2020 Art in the Loop Artists Announced

The Art in the Loop Foundation is pleased to announce the artists who were selected for the 2020 Art in the Loop Project. This year marks the seventh for the Art in the Loop Project and includes artwork based on photography, painting, digital animation, sculpture, and more.

The 2020 Art in the Loop Project is a curated outdoor exhibition of temporary artworks presented in partnership with the KC Streetcar Authority. The following artists’ works will be displayed at streetcar stops, along the streetcar route and wrapping a streetcar vehicle from May through September.

“This year we took away the project theme to allow artists greater freedom. We are thrilled to present artwork representing a variety of mediums, themes and aesthetics” said Bo Hubbard, art director for Art in the Loop. “You will see a playful reinvention of ginger as a giant sculpture and imagined landscapes presented via digital animation.”

“There is art that inspires and brings communities together, art focused on color and light filtering and artwork examining race and literature. There is art inspired by abstract quilt patterns, art raising awareness about planaria and their role in scientific advances, art about family history, virtual connections and human connections across social and political divides.” (Click on the names of the artists for more information and concept images.)

Artist and Art Installations:

Barry Anderson, Waiting Rooms, (KCity Post Kiosks)
Ari Bonner, out of sight, but on my mind (Union Station Stop)
Robert Castillo, Hold (Power & Light District Stop)
Megan Ganey, So Long & Good Luck (River Market West Stop)
Ada Koch & Glenn North, Hope & Gratitude (KC Streetcar Vehicle)
Nazanin Amiri Meers, Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines (Kauffman Southbound Stop)
William Plummer, Mol Mir, Steph Nowotarski and Jason Pollen, Planaria Passages (Metro Center Northbound Stop)
Jessica Rogers, 36/36 Series, Quilt Patterns (Crossroads Southbound Stop)
Hubbard Savage, My Dungeon Shook: A Portrait of James Baldwin (Library Southbound Stop)
Will Vannerson, Shiny Piece of Giant Ginger or S.P.O.G.G. (City Market)

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 70 applications and selected 10 artists teams for the first phase of the 2020 Art in the Loop Project.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three performance-based works selected by the panel will be announced in a second phase. The pandemic has impacted our ability to produce place-based performance art; it has also resulted in a decrease in funding from government-related sources. The team is working to raise enough funds via private donations and corporate contributions to announce a second phase of Art in the Loop to include performance-based work and the Streetcar Summer Sounds music series later this summer. Click here to learn more about how you can support Art in the Loop or make a donation.

The pandemic has also caused us to postpone our Kick-Off event which was originally planned for June 3. The event will be rescheduled and reimagined to coincide with Artist Walks and performances later in the summer. Information will be posted on our website and social media.

The 2020 Art in the Loop Project is provided artistic guidance by Bo Hubbard, who is serving in his second year as art director for the organization. Hubbard is a local artist and organizer and a second-year resident at the Charlotte Street Foundation (CSF) and a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute’s (KCAI) Painting Department where he currently works as an admissions counselor. Hubbard’s solo studio practice has recently been spent creating rugs and discovering the process of machine tufting. With the rugs, he is investigating color, shape, and composition to create surreal, abstract landscapes.

The 2020 Art in the Loop Project is made possible through the generous support of the KC Streetcar Authority; the City of Kansas City, Missouri; the Missouri Arts Council; ArtsKC; and private contributions. 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, the KC Streetcar, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City Art Institute, Union Station, the City Market, and the National WWI Museum and Memorial.

For more information about the project and the artists, visit www.artintheloop.com, www.facebook.com/artintheloop, instagram.com/artintheloop or twitter.com/ArtintheLoop.

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Contacts:

Art in the Loop
Ann Holliday, Program Director, ann@downtownkc.org, (c) 816-718-1355

Bo Hubbard, Art Director, bhubbard@kcai.edu

KC Streetcar

Donna Mandelbaum, Communications Director, dmandelbaum@kcstreetcar.org, 816-877-3219