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Congressional Art Competition
Category: Education • Exhibitions | Season: CARNE y ARENA at KANEKO • FORM
Experience the Congressional Art Competition exhibit.
The Congressional Art Competition is an annual event in which the first-place winners from each state have the opportunity to have their art showcased in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC. Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
The submissions for the state of Nebraska will be hung at the KANEKO throughout the month of May.
Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works from each state are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol.
Masks are recommended when visiting or attending an event at KANEKO.
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Arts For Me! Exhibition
Category: Education • Exhibitions | Season: CARNE y ARENA at KANEKO • FORM
Arts for Me! and KANEKO invite you to see the Spring 2022 Semester exhibit.
Arts for Me! exists to empower marginalized communities within our school system and increase their work’s visibility and importance. Arts for Me! is a group of visual art teachers who share a common goal of doing better for our alternative curriculum students. Based in Omaha, NE, Arts for Me! is in partnership with KANEKO and shares the mission of sharing this philosophy and approach to teaching adapted art.
For more information on the Arts for Me! program, please visit www.artsforme.org
Masks are recommended when visiting or attending an event at KANEKO.
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CARNE y ARENA
Category: Exhibitions | Season: CARNE y ARENA at KANEKO
A groundbreaking and immersive virtual reality experience.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Academy Award®-winning virtual reality experience CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible) explores the human condition of immigrants and refugees.
KANEKO in partnership with Emerson Collective, PHI Studio, and Legendary Entertainment presents the immersive VR experience recounting the harrowing journey of Central American and Mexican refugees. CARNE y ARENA is presented for the first time in Nebraska, The installation opens in KANEKO galleries after numerous sold-out runs in the U.S. and abroad.
About the Experience
Originally presented at the 70th Festival de Cannes in 2017, CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible) was the first VR experience ever chosen as part of the festival’s Official Selection. Created with frequent collaborator and Academy Award®-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, CARNE y ARENA explores the human condition of refugees and immigrants during their journey.
The 20-minute solo experience is based on true accounts. Called by critics “a must-see” and “genius” and described by attendees as “life-changing” and “powerful,” CARNE y ARENA blurs lines between subject and bystander as visitors walk in a vast, sand-filled space and witness a fragment of a refugee’s personal journey.
Following its 2017 premiere, five-time Academy Award-winning director Iñárritu was presented a special Oscar® for CARNE y ARENA by the Academy “in recognition of a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling.”
CARNE y ARENA is produced by Legendary, Emerson Collective, and PHI Studio in collaboration with the Prada Foundation.
In addition, the following Omaha institutions are also coming together to serve as community partners for CARNE y ARENA, including Vic Gutman & Associates; UNO: Goldstein Center for Human Rights; UNO: Office of Latino/Latin American Studies; Immigrant Legal Center; UNO: Center for Afghanistan Studies; Holland Children’s Institute and the Holland Children’s Movement; Afro Omaha; International Council for Refugees and Immigrants (ICR) Elevate Omaha; Completely KIDS; Inclusive Communities; and the Rose Theater.
Virtual and live programming will be held throughout the run of CARNE y ARENA, with additional community partners presenting content and events as it relates to their exhibitions and programs.
Special Recognition
KANEKO would like to recognize our partner Vic Gutman & Associates for the crucial fundraising efforts to make this project successful. We also would like to thank The Sherwood Foundation and The Holland Foundation for making it possible for this incredible experience to come to Omaha.
Please note that tickets can only be purchased in advance and released every 6-weeks.
COVID Contingency Plan: If we feel that there are significant health and safety concerns, we reserve the right to postpone (ideally) or cancel (unfortunately) any event. Masks are recommended when visiting or attending an event at KANEKO.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
- We recommend that visitors arrive at least 15 minutes prior to their appointment time.
- CARNE y ARENA is a virtual reality work that is highly immersive and can feel extremely realistic, including experiences with firearms.
- CARNE y ARENA is not recommended for individuals with claustrophobia, heart conditions, back conditions, a history of seizures, epilepsy, and/or sensitivity to flashing lights.
- No photography or other documentation of the work is permitted.
- Due to the complex technology employed, the installation may require unplanned maintenance, resulting in delays or cancellation.
- It is not recommended for children ages 13 and under.
- The installation is accessible to those with reduced mobility, although additional assistance may be required. Please reach out to us at least 48 hours in advance of this event at info@thekaneko.org.
- If you can no longer attend or are experiencing symptoms similar to those of COVID-19, please contact info@thekaneko.org at least 24 hours prior to your reserved time, and we will be happy to reschedule you.
HEALTH & SAFETY MEASURES
- The spaces are designed for one visitor at a time to circulate to limit interactions and to respect distances safely and comfortably.
- Our team follows a meticulous protocol of hygiene measures: all gear, including the headsets, are carefully disinfected with an ultraviolet machine for efficient sterilization between each visitor.
- If you are experiencing symptoms similar to COVID-19 or have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 5 days, please contact KANEKO at info@thekaneko.org to reschedule for a later date.
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Monumental Works Closing Tours
Category: Exhibitions • Free | Season: FORM
Lifetime Achievements in Sculpture Public Tours
Sunday March 20th, will be a unique opportunity to enjoy our continued partnership with the International Sculpture Center as Stephan Grot, KANEKO Executive Director will be guiding two public tours of the space. This collection features globally-recognized works by monumental sculptural artists. Each of these artists is a Lifetime Achievement Award winner and has been recognized by the ISC. This exhibit and talk will illuminate each artist’s creative process as well as the craft and perseverance needed to master their materials and convey meaning in their sculptural work. Some of these themes and ideas will be discussed on Sunday, March 20th as Stephan Grot takes KANEKO guests through each of the pieces on display. Each talk will last approximately thirty minutes (1:30 and 2:30pm) and space is limited, so register today!
Monumental Works is an extension of the ISC’s littleSculpture Show and Art Sale that opened FORM in October 2021, alongside an exhibit of great works by 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jun Kaneko. By featuring other ISC Lifetime Achievement Award winners (Fletcher Benton, Jun Kaneko, Phillip King, William King, Manuel Neri, Arnoldo Pomodoro, Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Kiki Smith, James Surls, William G. Tucker, and Bernar Venet), this FORM exhibit enhances the historical impact and cultural significance of sculpture. It is also incredibly timely due to KANEKO’s relationship and role in the development of a new sculpture project at Omaha’s revitalized Gene Leahy Mall.
We see Monumental Works: Lifetime Achievement, as the connective tissue between KANEKO’s celebration of the ISC Lifetime Achievement Award in autumn of 2021, the reopening of the Gene Leahy Mall Sculptural Garden , and a more extensive commitment to bring monumental sculptural works of marked significance to the Omaha community.
This partnership between the Metropolitan and Convention Authority (MECA), KANEKO, and the International Sculpture Center, has secured 5 major sculptures for the Mall beginning in July 2022 for a period of three years. During this three-year period, KANEKO will develop and curate complimentary exhibits for each of the 5 sculptors featured at the Mall. At the conclusion of the three-year exhibit, 5 new sculptures will be selected and displayed and the exhibit timeline will begin anew.
COVID Contingency Plan: If we feel that there are significant health and safety concerns, we reserve the right to postpone (ideally) or cancel (unfortunately) any event.
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Common Senses Festival
Category: Education • Exhibitions • Free | Season:
Explore the Human Senses
This month-long multi-faceted, sensory-friendly event is inclusive to everyone in the community.
Common Senses Festival, is a first-of-its-kind, festival that explores the human senses through interactive installations, live performances, and more. This month-long festival, is presented by local non-profit Autism Action Partnership.
The festival’s interactive installations are curated by national experts and will engage the senses through visual art and technology. The installations housed at KANEKO and will be free and open to the public during extended gallery hours.
As part of the festival, several partner arts organizations provide a variety of sensory-friendly offerings designed explicitly for the autism community. Find more at the Common Senses Festival Website ⟶
Common Senses is a production of Autism Action Partnership
Autism Action Partnership serves the Nebraska autism community through targeted programs that promote support, inclusion, and prosperity.
COVID Contingency Plan: If we feel that there are significant health and safety concerns, we reserve the right to postpone (ideally) or cancel (unfortunately) any event.
Masks are optional when visiting or attending an event at KANEKO.
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Monumental Works
Category: Exhibitions • Free | Season: FORM
Lifetime Achievements in Sculpture, a Celebration of Sculptural Artistry
In a continuing partnership with the International Sculpture Center, KANEKO presents a collection of globally-recognized works by monumental sculptural artists. This exhibit strives to illuminate each artist’s creative process as well as the craft and perseverance needed to master their materials and convey meaning in their sculptural work.
Monumental Works is an extension of the ISC’s littleSCULPTURE Show and Art Sale that opened FORM in October 2021, alongside an exhibit of great works by 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jun Kaneko. By featuring other ISC Lifetime Achievement Award winners, this new FORM exhibit enhances the historical impact and cultural significance of sculpture, and also allows for a continuation of this conversation in relation to the development of a new sculpture project in Omaha’s revitalized Gene Leahy Mall.
Page Photo: James Surls “Walking Flower Times the Power of Five ”, 2010, Steel, 14’5” x 14’5” x 5’5” Photographed outside James Surls Colorado studio by Robert Millman
Featured Artists for this Exhibit:
This exhibit will include assorted works by legendary artists: Fletcher Benton, Richard Hunt, Jun Kaneko, Phillip King, William King, Manuel Neri, Arnoldo Pomodoro, Ursula Von Rydingsvard, Kiki Smith, James Surls, William G. Tucker, and Bernar Venet.
ATTENTION: Member’s First-Look Event (January 14th) has been canceled: Out of an abundance of caution in light of the recent spike in COVID cases, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this event. The public opening of this exhibit remains on January 15th during normal gallery hours.
Community Impact in Omaha:
A plan is to place five large sculptures in the revitalized Gene Leahy Mall at The RiverFront. In a partnership between the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), KANEKO, and the International Sculpture Center, this plan will secure significant sculptures for the Gene Leahy Mall Sculpture Garden beginning in May 2022 for three years. During these three years, KANEKO will develop and curate complimentary exhibits for each of the five sculptures featured at The RiverFront. In addition, in coordination with KANEKO, MECA will plan activations around the five Gene Leahy Mall sculpture works.
We see this initial exhibit, Monumental Works, as connective tissue between KANEKO’s celebration of the ISC Lifetime Achievement Award in autumn of 2021, the development of this park project, and a more extensive commitment to bring monumental sculptural work of marked significance to the Omaha community.
COVID Contingency Plan: If we feel that there are significant health and safety concerns, we reserve the right to postpone (ideally) or cancel (unfortunately) any event.
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littleSCULPTURE Show & Art Sale
Category: Exhibitions • Free • Soirée | Season: FORM
For this year’s Soirée, KANEKO has partnered closely with the International Sculpture Center.
In addition to Jun Kaneko being featured in their publication, Sculpture Magazine, KANEKO will exhibit their annual littleSCULPTURE Show & Sale in our upstairs galleries as part of the event exhibition. This exhibit contains little sculptures made by artists from our community and around the world.
All little sculptures are for sale and benefit the International Sculpture Center. This show and sale will continue to be on view in our gallery spaces October 2nd through October 24th, 2021, in conjunction with the 2021 ISC Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to Jun Kaneko and the KANEKO Soirée celebration.
Please Note: We are doing everything we can to make you as safe as possible and recommend masks inside KANEKO.
Parking: KANEKO is located in three turn of the century warehouses in Omaha’s historic Old Market district. Street, meter, and service lot parking is available throughout the Old Market. Enter: Please enter through our east doors on 11th & Jones Streets. Accessibility: Our facilities are completely ADA accessible. As an organization that encourages the exploration of the creative process, we strive to make sure everyone feels safe and welcome in our space. If you have any accessibility needs, please reach out to us at least 48 hours in advance of this event at info@thekaneko.org
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OUTR 2021 Festival
Category: Exhibitions • Generator Series • Performances | Season:
Omaha Under the Radar Returns to KANEKO!
Omaha Under the Radar returns for its 8th annual festival of contemporary performance, featuring innovative time-based arts, open-form pieces for musicians and movement artists, and workshops on experimental music and sound art.
Featured composers at the 8th annual festival include Chari Glogovac-Smith, Veronica Anne Salinas, Frederick Gifford, and Stacey Barelos. Acclaimed for its history of producing experimental performance events in the region, OUTR has gathered a community of artists, creators, and audiences who are eager to try something new and experience performance in unique formats. This event will be a family-friendly and casual way to engage with contemporary performance.
Omaha Under the Radar Programs at KANEKO:
EVENT 1 | Friday, August 6th | 7 PM | Festival Pass Required
Performances by featured artist Veronica Anne Salinas and more.VIDEO INSTALLATION | Saturday, August 7th | 2-4 PM | FREE
Experience the stunning work of composer and video artist Bana Haffar, on view in KANEKO’s galleries.EVENT 4 | Saturday, August 7th | 7 PM | Festival Pass Required
The festival’s closing event will feature performances by Chari Glogovac-Smith-Smith, Dereck Higgins, Aaron Gum, and more.
About Omaha Under the Radar: Omaha Under the Radar is an annual experimental performance festival in the Midwest. We celebrate cultural innovators with performances throughout the city of Omaha. The festival emerged from a desire to support innovative performers and creators living and working in the Midwest and connect this community to other performance communities throughout the United States. Since the first festival, held in 2014, Omaha Under the Radar has presented over 200 artists from more than a dozen cities throughout the United States. We work to represent a multiplicity of genres, ideas, and identities through performances, talks, group discussions, and educational opportunities. Learn More ->
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SOIRÉE 2021
Category: Exhibitions • Soirée | Season: FORM
This year, KANEKO Soirée celebrates something very special.
Each year, Omaha looks forward to KANEKO’s Soirée, the celebration of a year of creative and inspirational programming and exhibition. Like all KANEKO programs, Soirée offers a great atmosphere, a fresh exhibition, and a chance to discover a new and exciting way to look at things. This year, Soirée celebrates something very special.
After a year of distance and challenges, we invite you to come together to honor resilience and connection, and to celebrate our co-founder, Jun Kaneko, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center. This award ceremony will take place the night before Soirée, in Omaha, and represents the culmination of a lifetime of groundbreaking international artistry. In honor of this award, KANEKO is installing an exhibit of some of Jun’s largest ceramic pieces in our Bow Truss Gallery to feature at Soirée.
For this year’s Soirée, KANEKO has partnered closely with the International Sculpture Center and, in addition to Jun being featured in their publication, Sculpture Magazine, KANEKO will exhibit their annual littleSCULPTURE Show & Sale in our upstairs galleries as part of the event exhibition. Also featured will be our new education space, now dedicating a third of our galleries to generative and educational programming. For Soirée, this space will exhibit art and design by our 2021 Summer Camp participants, among other bright and inspired youth.
Please join us by purchasing your ticket while they are still available. As always, the evening will include food, drinks, and entertainment by some of Omaha’s most innovative and exciting artists (as well as KANEKO partners). You can support all the great programming and exhibitions KANEKO provides by purchasing a ticket today, or, find more information about how to become a KANEKO Soirée Sponsor. We’re excited to see you at this unforgettable event!
Honorary Chairs
Sue & David MorrisCo-Chairs
Marlina & Dusty Davidson
Emily & Craig Moody
Please note: Proof of vaccination will be required to enter this event. Digital copies will be accepted. We are doing everything we can to make you as safe as possible and recommend masks inside KANEKO.
COVID Contingency Plan: If we feel that there are significant health and safety concerns, we reserve the right to postpone (ideally) or cancel (unfortunately) any event. If we have to postpone or cancel, all ticket holders will be contacted as soon as possible and provided with a new date. We will be emailing participants with information closer to the date of the event.
Related Events
ISC Artful Adventure: Discover Nebraska
Join the ISC this October 20-23, 2021, for an art-filled weekend in Omaha and Lincoln, including an exclusive studio visit and dinner with Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Jun Kaneko; ticket(s) to Kaneko Soirée; art collection tours; curator-led museum tours; and more! LEARN MORE ⟶
Lifetime Achievement Award Exclusive Dinner
On Thursday, October 21st ISC will present the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award to Jun Kaneko at an exclusive dinner celebration. Limited tickets are available. LEARN MORE ⟶
Support KANEKO Soirée
We need to have record-breaking results to achieve our future goals and we ask you to join us in supporting KANEKO’s mission to serve the Omaha community through sponsorship or purchase of tickets to our annual fundraiser. SOIRÉE SPONSORSHIPS ⟶
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Juan de Dios Sánchez Artist Talk
Category: Artist Talk • Exhibitions • Free | Season: Community
KANEKO welcomes you to an Artist Talk with Juan Sanchez on Friday, April 30th. Three events will occur at 6, 7, and 8 pm. Reservations are offered for each 50-minute event with a maximum of 50 guests. Each event will begin with a 20-minute live presentation by the artist, diving into the exhibit and the evolution of Sanchez’s revolutionary Raku fired technique, followed by a Q&A session and a remaining half an hour to experience the exhibit. The entire KANEKO gallery space will be open for viewing the Community Exhibition.
About Show
This first American exhibit by the Mexican ceramicist Juan de Dios Sánchez Arce is rooted in imagery and stories that live “in the blood of all Mexicans.” and represents the evolution of a Raku fire technique that Sánchez and his team have pushed to the limits of what any other ceramic artist has done. This exhibit is about a lost lesson: the balance of nature and humanity in the universe, life and death, and how Sánchez believes this lesson is beginning to recover in the minds of his culture.
Sánchez began collaborating with Jun Kaneko over twelve years ago when he, after seeing Kaneko’s ceramics, asked how he managed to build such monumental works. Kaneko, in response, asked the very same question about Sánchez’s slip-cast and Raku fired ceramics. The processes of both these artists are difficult and have been independently pushed to the limits over and over. The combination of these mutual investigations led to revolutions in large-scale slip-cast Raku fired ceramics that had never before been achieved. Much of the result of this collaboration can be seen in this exhibit as well as in Kaneko’s ongoing work.
What to Expect When You Visit KANEKO
We have created a safe environment for this Artist Talk so that everyone attending can enjoy themselves. By reserving a space for this Artist Talk you accept the following:
- Because this artist talk will occur three times in three 50 minute time slots, we ask that you come no earlier than 5 minutes before the hour you reserve to avoid crowding.
- Masks are required inside the KANEKO.
- Guests will observe a 6-foot distance from each other in the KANEKO (if you are with a group of cohorts you may stay close together but please remain at a safe distance from other guests).
- Juan Sanchez’s Artist Talk will take place upstairs in our Gallery 5. Upon entering the building you will check-in and will be guided to the exhibit.
- As the hour-long experience ends, guests will be asked to make room for other reservations by leaving Gallery 5 and exploring the rest of the Community Exhibit.
About Juan Sánchez
Sánchez has lived and worked in Cuernavaca, Mexico for the last 15 years. He grew up in an environment of both art and medicine; his father was a doctor, but his life was immersed in art and Sánchez was drawing and painting at a very young age. As a young man, Sánchez practiced as a doctor of anesthesiology for 17 years, but changed professions to become a ceramist. His medical studies influenced the way he sees life, the way he behaves, and the way he feels compelled to help others. The discipline to be a good artist grew from the discipline he learned from the intense study of medicine.
By maintaining contact with ceramicists in Europe, Sánchez facilitated a side business, working with Mexican artisans and selling large quantities of high-end functional ceramic ware to distribution companies all over Europe. He studied Raku fired ceramics with his brother at a production studio in Healdsburg, CA before opening their ceramic studio in Mexico. Although he had many other projects and professions at the time, he ultimately took over the studio. He continued to study ceramics and quickly began pushing the normal expectations of scale with both slip-cast and Raku fired works.