Go, See, Do: Art from child refugees of the Rwandan genocide, Kansas City history book talk and more

photo by: Contributed photo

This is one of the drawings created by children 5 to 15 years old, who fled Rwanda and were living in refugee camps after the April 1994 genocide in that country. Their art will be displayed as part of “Ayiwewe!”: Rwandan Children’s Experience of the 1994 Genocide” opening Friday, April 19, 2019 at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St.

In April 1994, in the immediate aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, relief worker Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen saw a young child draw a picture of a soldier with a gun, a body on the ground and a small figure standing outside a house watching.

The memory was so painful, Janzen said, that the child cried out in despair — “Ayiwewe!”

Now, a quarter of a century after the genocide, the Lawrence Arts Center will be displaying Janzen’s exhibit of drawings created by the children whose lives were shaken by the conflict.

The exhibit, “Ayiwewe!: Rwandan Children’s Experience of the 1994 Genocide,” opens Friday at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. In conjunction with the opening, Janzen, curator of the exhibit, will give a gallery talk from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, discussing her experiences visiting refugee camps in the eastern Congo with the Mennonite Central Committee.

“My task was to listen to the people on the ground, anybody who would talk,” she said in a phone interview with the Journal-World. She brought paper and crayons to the camps so the children could draw and hopefully express their feelings.

Following the gallery talk, a reception will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the John Talleur Print Studio. The exhibit runs through May 3 and is sponsored by the Kansas African Studies Center at the University of Kansas.

‘Wide-Open Town: Kansas City in the Pendergast Era’ book talk

Between World War I and World War II in Kansas City, political boss Tom Pendergast reigned, Prohibition was rarely enforced, the mob was growing and urban vice was rampant. Two of the people behind a book on the subject will be on hand Friday at the Watkins Museum of History to discuss that tumultuous time.

Jason Roe, co-editor of “Wide-Open Town: Kansas City in the Pendergast Era,” and Megan Dennis, a researcher for the book, will speak at the final Raven Book Chat for this spring at 6 p.m. Friday at the museum, 1047 Massachusetts St.

Books will be available for sale at the event. The book chat is a joint partnership between the Watkins, the Raven Book Store and the Hall Center for the Humanities.

Guitar restringing and guitar recycling

photo by: Contributed photo

Mass Street Music Luthier Trey Durkin restringing a Martin D-16 RGT. The music store will be offering free restringing on any acoustic or electric guitar, plus recycling of old guitars and strings, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Saturday at the shop at 1347 Massachusetts St.

As part of local Earth Day observances, Mass Street Music is giving musicians an opportunity to recycle their old guitars.

The shop is partnering with TerraCycle, a private recycling business, to recycle any unwanted guitars and steel strings that are dropped off.

At the same time, local musicians with guitars that need restringing can get that done for free between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday at the shop, 1347 Massachusetts St. A restringing usually costs between $20 to $30, said Matt Kappenman, marketing manager with Mass Street Music.

The restringing offer extends to both acoustic and electric guitars.

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