Artists Invited to Apply for 2008 Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit

Since 1969, the Niagara Frontier Art Exhibit has provided a forum for significant new works by artists from Western New York. The juried show features a variety of media including oils, watercolor, photography, pastels, three-dimensional works, prints, collage, and mixed media works.

The show is open to artists 17 and older who reside or study in the Niagara Frontier region, western and central New York, and Ontario, Canada.

Artists are limited to submission of two works by slides or digital images. There is a $35 non-refundable jury fee. For prospectus, call (716) 433-2617 or send an email request to: info@kenancenter.org. An application can also be downloaded from the Kenan Center website at www.kenancenter.org/arts/gallery.asp. Application deadline is June 2, 2008.

Awards to be given are: Best of Show, $325; Juror’s Choice Purchase Award, $300; Sheila Whalen Realism in Drawing Award, $175; three Awards of Excellence, $125 each with one specifically given for 3-dimensional works; three Honorable Mentions providing free entry into the 2010 NFAE Exhibit valued at $35.

Juror for this year’s show is Nancy Weekly, Head of Collections and Charles Cary Rumsey Curator for the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo State College.

The Kenan Center House Gallery is located in the Kenan House, 433 Locust Street, Lockport. An active exhibition space since 1966 when it premiered with an exhibition of works by Charles Burchfield , the Kenan Center House Gallery averages eight exhibits annually of local, regional and national artists.

23rd Annual Storrs All High Photo Show Opens April 20

Co-jurors for the show are Amy Meza Luraschi and Lauren Tent from CEPA Gallery, Buffalo. The jurors will select 13 top winners. They are: Best School Overall, Best of Show, Student Processed, and 12 category awards including Black & White, Color, Urbanscape; Landscape, Floralscape, Portrait, Waterscape, Computer Generated, Still Life, Sports, and Animal. In addition, one student from each school is recognized with a merit award.

The Buffalo News sponsors the NeXt Vision Award for creative excellence as well as the Best Documentary/ Photojournalism and Best of Show, Commercially Processed awards.

Thirty high schools will be represented in this year’s show. They are: Akron Central; Alden Central; Amherst Central; Cassadaga Valley; Clarence; Depew; Fillmore Central; Gow School; Grand Island; Greece Athena; Honeoye Falls-Lima Central; Kenmore East; Kenmore West; Lancaster; Lewiston Porter; Lockport; Medina; Minerva Deland; Newfane; North Collins Jr/Sr; North Rose-Wolcott; Pioneer Central; Southwestern; Springville Griffith; Sweet Home; Tonawanda; Victor Central; Wheatland-Chili; Williamsville East; and Williamsville North.

The exhibit continues through May 11. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Named in honor of Lockport artist, William Storrs, who passed away in 2005. An accomplished artist and long-time contributor to visual arts programming at the Kenan Center, Storrs was instrumental in starting the All High Photo Show which was designed to showcase the photographic work of high school students throughout Western New York, and was an active participant in the installation of the works as well as the awards presentation.

The Niagara Home School Association will also present an exhibition in the Kenan Center Student Gallery April 7-28. The Student Gallery is located in the Taylor Theater Community Room on the Kenan campus. Visitors are asked to come to the Kenan House/Business Office if they’d like to view the exhibit.

The Kenan Center is a regional community center for arts, education and recreation located on 25 beautiful acres in historic Lockport, New York. Facilities include a sports arena, a 153-seat theater, education building, outdoor recreational fields, and the Kenan house, an 1800’s Victorian mansion featuring a year-round art gallery, gift shop and formal gardens. For more information call (716) 433-2617 or visit us online at www.kenancenter.org.

Kenan Center to Present "Harry the Dirty Dog," April 25 & 26

The Kenan Center is proud to present the delightful stage adaptation of Harry the Dirty Dog, with ArtsPower National Touring Theater, April 25 and 26 at 7:00 p.m. The all-ages show takes place at the intimate Taylor Theater, 433 Locust Street.

As the story goes, Harry is a little white do with black spots and a loving family. In fact, he’s one of the happiest dogs around! There aren’t many things Harry doesn’t like except for one…taking baths. One day when it comes time to wash up, Harry buries the scrub brush and heads off on an adventure, getting dirtier and dirtier by the minute. But when he returns home, he discovers—much to his dismay--that his family doesn’t recognize him under all the soot!

Harry the Dirty Dog was adapted for the stage by ArtPower’s artistic director Greg Cunning, who also wrote the lyrics and directed the production. The cast of four includes Kathryn Lumpkin as Harry, Amy Grass as Mom, Steve Sherman as Dad, and Kathleen Ross, who makes her ArtsPower debut as the Little Girl in this production. All are veteran performers with numerous acting credits under their belts.

ArtsPower National Touring Theater, based in New Jersey, it has been active since 1985, and is one of America’s largest and most respected producers of professional Actors’ Equity theatre for young and family audiences. Founded by twin brothers Gary and Mark Blackman, ArtsPower has created numerous original musicals and plays that have been presented to nearly seven million people throughout 45 states.

Tickets are $7-$10 can be purchased at the Kenan Center Gift Shop, during business hours, or charged by phone by calling 433-2617. For more information, go to www.kenancenter.org.

Nursery School To Hold Open House, April 6

To assist parents in their exploration of preschool programs, the Kenan Center Nursery School will hold an Open House on Sunday, April 6 from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. The purpose, says school director Esther Owens, is to give parents with children ages 2 ˝-5 a sense of what the program entails, meet the teachers, and become familiar with the unique opportunities that the 25-acre Kenan Center campus provides, including nature walks, performances, art gallery visits, and indoor and outdoor recreation.

A Master Teacher with more than 30 years experience in private and public schools, Owens applies an approach that is based on the theory that young children learn best through experiences that are hands-on and which encourage them to interact with their environment. The involvement of the “whole child” is of prime importance.

The Kenan Center Nursery School program is designed as a play group experience focusing on socialization skills, language development, and opportunities to stimulate children’s intellectual and cognitive growth. The curriculum follows the guidelines of the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Applications may be submitted during the Open House with an application fee of $45 Kenan members, $55 non-members. A brochure and application form are also available by going to the Kenan Center website at www.kenancenter.org/education, by calling 433-2617, or visit the Kenan Center Business Office at 433 Locust Street, Monday-Friday.

Kenan Center House Gallery Presents the Works of David Buck and Thomas Kegler

In addition to maintaining a studio at Buffalo Arts Studio, Buck is President and Creative Director of Crowley Webb and Associates. He explains that the inspiration for his work comes from his family history. “My painting expedition started in 2003, the same year I happened upon my parent's oldest photo albums. Spending some time within these miniature black and white scenes, I met the inhabitants and was introduced to their way of life -- hard work and picnics and drives in the country. The journey has taken me to small towns like Painted Post, Albion, and Ontario, New York, as well as Picture Rocks and Winburne, Pennsylvania. In this way, I have been revisiting my family.”

Kegler, in addition to being a Master Roycroft Renaissance Artisan, is an art instructor at East Aurora High School and Professional Faculty Development Instructor for the East Aurora School District. Strongly influenced by the Hudson River School, Kegler’s paintings have been exhibited at numerous galleries including the Burchfield Penney Art Center. His work has also appeared as cover designs for Ani DiFranco.

Says Kegler of the works he presents in this exhibit: “My passion for the outdoors is mirrored in my painting. From the local familiar hills of Western New York to the majestic mountains of Alaska and Oregon, the act of painting is an opportunity to recall moving personal experiences. Revisiting the processes and techniques of the old masters in light of contemporary materials and memorable moments guides my appreciation of life’s subtleties.”

Buck and Kegler will lead an Artist Talk and Tour in the Kenan Center House Gallery, Saturday, March 29 at 2:00 p.m. The exhibit continues through April 13. For additional information, call 433-2617 or go online to: www.kenancenter.org.

Kenan Center to Present Comedy Jugglers with Side-Splitting Talent

Touring worldwide since 1987, the Gizmo Guys have appeared before well over a million people in more than 2,500 live performances. They have performed for millions more on TV. In addition to touring extensively in the U.S. and Canada, the Gizmo Guys have strutted their stuff in places as diverse as Saudi Arabia and Japan and have taught juggling at the renowned French and Canadian National Circus Schools.

Allan Jacobs was taught to juggle by his roomate while attending the University of Massachsetts at Amherst where he graduated in 1977. Shortly thereafter, he co-founded the comedy group Slap Happy which was twice awarded “Best Comedy of the Year” by The Boston Globe, played at over 200 colleges and universities, enjoyed a four month run at The Other End in New York City, and numerous appearances on local and national television.

While not touring with Slapp Happy, Allan taught at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College (1978), won the International Jugglers Association’s Team Championship with Fred Garbo (1978), and Solo Championship (1983), and collaborated as technical consultant on The Complete Juggler written by Dave Finnegan and published in 1987 by Vintage books.

Barrett Felker learned the art of juggling at the age of 15, from his cousin. After completing studies at the University of Arizona, he moved to Boulder, Colorado where he collaborated with Peter Davison and Kezi Tenenbaum, and in 1980, won the International Jugglers Association’s Team Championship.

Later that year he launched a solo career by taking an eight week contract with the Harlme Globetrotters that was extended time and time again. Three years, five continents, and thirty countries later, he settled in Europe where he workined his solo act in circuses and variety theaters for two more years learning to speak Italian, Spanish, French and Portugese.

In 1985 Barrett teamed up with Jim Strinka to form The Dynamotion Jugglers, a duo which appeared with New York City’s Big Apple Circus, Germany’s Cicus Krone, and on television variety shows in Europe and South America. He not makes his home in New York.

Tickets can be purchased at the Kenan Center Business Office at 433 Locust Street, Lockport, open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m, or call 433-2617 to charge by phone. For more information, go to www.kenancenter.org

Kenan Center to Present Exhibit of Stierer Photography

Stierer is a self-taught photographer who has spent 35 years shooting a broad range of subjects from rodeos out west, to fashion and editorial photography; theatre and opera; and nature for National Geographic. During his career, he maintained studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Boston, Massachusetts, and Lockport, New York, where he currently resides. For the past 17 years, Stierer has focused on editorial and fine art photography. His work has been exhibited nationally, from the Midwest to Northeast, and is included in numerous permanent collections. Stierer also served two terms as president of the Buffalo Society of Artists.

Stierer began his career while a student a Purdue University, writing for the campus newspaper. It was there that he first picked up a camera, as he claims, “out of desperation,” to get photos to support his stories. He later went on enjoy a professional career as a commercial photographer and as a photojournalist, most recently for Greater Niagara Newspapers in Niagara County.

Stierer’s preference for B&W film is well illustrated in this exhibit of 95 works, as is his love of manipulating Polaroid images which are also presented in the exhibit.

Stierer will lead a guided gallery tour for the public on February 12 at 3:00 p.m. to which the public is invited. Regular gallery hours are Monday-Friday, Noon-5:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, 2:00-5:00 p.m. The gallery is closed on major holidays.

The 2008 Kenan House Gallery exhibitions are graciously sponsored by Time Warner Cable. For more information, call 433-2617 or go to www.kenancenter.org.

The Pigeon is Coming to Lockport!

The Kenan Center is proud to present this international touring production with the Big Wooden Horse Theatre and sponsored by Barnes & Noble Booksellers. The third show in the Center's Family Performance Series, Pigeon has all the fun and feathers of the book, with lifesize characters and original music. And it's one show where the kids gets to have their say no matter how hard Pigeon wheedles, pleads, and begs to drive the bus.

The Big Wooden Horse Theatre
The Big Wooden Horse Theatre hails from England and aims to present high quality theatre to younger audiences and to represent the best of British theatre abroad.

Mo Willems
#1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems is best known for his Caldecott Honor winning picture books Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale.

In addition to such picture books as Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct, and Time to Pee!, Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91.

The New York Times Book Review called Mo "the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's."

Mo's work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.

Mo began his career as a writer and animator for television, garnering six Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street, creating Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network's Sheep in the Big City and head-writing Codename: Kids Next Door.

Tickets are $10 adults, $9 members and seniors, $7 children andcan be charged by phone by calling 433-2617 or purchasedat the Kenan Center Business Office located at 433 Locust Street. Tickets will also be available at the door. Lockport High School is located at 250 Lincoln Avenue, one block south of the Kenan Center.

Support for the Kenan Center's 2007-2008 Family Performance Series has been provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, Lockport Union Sun & Journal, Grigg Lewis Foundation, Lockport Inn & Suites, Kenan Arts Council, Murphy Insurance Agency, and The Zenger Group. For more information, go online to www.kenancenter.org.

Registrations for Kindermusik and Other Classes at Kenan Center Now Taking Place

Adults can also sign up for Ballroom Dance with Jackie George who has been offering the class at the Kenan Center since 1990. George offers a beginner’s and intermediate class, both taking place on Wednesday evenings beginning January 23.

Fans of the silver screen can get an in-depth look at contemporary movies with Starpoint English teacher, Ed Tracy, who returns with his popular Film Series on Wednesdays beginning January 30. This winter, his focus will be on films about Ireland, and will feature such classics as The Quiet Man, Waking Ned Devine, Michael Collins, and The Commitments.

For fees, see the Lockport Community Education catalog, go online to www.kenancenter.org, or call the Kenan Center Business Office at 433-2617. Registrations can be made by phone or in person at the business office at 433 Locust Street, Lockport, Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. No refunds given seven days or less prior to the start of a class.

Partial support for the Kenan Center’s Lifelong Learning program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Kenan Center to Present International Touring Production of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

True to the Caldecott Honor book, Pigeon is quite a pest. When the bus driver takes a break from his route, Pigeon steps in to take his place--pleading, wheedling, begging his way through the story—only the audience has strict instructions not to let him get behind the wheel! It’s one time that children get to say the word, “No!”

The Big Wooden Horse Theatre hails from England and aims to present high quality theatre to younger audiences and to represent the best of British theatre abroad.

Mo Willems has won six Emmy Awards as a writer and animator for Sesame Street and is the creator of The Cartoon Network’s hit show Sheep in the Big City.

Tickets may be charged by phone by calling 433-2617 or in person at the Kenan Center Business Office and Gift Shop located at 433 Locust Street. Tickets will also be available at the door. Lockport High School is located at 250 Lincoln Avenue, one block south of the Kenan Center.

Support for the Kenan Center’s 2007-2008 Family Performance Series has been provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, Lockport Union Sun & Journal, Grigg Lewis Foundation, Lockport Inn & Suites, Kenan Arts Council, Murphy Insurance Agency, and The Zenger Group. For more information, go online to www.kenancenter.org.

Three Artists to Exhibit Work at Kenan Center

Barbara Baird, a native of Eden, works in oils and acrylics, with the rural landscape predominating her current paintings. Says Baird: “My interest in landscape is about the patterns and lines that Man imposes on Nature. The roads, the plowed fields, the orchards and planted crops all bestow a beautiful symmetry and geometry upon the earth, imparting the most logical way to get from one point to another, and thus creating endless vanishing points on the horizon.”

Beth Munro enjoys finding within everyday objects a “beauty beyond the ordinary.” Although inspired by simple elements such as fruit, dishes or flowers, Munro says she paints in a way that walks the line between representation and abstraction. Munro’s paintings have appeared in a number of local galleries including the Bryant Street Studio and Art Dialogue Gallery.

Leslie Zemsky’s whimsical paintings have decorated everything from ceramics to greeting cards. Says Zemsky: “My work comes from a sense of joy and my energetic attitude toward life.” Her colorful paintings depict scenery, experiences, and homes in a style reminiscent of primitive artists, and are like snapshots that capture a fleeting moment in time.

The exhibit runs through February 3. Viewing hours are Monday-Friday, Noon to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 2:00-5:00 p.m. For more information, call 433-2617 or go online to: www.kenancenter.org

Kenan Center Receives "All Star" Designation in Regional Magazine

June 18, 2006 -- The Kenan Center in Lockport was recently recognized as one of forty “All Stars” among Western New York people, places and things by Western New York Life, a special publication of Business First. The designation, which is noted under the heading of “museum/cultural center, small community” appears in the summer 2006 issue.

Editors of the “All Star” story described the Kenan Center in these words: “Quaint surroundings and Victorian charm are icing on the cake for this Lockport treasure. The 25-acre campus plays host to visual-art exhibitions, shows, concerts, classes, lectures and private events. Kenan’s 100 American Craftsmen, an annual show in early June, is a great source for decorative or wearable art.”

The Kenan Center is a regional community center serving more than 43,000 annually with fifty plus arts, education and recreation programs. In 2005, Executive Director Susan Przybyl received the “Outstanding Arts Administrator” Award from the Buffalo and Erie County Arts Council. Among its many notable offerings is SHAKESPEARE LIVES! Buffalo Niagara, a program in partnership with the Globe Theatre in London and Shakespeare in Delaware Park that allows area high school teachers to take part in an extraordinary professional enrichment program with Globe Theatre practitioners. The 100 American Craftsmen Festival, previously mentioned, is, indeed, one of the Center’s most widely known events, attracting an average of 5,000 visitors each year to the only festival in Western New York dedicated to contemporary craft art.

The Kenan Center also boasts a Family Performance Series that presents national and international touring artists in the intimate setting of the Center’s Taylor Theater; one of the largest youth indoor soccer programs in Western New York; Lifelong Learning classes; a Nursery School; an on-school-time performing and visual arts program called ARTiculations; and a year-round gallery that showcases local, regional and binational artists. Two years ago, the gallery introduced Crossing Borders, an exhibit devoted exclusively to Canadian artists, and in 2007, the Gallery will present its first binational invitational clay exhibition featuring accomplished ceramic artists from the region.

The Kenan Center devotes a significant amount of its programming to children. Along with its respected soccer program and Family Performance Series, the Center offers several hands-on, experiential arts programs that immerse young learners in creative exploration including its 8-week summer ArtsPlay program for 4 to 10-year-olds; individual programs in theater and music with the Academy of Theatre Arts and the Community Music School; innovative workshops with Explore & More…A Children’s Museum; and an annual residency with the Missoula Children’s Theatre in which local children perform an original musical after a week of intense and inspiring rehearsals.

The presentation of student artwork has also been a Kenan Center priority. This year, the Center celebrated the 21st year of the All High Photo Show with more than 300 images exhibited and two years ago, converted an existing meeting room space into a gallery for the exclusive display of student artwork.

The Kenan Center is open Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding major holidays. Special hours apply to the gallery which is admission-free. Complete information on Kenan Center programs and activities can be found on-line at www.kenancenter.org