Media Release

Spencer Student Advisory Board to co-host Student Night at Kansas City’s Kemper Museum

Lawrence, KS, February 14, 2011  – On Friday, Feb. 18, for the second time in recent years, students from the Spencer Museum of Art’s Student Advisory Board (SAB) will team with Kansas City’s Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art co-host a DJ-fueled, art-centered party at the Kemper, and the SAB is making it easy for KU students to join in the fun by providing free bus transportation.

The event, which includes beverages, food, and student-led tours of the current Kemper exhibition Pattern ID, is free and open to all KU students. The party at the Kemper is from 7-9 PM; the bus leaves the Spencer at 6 PM, departs the Kemper at 9 PM and will return to Lawrence at 10 PM. Space is limited and vouchers are required to ride the bus; students may pick them up beginning Monday, Feb. 14, in the Spencer’s education office. The parking lot behind the Spencer is free after 5 PM and will be available for students riding the bus to park their cars.

SAB President Annette Becker, Lenora, Kansas, senior, says the night is part of a continued initiative to get KU students more involved with the Spencer and also expose them to Kansas City area museums and art. “The Pattern ID exhibition is very accessible to a student audience, and we think it’s a great opportunity to experience art that will provoke a lot of interesting conversations,” Becker says. “It represents a fresh direction in art, a new way of expressing cultural history. We’re excited to partner with the Kemper for what should be a fantastic evening.”

The Pattern ID exhibition focuses on dress as a means to communicate one’s personal history and experiences. The blending of cultures in modern society has caused artists to express their own histories through unique fabrics and patterns. SAB members will be present to answer questions and engage partygoers in conversations about the art. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a free art activity designed to mimic the exhibition.

The exhibition includes works by Mark Bradford, iona rozeal brown, Nick Cave, Willie Cole, Lalla Essaydi, Samuel Fosso, James Gobel, Brian Jungen, Bharti Kher, Takashi Murakami, Grace Ndiritu, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Mickalene Thomas, Aya Uekawa, and Kehinde Wiley.

Media Contacts

Elizabeth Kanost

Elizabeth Kanost
Communications Manager
785.840.0142
elizacat@ku.edu

Kristina Walker

Kristina Walker
Director of Education
Spencer Museum of Art
785.864.0137
kewalker@ku.edu