Grand Arts was a nonprofit contemporary art space in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, whose mission was to help national and international artists realize projects considered too risky, provocative or complex to otherwise attract support.[1] It was co-founded by Margaret Silva and Sean Kelley in 1995 and operated until 2015 with sole funding from the Margaret Hall Silva Foundation.[2]

Facilities included a 4,000-square-foot fabrication studio, exhibition spaces, offices, and an on-site apartment available for visiting artists.[3]

History

Margaret Silva and Sean Kelley co-founded Grand Arts in 1995 to give artists "a place for radical experimentation, without the constraints of too little time and even less money".[4] Kelley left Grand Arts in 2003.

Stacy Switzer served as artistic director from 2004 until the gallery's close.[5]

In total, Grand Arts produced 90 exhibitions with more than 120 artists. Projects often took years to produce, from concept to realization, and the organization's full-time staff tended to each phase of the process: research, design, fabrication, programming, publicity and beyond. Grand Arts' practice of long-term collaborative project development is in part what distinguished it from other granting organizations, according to Switzer: "That's what was special about the Grand Arts process. It wasn't that an artist would propose something and we would fabricate it according to the artist's specs. Often, there was a long conversation about how to push, pull, and tease the idea, pull out the most provocative threads and find other people in other fields who could help us enhance it in other ways".[6]

Following exhibition, projects produced at Grand Arts belonged solely to the artist.[1] The works were often then exhibited in museums, commercial galleries and/or art fairs. For example:

Upon Grand Arts' closing, Silva donated the building, a former auto shop located at 1819 Grand Boulevard, to the Kansas City Art Institute.[5]

Exhibition timeline

Artist(s)Exhibition titleYearEssayist
Glenn Goldberg(untitled)1995Tad Wiley
Hirokazu FukawaLike and Ethereal Transfer1995Barbara Bloemink
Brad BravermanRawShock1995Ann Wylie
Alice AycockNew Works1995Monroe Denton
Ryuhei Rex Yuasa(untitled)1995Kazuhiro Yamamoto
Lester Goldman(untitled)1996Roberta Lord
Jane LackeyIn Code1996Laurie Palmer
Kimberly Austin, Brad Braverman, Rossana Jeran and Jim Pennington, John O’Reilly, and Seth RubinBody Double1996Monroe Denton
Jeff AelingThe Layman’s Guide to the Passage of the Millennium for the Preservation of Hysteria1996Peter von Ziegesar
Mel Kendrick(untitled)1996 Klaus Kertess
China Marks(untitled)1997H. L. Hix
Chris Larson(untitled)1997Ronald Jones
Nick Cave(untitled)1997Karen Searle
Phil Argent, Linda Besemer, Ingrid Calame, Sally Elesby, Sharon Ellis, Jack Hallberg, Michael Pierzynski, Monique Prieto, Adam Ross, Pauline Stella Sanchez, Jennifer Steinkamp, and YekSpot Making Sense1997curator David Pagel
Seton Smith(untitled)1997David Pagel
Kimberly Austin(untitled)1997Roberta Lord
GALA CommitteeIn the Name of the Place1998Joshua Dector
Beth B.Monuments1998Roberta Lord
Michael Rees(untitled)1998Dominique Nohas
Tim Rollins and K.O.S.in collaboration with Kansas City youth1998Michael Toombs
Kirsten Mosher(untitled)1998Alexander Gray
Stuart Netsky(untitled)1999Bill Arning
James Drake(untitled)1999Bruce W. Ferguson
Zesty Meyers, Evan Snyderman, and Jeff ZimmermanB-Team1999Stephanie Cash
Ricci Albenda, Polly Apfelbaum, Erica Baum, Lucky DeBellevue, Steven Evans, Tony Feher, Rachel Feinstein, Eric Hanson, Rachel Harrison, Jonathan Horowitz, Chuck Nanney, Rob Pruitt, and Anthony VitiNew York: Neither/Nor1999curator Bill Arning
Walter Zimmerman(untitled)1999Roberta Lord
Jesse Kaminsky, Demetre Keros, Jennie Pakradooni, Kristine Veith, and Michael YglesiasEn Masse1999Andrew Wells
Jim LeedyWar2000H. L. Hix
Isaac JulienLong Road to Mazatlan2000Okwui Enwezor
Larry BuechelEye to Eye2000Roberta Lord
Kimberly Austin, Alice Aycock, Brad Braverman, GALA Committee, Glenn Goldberg, Lester Goldman, Dennis Oppenheim, Roxy Paine, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Heather Schatz and Eric ChanFast: Five Years at Grand Arts2000Roberta Lord
Dennis Oppenheim(untitled)2000Mary Beth Karoll
Tara Donovan, Jyung Mee Park, and Achim MohnéDe Tempore2000Angela Anderson Adams
Jesse Rosser(untitled)2001Ingrid Schaffner
Troy Richards(untitled)2001Roberta Lord
Jamex and Einar de la TorreAnacronistas2001Leah Ollman
Roxy Paine(untitled)2001Tan Lin
ChanSchatz(untitled)2001Bennett Simpson
John Newman(untitled)2001Raphael Rubinstein
Marek CeculaThe Porcelain Carpet Project2002Roberta Lord
Oliver Boberg, James Casebere, Catherine Chalmers, Gregory Crewdson, Anthony Goicolea, Yoshio Itagaki, Craig Kalpakjian, Izima Kaoru, David Levinthal, Florian Maier-Aichen, Didier Massard, Tracey Moffatt, Vik Muniz, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Edwin ZwakmanConstructed Realities2002curator Barbara J. Bloemink
John PowersOperations of the Marvelous2002Philip Glahn
Patricia CroninMemorial to a Marriage2002David Frankel
Richard Van BurenSpirit Mold2002 Klaus Kertess
Sam EastersonAnimal, Vegetable, Video: Where the Buffalo Roam2003Lisa Fischman
Ian Dawson(untitled)2003David Humphrey
Teresita FernándezImmersion2003Rochelle Steiner
Catherine ChalmersAmerican Cockroach2003Tan Lin
Allan McCollumThe Kansas and Missouri Topographical Model Project2003Rhea Anastas
Mara Adamitz ScrupeBack to Nature: Collecting the Preserved Garden2004Mary Jane Jacob
George WoodmanCamera Obscura Photographs2004Nancy Princenthal
Sanford Biggers, E.C. Brown, Christoph Büchel, C-Level, Critical Art Ensemble, Miranda July, Eddo Stern, Sarah Sze, Paul Vanouse, and Faith WildingJoin Us: Calls to Ecstasy from the Edge of Oblivion2004Stacy Switzer
Rosemarie FioreGood-Time Mix Machine: Scrambler Drawings2004David Hunt
Michael Converse, Egawa + Zbryk, Rachel Hayes, Seth Johnson, and Jay NortonCharlotte Street Awards Exhibition2004Stacy Switzer
Alexis Rockman Manifest Destiny2005Linda Weintraub
Archive (Anne Walsh and Chris Kubick), Bordermates, Brian Conley, Ammar Eloueini, The Evolution Control Committee, Fritz Haeg, Cameron Jamie, Yoshua Okon, Lucky Pierre, François Perrin, thedinnerparty.net, and Kerry TribeMash-Up!: Eight Weeks of Mixing It Up and Throwing It Down (event series)2005curated by Nato Thompson
Alfredo JaarMuxìma2005Patricia C. Phillips
Aaron Gach/ Center for Tactical MagicTactical Ice Cream Unit2005Stacy Switzer
Nadine RobinsonConclusion of the System of Things2005Christine Y. Kim
Aidas BareikisThe Guard of Sorry Spirit2006Maria Elena Buszek
Neal RockFaith Culture Collection2006Christopher Miles
Arts Subterranea, Filip Noterdaeme, Bill Shannon, and Margaret WertheimUrban Test Sites (event series)2006
Michael Jones McKeanRiverboat Lovesongs for the Ghost Whale Regatta2006Alison de Lima Greene
CarianaCarianne, Mathilde ter Heijne, Laurel Nakadate, Mariah Robertson, and Siebren VersteegHaunted States2006Stacy Switzer
Sissel TolaasThe FEAR of Smell/The Smell of FEAR2007Elizabeth Thomas
Fritz Haeg, Filip Noterdaeme, Micaela O'Herlihy, Chase Pierson, Spurse, Tavares Strachan, Travis Watson, Katherine Wright, Lynus Young, and Adam ZaretskyFrom the Fat of the Land: Alchemies, Ecologies, Attractions2007Linda Weintraub
Sanford BiggersBlossom2007Cay Sophie Rabinowitz
Cody Critcheloe, Jessica Kincaid, Emily Sall, and James TrotterCharlotte Street Awards Exhibition2007Julie Rodrigues Widholm
Laurel NakadateStay The Same Never Change2008Neil LaBute
Mary Kay and Rebecca Morales(untitled)2008Sue Spaid
Annie LapinParallel Deliria2008Lane Relyea
William Pope.LAnimal Nationalism2008Gregory Volk
SpurseDeep Time Rapid Time2009Stacy Switzer and Spurse
Jeremy Deller, presented by Creative Time and the New MuseumIt Is What It Is: Conversations about IraqApr. 1, 2009
Pablo HelgueraThe Juvenal Players2009Naief Yehya
Cody Critcheloe/SSIONBOY2009Stacy Switzer
Yael Bartana, Sharon Hayes, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, My Barbarian, Jeanine Oleson, Ulrike Ottinger, Adrian Piper, Dean Spade and Craig Willse, A. L. Steiner, and Ian WhiteEcstatic Resistance2009curator Emily Roysdon
Tavares StrachanOrthostatic Tolerance: Launching into an Infinite Distance2010Franklin Sirmans
Ryan MosleyPainting Séance2010Elizabeth Thomas
Ari Fish, Sonié Ruffin, and Caleb TaylorCharlotte Street Awards Exhibition2010Lacey Wozny
Lori Brack, Julia Cole, Sylvie Fortin, May Tveit, Rob Walker, and Lacey WoznyDialogue by Design: Experimental Platforms for Intimate Conversations (event series)2010
John SalvestNew Cornucopia and The Big IOU2011Stacy Switzer
Mariah RobertsonLet’s Change2012Eva Respini
Sissel TolaasSmellScape KCK/KCMO (2007-2012)2012Annie Fischer
Anthony BaabA Strenuous Nonbeing2013Stephen Lichty
Ellie GaSquare, Octagon, Circle2013Lauren O’Neill-Butler
Mike Erickson, Erika Lynne Hanson, and Paul Anthony SmithCharlotte Street Awards Exhibition2013Danny Orendorff
Stanya KahnDon’t Go Back to Sleep2014Ed Halter
Glenn KainoTank2015Kate Hackman
The Propeller GroupA Universe of Collisions2015 Rob Walker

Problems and Provocations: Grand Arts 1995-2015

In 2016, Grand Arts published Problems and Provocations: Grand Arts 1995-2015, co-edited by Stacy Switzer and Annie Fischer, with a foreword by Margaret Silva and an introduction by Switzer.

The book chronicles 30 of Grand Arts' projects — works by figures including Alice Aycock, Alfredo Jaar, Isaac Julien, William Pope.L, Sanford Biggers, Laurel Nakadate, Stanya Kahn, and Tavares Strachan — with archival materials and project documentation presented alongside newly written anecdotes and reflections by artists and other collaborators.

Essays by Pablo Helguera, Iain Kerr, Emily Roysdon, Gean Moreno and Rob Walker consider the models, practices and ethics of art institutions. A critical study conducted by the research studio RHEI identifies and describes Grand Arts’ unorthodox organizational model.

Successor organization

In 2016, former Grand Arts associates Stacy Switzer, Lacey Wozny, Eric Dobbins and Annie Fischer relocated to Los Angeles to develop a new organization named Fathomers, similar in mission to Grand Arts but with a focus on long-term thinking and transdisciplinary practice.[17] Fathomers' founding board members are Margaret Silva, Andrew Torrance and Glenn Kaino. The organization's first project is a seven-year collaboration with artist Michael Jones McKean.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 "Hello, Goodbye". GrandArts.com. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  2. Lloyd, Ann Wilson (17 October 1999). "Time Off to Dive Into Reality Rather Than Retreat From It". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  3. Herriman, Kat (27 August 2016). "Kansas City's Grand Arts Releases a Book on 20 Years of Art, Science, and Tech". The Creators Project. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  4. Walz, Cara (6 July 2000). "Five Years and Counting". The Pitch. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 Spencer, Laura (2 September 2015). "After A 20-Year Run Of Extraordinary Freedom For Artists, Grand Arts Closes". KCUR. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  6. Janovy, C.J. (27 December 2016). "In 2016, The Brains Behind Grand Arts Sent Kansas City A Remembrance From Los Angeles". KCUR 89.3. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. "Turner Prize 2001 - Exhibition at Tate Britain | Tate". Tate. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  8. "Blossom". Sanford Biggers. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  9. "Brooklyn Museum: Sanford Biggers: Sweet Funk—An Introspective". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. "Grand Arts presents a new film by Laurel Nakadate: Stay the Same Never Change" (PDF). Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  11. Wojczuk, Montana (2 June 2009). "In Sight: Stay the Same Never Change Mumblecore Cinema and the Essay Film". bombmagazine.org. BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  12. Weisblum, Vida (29 June 2015). "William Pope.L Flag Makes an Appearance at Kendrick Lamar's BET Awards Performance [Updated] | ARTnews". www.artnews.com. ArtNews. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  13. Knight, Christopher (24 March 2015). "William Pope.L sets the U.S. flag waving at the MOCA/Geffen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  14. "Boy Genius: Ssion's Art of the Music Video". Interview Magazine. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  15. "The Propeller Group's 'A Universe of Collisions,' the Final Show at Grand Arts, Opens August 7". Hyperallergic. 27 July 2015.
  16. Rose, Frank (21 April 2016). "The Propeller Group Brings a Phantasmagorical Vietnam to James Cohan". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  17. Indrisek, Scott (8 November 2016). "Fathomers Reinvigorates the Grand Arts Mission in L.A." Artinfo. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  18. Cohen, Alina (31 October 2016). "Problems, Provocations, Roller Coasters, and Guns". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 14 November 2016.

Further reading

  • Switzer, Stacy and Annie Fischer, ed. "Problems and Provocations: Grand Arts 1995-2015" (Kansas City: Grand Arts, 2016) ISBN 978-0692625538
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