Salina Art Center

Salina Art Center announces Phantasmagoria programs

Salina, Kansas – In conjunction with the current exhibition, Phantasmagoria:  Specters of Absence, the Salina Art Center announces the following programs. All events are FREE and open to the public and take place at the Salina Art Center, 242 S. Santa Fe.

Panel Discussion:  Andy Davis, Phil Meckley, David Morris
Thursday, January 15, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Andy Davis, Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Phil Meckley, Associate Professor of Religion at Kansas Wesleyan University, and David Morris, LCMFT with Veridian Behavioral Health will present a lively discussion regarding the themes of loss, absence and disappearance addressed in Phantasmagoria:  Specters of Absence.

Family Storytelling with Priscilla Howe
Thursday, January 22, 7:00 – 8:00 pmWear your pjs, and join us for hot cocoa, doughnuts and some scary bedtime stories…..enough to make you shiver, but not enough to make you shake!  This program is presented in partnership with the Salina Arts & Humanities Commission.

The Power of What is Not Told:  A Poet’s Take on Phantasmagoria
with Patricia Traxler
Thursday, January 29, 5:30 pm
Salina poet Patricia Traxler will make connections between the art of poetry and the artwork of Phantasmagoria and will also read poems by various poets – works that have power because of what they don’t tell, what they only hint at; works that are populated by ghosts of the past.

First Thursday Art Rush: Shadow Puppetry
February 5, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Visit the SAC galleries to create shadow puppets and interact with works in the current exhibition, Phantasmagoria:  Specters of Absence, on view in the galleries through February 15

Cynthia Killion:  Psychic Phenomena
Thursday, February 12, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Join us for psychic Cynthia Killion’s discussion regarding unusual phenomena.

Long before large art exhibitions and blockbuster shows, crowds were awed by traveling shows called “phantasmagoria” in which stories were performed with the use of magic lanterns and rear projections, creating dancing shadows and frightening theatrical effects. Phantasmagoria: Specters of Absence is an exhibition that draws on forms of representation linked with traditions of fantasy and magic, and reframes them around contemporary issues.  The exhibition curator, José Roca, has selected twelve artists for the exhibition who create works that often reflect on notions of absence and loss, sometimes using spectral effects and immaterial mediums such as shadows, fog, mist, and breath. These artists’ approaches range from the festive to the ironic, counterbalancing the emotionally charged, often somber implications of their subject matter.

Phantasmagoria: Specters of Absence is a traveling exhibition co-organized by iCI (Independent Curators International), New York, and the Museo de Arte del Banco de la República, Bogotá, Colombia, and circulated by iCI. The guest curator for the exhibition is José Roca. The exhibition, tour, and catalogue are made possible, in part, by the iCI Exhibition Partners and the iCI independents.

This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the Horizons Grants Program of the Salina Arts & Humanities Commission, City of Salina.

For more information regarding Phantasmagoria:  Specters of Absence or any of these programs contact the Salina Art Center at 785.827.1431, or visit http://www.salinaartcenter.org.  The Salina Art Center galleries are open Wednesday through Saturday from noon – 5:00 pm, and Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 pm.  Business office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.