Gala marks institute’s 125th anniversary

The Kansas City Art Institute marks its 125th anniversary with a gala celebration Feb. 20.

Long-time trustee Barbara Hall Marshall is honorary chair of the event, which takes place from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. at the Grand Ballroom at the Kansas City Convention Center, 301 W. 13th St.

The anniversary gala will celebrate the institute’s history with cocktails, dinner and dancing. Entertainment includes a performance by internationally acclaimed fiber alumnus and Alvin Ailey-trained dancer Nick Cave and his Soundsuits. Dress is black-tie optional.

Cave, a professor in the fiber department at the Art Institute of Chicago, received a $50,000 U.S. Artists Grant in 2006. He creates fantastic, almost ritualistic costumes for performance and exhibition as sculpture.

Cave’s Soundsuits, which rustle, swish, whoosh or crackle as they move, are in many private and museum collections.

“What I learned at KCAI was the importance of being able to allow yourself to explore the possibilities and to know that if I were to fall, I would still have the support of my professors,” said Cave, who graduated from KCAI in 1982.

“They challenged me, which allowed me to build trust in myself and to have a point of view – to have the confidence and the belief that I could turn this into a serious career.”

General admission tickets start at $150. “Young guest” tickets, for ages 35 and younger, are $125.

Proceeds from the gala will benefit student scholarships at KCAI. More than 95 percent of students attending KCAI receive financial aid.

“By increasing the accessibility of an art institute education, KCAI can effectively compete for the best and brightest students from across the country,” Kathleen Collins, KCAI president said.

KCAI is a private, independent, four-year college of art and design, awarding bachelor of fine arts degrees with majors in animation, art history, ceramics, digital filmmaking, fiber, graphic design, interdisciplinary arts, new media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and studio art, with an emphasis on creative writing.

The college, which will observe its quasquicentennial throughout 2010, also offers evening, weekend and summer classes in art, design, multimedia studies and desktop publishing for children, youth and adults. Founded in 1885, KCAI is Kansas City’s oldest arts organization.

For information, visit www.kcai.edu.

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