Westport is a small region crowded with trendy restaurants and boutiques, however historically it is the western port of Kansas City that was at one time an individual town. It displaced Independence, MO as the start of the Sante Fe and Oregon Trails for western expansion by 1850 with Kansas City. Now, instead of moving west, you can find vintage clothing at ReRuns, records at Mills Record Company, bubble tea at […]
Located just 45 minutes away from the Kansas City Convention Center, Lawrence, KS is hosting 11 exhibitions. An excursion to Lawrence would make a great roadtrip to check out the Lawrence Art Center, Brackers Good Earth Clay and exhibitions at the University of Kansas. If you are traveling early for NCECA, Lawrence is holding a HUGE pre-conference event including wood-firing workshops with performance kilns at KU, a Ceramics Symposium at the […]
Usually my “Inside NCECA” column comes out on Saturday, but I just couldn’t wait until then to tell you all about this year’s NCECA App. Filled with information about programming, presenters, exhibitions, KC restaurants & hotspots, maps, bus tours, important dates, plus opportunities to connect year round, the NCECA App just gets better each year. Here’s a helpful video on the basics and some of the personalized features of the […]
If you’re staying downtown or at any of the conference hotels, the Power and Light district provides convenient places to eat, drink, and connect with friends due to its close proximity. Only a couple of blocks from the convention center, this district offers a WIDE variety of retail & restaurants. Although some of the restaurants are national or regional chains, the offerings here represent a variety of ethnicities and styles of food […]
Ceramics is more than just a few hundred famous artists or those who teach it in the US. Ceramics are independent artists—successful and struggling; Instructors and students; young and old; working in many disciplines. Ceramic artists use an infinite number of fabrication, firing and finishing methods. For this momentous conference, I teamed up with celebrated artist and dedicated instructor, Alex Kraft to put together 50 Women: A Celebration of Women’s Contribution […]
The Rivermarket hosts a weekly farmers market from early summer to mid fall. During the rest of the year, you can visit a variety of restaurants there, with a particularly lengthy list of great Vietnamese places. The Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kiosk Gallery, and Steamboat Arabia Museum are hosting exhibitions in the Rivermarket, please note there is a admission fee to enter the Steamboat Arabia Museum. While you are here, […]
Close to downtown, The Crossroads Arts District is known to be particularly crowded on “First Fridays” because of the numerous art galleries situated there. Many of the exhibitions for NCECA will be taking place here and it is just a short walk from the convention center. Several NCECA sponsored exhibitions that you will want to visit are the National Juried Student Exhibition, the Honors & Fellows Exhibition and The Emerging […]
Cosentino’s is just a couple blocks from the Kansas City convention center and they have just about everything you could need. From fresh fruits and veggies to other grocery needs, even alcohol and a cafeteria style restaurant, including my favourite – the Gyro counter, where they make amazing sandwiches right in front of your eyes (if you like spicy food, don’t skip the hot pepper relish sauce stuff…it’s awesome!) There’s also a whole […]
Kansas City is not shy on BBQ joints but also holds its own in the Vegetarian/Vegan cuisine Category. Whichever you crave you will want to check out the following restaurants based on your interests. If you find yourself in the Crossroads exploring exhibitions and hunger strikes check out Cafe Gratitude located at 333 Southwest Blvd. Their vegetarian and vegan menu is one of the best in KC. Serving raw food, […]
Back in 1989, right here in Kansas City, NCECA introduced what would become a hallmark of the conference’s opening festivities: The Randall Session. And right now, I have the good fortune of introducing you to the mastermind behind this year’s session, Mark Southerland, and the group of esteemed artists joining him on stage to perform Wit & Menace: An Operetta. First, here’s a quick history lesson: Named in honor of […]
FUTURE FLUX, the 51st annual NCECA conference takes place in Portland, Oregon in 2017. Although it seems a long way off, it will be here before we know it! NCECA is committed to the exhibition and expansion of contemporary ceramic practice including diverse approaches that range from utilitarian and designed objects to sculpture, installations, site-specific works and performative events. Concurrent Exhibitions (CEs) are an important feature of NCECA’s annual conference […]
Social media has gotten HOT this year. The NCECA Instagram account is about to hit 8,000 followers, our Facebook and Twitter pages are more active than ever, the blog is going strong- and we’ve even added Snapchat and Periscope accounts to round out the club, which also includes a Tumblr feed, YouTube channel, and Pinterest boards. What does that mean for you? It means you can be part of the conference […]
Lots of folks have been asking me about this ride, and I am thrilled to be able to say that Women’s Free State Racing, which was the team Glenda raced with, will be hosting the ride. (If you missed the initial post about this ride, you can check that out here) Many cyclists who rode and raced with Glenda from this area are excited to participate and meet their “counterparts” […]
NCECA is excited to offer single-day pass scholarships to 100 students and 10 teachers from Kansas City area high schools. Students and teachers from schools located in the Kansas City Metro (including schools between Lawrence, KS and St. Joseph, MO) in grades 9-12 are eligible to apply for the Val Cushing Memorial Scholarship. Scholarship recipients will be given the opportunity to attend the 2016 NCECA Conference for free thanks to […]
