High Strangeness: Encounters with the Unexplained in Kansas and Beyond

MAY 28-AUGUST 31, 2025 

The exhibition High Strangeness: Encounters with the Unexplained in Kansas and Beyond at the Salina Art Center features the audio-visual installation Witnessing (2000) by the pioneering artist Susan Hiller (1940-2019), one of the fist contemporary artists to engage seriously with the topic of the paranormal. Alongside her work, the show presents photographs and multi-media sculptures by Kansas artist Hugo Zelada Romero. While Hiller's audio recordings document encounters with the unexplained from all over the world, Zelada Romero's photographs track UFO sightings and unexplained incidents in Kansas, a hot spot for such phenomena. Zelada Romero's work also explores a history of uncommon metaphysical practices in the state and the role that pop cultural representations play in "high strangeness" lore. Both artists investigate in their immersive works what happens when we take first-person accounts of “high strangeness” incidents seriously, ultimately inviting visitors to interrogate our own ideas and approaches to trust, belief, and living with uncertainty.  

Curated by independent curator Ksenya Gurshtein. Exhibition catalogue will be available for sale at the Salina Art Center.

Have YOU had an encounter with the unexplained? You can submit anonymously or use your real name. We will gather these accounts until JUNE 15, 2025. Afterwards, a selection of the submitted accounts will be presented in a stage reading at a Salina venue some time in July or August -- the details of the date, time, and venue are TBD, so stay tuned and please check back on this page or by following the Salina Art Center's social media.

Please include some details of your experience: What was the nature of the experience? What did you see, hear, feel, etc.? Where and when did it happen? How long did it last? How old were you? What impact did the experience have on you? Has your thinking about this experience changed over the years? Are there other things you think are important to share? 

Thank you for your participation! Please click the button below to share it with us.

Programming

June 6 | 5-7 PM | FREE
First Friday & Opening Reception

June 18 | 7 PM | FREE
Artist Talk “Campfire Stories” | Tour with curator Ksenya and artist Hugo, followed by s'mores on the patio.

June 28 | 9 AM-5:30 PM | FREE
Summer Road Trip: Join us for an unforgettable day trip exploring Kansas art and oddities—including the Geneseo UFO Museum & Mural with Jim Grey, lunch at Fly Boy Brewery in Sylvan Grove, and an afternoon at the Grassroots Art Center with free time in Lucas. Visit our website for ticket details and to reserve your spot!

June 29 | 3 PM | FREE
Join us for a thought-provoking public lecture by James Madden, a philosopher based in Atchison, Kansas. Madden’s work spans the philosophy of mind, religion, technology, aesthetics, and psychoanalysis. His recent writing—including Mind, Matter, and Nature, Thinking about Thinking, and Unidentified Flying Hyperobject—explores how UFOs offer a unique lens to unite his wide-ranging philosophical interests.

July 16 | 12:15-12:30 PM | FREE
Art Byte | Bring your lunch and join us in the Gallery for a 30-minute, interactive conversation exploring a new piece of art each month—designed to spark insight, conversation, and confidence in experiencing contemporary art.

July 29 | 6 PM | at the Cinema
The Dundee Project, a short film by Mark Borchardt that explores the UFO Daze gathering in Dundee, Wisconsin, followed by Love & Saucers, the story of David Huggins, a 72-year-old artist who expresses his interspecies romance through his artwork.

Don’t miss our summer film series, featuring Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Batteries Not Included, and Super 8, all tied to our current exhibition—come experience these iconic films on the big screen! Visit www.SalinaArtCenter.org/Cinema

High Strangeness: Encounters with the Unexplained in Kansas and Beyond was made possible in part by support from Vortex, Humanities Kansas, the Kansas Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Humanities Kansas connects Kansans with stories, ideas, and each other to strengthen our communities.