–2:00 p.m.
Kemper Museum | FREE

Drop-in Gallery Tours are offered every Saturday. Join a Kemper Museum docent for a lively discussion and tour of the Museum’s current exhibitions. These tours serve as our only "drop in" opportunity to have a guided tour each week.

No reservations are required. Meet at the Visitor Services Desk.​

Talks and Conversations

Featured artists and exhibition curators often speak at the Kemper Museum’s opening receptions for its special exhibitions. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the exhibitions' works and artists' working method. Visit the Museum's Talks page for more information.

Workshops

Hands-on workshops for adults have included watercolor painting, acrylic portrait painting, monotype printing, wire sculpture, collage, mixed media, and creative writing. Led by area artists, these workshops provide creative opportunities that expand on themes and media present in Kemper Museum exhibiting artists' works. Learn to express yourself, work with new materials, and consider new processes and ideas.