Art in the Loop 2021

KC STREETCAR KICKS OFF ANOTHER SUMMER OF ART

 

The KC Streetcar Authority, along with the Art in the Loop Foundation, is pleased to announce the 2021 Art in the Loop artists and art installations.

 

The kick-off event for the 2021 Art in the Loop Project: Resilient, was on Wednesday, July 7 at 6 p.m. in the lightwell event space, located at 1100 Main Street on the KC Streetcar line. It was an evening of art, music, and dance as the 2021 visual artists and 2021 performance series selections were announced. Attendees also enjoyed the jazz stylings of Everyday Strangers and a dance performance by Reina Gray.

 

This year marks the eighth year for the Art in the Loop Project, the sixth with the KC Streetcar, and includes artwork based on photography, painting, digitized illustrations and paintings, and more. The Art in the Loop Project is a curated outdoor exhibition of temporary artworks presented in partnership with the KC Streetcar Authority. Artists responded to the 2021 theme of “Resilient” and addressed questions about what an inclusive, equitable, accessible, and vibrant Downtown Kansas City looks like and what is needed for our city to remain resilient.

 

The following artists’ works will be displayed at streetcar stops and on one streetcar vehicle from July through October.

  • Allison Bowman, Sacred Spaces, KC Streetcar Library Stop, Northbound
  • Robert Castillo, Resilient Encoded, KC Streetcar Library Stop, Southbound
  • William Dubois, Beyond the Looking Glass, KC Streetcar Crossroads Stop, Southbound
  • Hector E. Garcia, Jazz: The Resilient Spirit of Kansas City, KC Streetcar Vehicle #804
  • Smitha George, We Under One Sun, One Moon, and on One Earth, KC Streetcar, River Market West Stop
  • Angie Jennings, Love Who You Love, KC Streetcar Power & Light District Stop, Southbound
  • Megan Leong, Beauty in Small Things, KC Streetcar North Loop Stop, Southbound
  • Brittany Noriega, Silver Lining, KC Streetcar Metro Center Stop, Northbound
  • Shelly Pinto, Patchwork, KC Streetcar Kauffman Center Stop, Southbound
  • Katrina Revenaugh, Love & Bee Loved, KC Streetcar Crossroads Stop, Northbound
  • Sheron Smith, Together We Rise, ARTwall, 13th & Grand

 

Visit www.ArtintheLoop.com to learn more about the artists and their artworks.

 

Artists are selected for the annual program through an online application process open to artists in the Kansas City metropolitan area. A selection panel consisting of local artists, curators, educators, and community members reviewed over 40 applications and selected 11 artist teams.

 

The 2021 Art in the Loop Project is guided by Kyle Mullins, who is serving in his first year as art director for the organization. Mullins is a dance artist living and creating in Kansas City, MO. He is the artistic director of his company Cerca Trova, where he creates works of dance theater, and producer of Making Moves, a monthly dance performance series he founded in 2019. He also works as a Peer Facilitator for Artist INC, and is a former Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Resident. Mullins danced in NYC for ten years before relocating home to Kansas City. He holds an MFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

 

The 2021 Art in the Loop Project is made possible through the generous support of the KC Streetcar Authority; the Missouri Arts Council; Arts KC; and corporate sponsors including Stinson, Academy Bank, Copaken Brooks, HNTB, JE Dunn Construction, McCownGordon Construction and many others. This project is also supported in part by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund. Project partners include the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement Districts, KC Streetcar, and the Kansas City Art Institute.

 

For Art in the Loop inquiries, please contact Art in the Loop Art Director, Kyle Mullins, kylemullins@gmail.com, or Program Director, Ann Holliday, ann@downtownkc.org. For more information about Art in the Loop, visit www.artintheloop.com, www.facebook.com/artintheloop, or twitter.com/ArtintheLoop.

As part of the 2021 Art in the Loop Project Resilient, the Kansas City Streetcar and Art in the Loop are hosting a live music series along the KC Streetcar route this summer. Music will range from folk, hip-hop, jazz, country, indie, latin, and classical with original music and covers of popular songs performed by Kansas City musicians.

 

The performances will be held every Thursday afternoon,  5pm to 6:30pm. Any changes in location will be announced on the KC Streetcar and Art in the Loop websites (www.kcstreetcar.org and www.artintheloop.com) and social media sites (@kcstreetcar, @artintheloop). Rain location for any outdoor performance will be the lightwell lobby at 1100 Main St. Take the KC Streetcar to the Metro Center stop.

 

The Streetcar Summer Sounds Music Series schedule is as follows:

  • Jul. 15 –  The Black Creatures at the KC Streetcar River Market West Stop (4th & Delaware) – Rain location is lightwell lobby at 1100 Main St. 
  • Jul. 22 – Corey Clark at the KC Streetcar Library Stop Northbound (9th & Main, Commerce Tower)
  • Jul. 29 –  Amado Espinoza at KC Streetcar Metro Center Stop (12th & Main, in front of lightwell)
  • Aug.  5 – FlamenKcmo at KC Streetcar Metro Center Stop (12th & Main, in front of lightwell)
  • Aug. 12 – Nicole Springer at the KC Streetcar Metro Center Stop (12th & Main, in front of lightwell)
  • *Monday, Aug. 16 – Jessica Ayala featuring Arquestra de SolSoul inside the City Market – nearest streetcar stop River Market North (3rd & Grand)
    • This performance will be held on 816 Day. There is no August 19 performance.
  • Aug.  26 – The Wires at the KC Streetcar River Market West Stop (4th & Delaware)
  • Sep. 2 – Kadesh Flow inside the City Market – nearest streetcar stop River Market North (3rd & Grand)

The music series was announced at the 2021 Art in the Loop Kick-Off Event on Wednesday, July 7, during which the audience enjoyed the music of Everyday Strangers as they magically blended genres and styles while challenging rhythm and the fundamental aspects of music.