MANHATTAN — The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, in collaboration with McCain Auditorium, is offering two special events celebrating the legacy of native Kansan Gordon Parks, the famed photographer, film director, musician and writer, April 6 and 7 at Kansas State University's McCain Auditorium.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, three noted contemporary artists — musician and composer Terence Blanchard, multimedia artist Andrew F. Scott, and filmmaker Kevin Willmott — will discuss the relevance of Parks for our own time in "Art Matters Now: Three Artists Reflect." This public discussion is free, with no tickets required.
If unable to attend in person, join the free livestream offered via Zoom. Advanced registration is required and may be found at ksu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SfXonZZlSGeehcrtyf7ErQ. The program will be recorded and made available after the event through the museum's YouTube channel at beach.k-state.edu/videos.
Continuing the theme of reflection, a concert will be offered at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in McCain Auditorium. "Presence of Absence: Gordon Parks Through an Empathic Lens" will pair the musical stylings of Blanchard and the E-Collective with a video montage of Parks' photographs. K-State art professor Matthew Gaynor and artist Andrew F. Scott, who is also an associate professor at the University of Texas, Dallas, worked with K-State students to create the evening's virtual backdrop. The Turtle Island Quartet will also perform. This multimedia concert experience is free to attend, but tickets are required and will be available at the McCain Ticket Office beginning Wednesday, March 23. The McCain ticket office is open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday or by phone at 785-532-6428 during the same hours. Tickets are not available online.
Both programs are made possible by The Gordon Parks Foundation; Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies at Hale Library, a part of K-State Libraries; St. John's Bible Fund at K-State Libraries; K-State Department of Art; and Art Bridges.
The special programs are related to the current Beach Museum of Art exhibition "Gordon Parks: 'Homeward to the Prairie I Come,'" which is on display in the museum's Marion Pelton Gallery through May 28. The exhibition is also available online at beach.k-state.edu/explore.
K-State News and Communications Services