Each year, Omaha looks forward to KANEKO’s Soirée, celebrating a year of creative and inspirational programming and exhibitions.

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. Please join us at Soirée and raise a glass to a MONUMENTAL year.

For this year’s Soirée, KANEKO is honored to present Richard Hunt: MONUMENTAL, an original exhibition guest curated for KANEKO by Dr. Marin R. Sullivan. The timing coincides with the celebration of Hunt’s work in the city of Omaha, which began in July 2022, when one of his large-scale sculptures was installed downtown as part of The Riverfront Revitalization Project and the Gene Leahy Mall. Also featuring exhibits by Chicago artist Faheem Majeed, and Omaha artists Sarah Rowe and Charles Kay Jr.

This Year’s Honorary Chairs are Molly & Jon Ott. Jon Ott is Richard Hunt’s biographer, and KANEKO has the Ott Family to thank for the opportunity to work with Richard Hunt. Thanks to this year’s co-chairs, Christine & Mauro Fiore, Allison, and John Ashford.

Soirée is an event to celebrate KANEKO’s creative programming and inspiring exhibitions that change the landscape of our community. Soirée 2022 Sponsorships support KANEKO in hosting exhibitions and programs that catalyze community growth and connectedness. KANEKO’s 2022 goal is to raise $350,000 in Soirée contributions.

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
Molly & Jon Ott

Co-Chairs
Christine & Mauro Fiore
Allison & John Ashford

MONUMENTAL Exhibition Artists

Richard Hunt

Major works through monumental years. From the beginning of his career, Hunt’s work has contemplated aspects of monumentality from abstractions of Michelangelo’s “David” and the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” to modern monuments of civil rights heroes such as Martin Luther King and Ida B. Wells. Hunt began using the term “monument” in his Minor Monument series of sculptures created in the 1960s. Then in the late ’60s began incorporating major public works into his practice. For over 50 years, Hunt has tackled both subject matter and scale that is truly monumental. This survey of the concept of monumentality spans commemoratives to memorials to artistic monumental statements examines the work of the most influential American sculptor in the United States and how he channeled his artistic practice to elevate meaningful stories with his singular sculptural vision.  LEARN MORE  ⟶

Faheem Majeed

Faheem Majeed is an artist, educator, curator, and community facilitator. He blends his unique experience as an artist, non-profit administrator, and curator to create works that focus on institutional critique and exhibitions that leverage collaboration to engage the immediate and broader community in meaningful dialogue.  LEARN MORE  ⟶

Sarah Rowe

Sarah Rowe is a multimedia artist based in Omaha, NE. Her work opens cross-cultural dialogues by utilizing methods of painting, casting, fiber arts, performance, and Native American ceremony in unconventional ways.  LEARN MORE  ⟶

Charles Kay Jr.

Charles Kay Jr. is a first-generation Thai-American artist. His parents immigrated from Thailand in 1966 to attend university. Charles was born and raised in Omaha, NE. In 1992 Charles graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA. Charles is known for his black and white architectural series, Paris Still Lifes, included in the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center’s permanent collection. LEARN MORE  ⟶

Support KANEKO Soirée

We need record-breaking results to achieve our future goals. We ask you to join us in supporting KANEKO’s mission to serve the Omaha community through sponsorship or purchasing tickets to our annual fundraiser.  SOIRÉE SPONSORSHIPS  ⟶

COVID Contingency Plan: If we feel 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 email participants information closer to the date of the event.