Marion Palfi photographs document discrimination

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, the Spencer Museum of Art will present the exhibit “Documenting Discrimination: Marion Palfi Photographs.”

Palfi, a German-born artist, documented racial segregation, the civil rights movement and the plight of American Indians from the 1940s through her death in 1978.

The exhibition will open Saturday and continue through June 13 in the South Balcony Gallery.

Sean Barker, curatorial intern in photography and the show’s organizer, will give the Tour du Jour at 12:15 p.m. April 22.

KU alum, arts advocate to speak at university

Terrence D. Jones, president and chief executive officer of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va., and Washington, D.C., will speak at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Dole Institute of Politics on Kansas University’s west campus.

Jones received a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in design and technical theater from KU in the early 1970s.

Wolf Trap presents nearly 300 performances a year. Under Jones’ guidance, Wolf Trap has had record-setting annual ticket sales and a 60 percent increase in giving.

Jones will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from KU’s theater and film department on Wednesday.

Lawrence ArtWalk calls for artists

The Lawrence ArtWalk is looking for artists to participate in the 10th annual event Oct. 23-24.

Works will be in a preview exhibition prior to the event, and individual artists’ works — not work in galleries — will be featured during the walk.

The Lawrence ArtWalk is a self-guided tour of Lawrence artist’s studios that gives artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell work to the public from their studio spaces.

Artists or art collectives interested in participating can pick up a registration form at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H., or via e-mail at info@lawrenceartwalk.org.

KU faculty, students perform in Guatemala

Pamela Hinchman, Kansas University associate professor of voice, and Steve Leisring, assistant professor of trumpet, performed in Antigua, Guatemala, on March 20.

The faculty members were joined by graduate students Soyoun Lim, voice, and Sam Sang-il Lee, piano.

The group performed via an invitation from the Proyecto Cultural El Sitio in Antigua, a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 to support and promote cultural projects and activity in the historically important Central American city.

The varied program given by the group from KU was warmly received by an appreciative audience. The group is looking into taking the program to the Ukraine, Spain and Korea.

KU vocal student heads to regional competition

Vocalist Holly Wrensch, Lawrence, second year graduate student, will represent Kansas University at the regional competition of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Artists Award April 17 in Hays.

If she wins, Wrensch advances to the finals on July 10 in New Orleans, where she would compete for a $25,000 prize and a debut recital at Carnegie Hall.

The Artists Award is a biannual event and the association’s biggest competition. It’s designed for singers preparing to launch a professional career.

Other KU voice students who were successful in the national event were: Greer Brown, Golden Valley, Minn., senior, first place in the senior women’s division; Michael Brown, Perry senior, first place in the senior men’s division; Becky Bliss, Kansas City, Mo., junior, and Natalie Ralston, Lawrence senior, won second and third places, respectively, in the senior division.

All the students study with Pamela Hinchman, KU associate professor of voice.

April foolishness abounds in ‘Right Between the Ears’

Nothing is sacred when Kansas Public Radio’s award-winning comedy series “Right Between the Ears” takes a look at what’s new in the news.

The show will be at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass.. The 8 p.m. show will be broadcast live on KPR stations and its Web site, www.kpr.ku.edu.

The show will spoof Campaign 2004, Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” with a skit titled “Jesus and Judas: The Early Years,” and Courtney Love just to name a few.

Tickets are $10 to $14 and are available at Liberty Hall, 842-1972.

Baldwin student’s story wins first place

KTWU, a public television station in Topeka, has announced the winners of the 10th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest.

Cheyenne Stucky, a second-grade student from Baldwin, won first place for her story “Best Friends Forever.”

Entries were divided into categories by grade level and first-, second- and third-place winners were chosen for each.

Stucky’s story will be entered in the national competition.

The winning stories can be viewed on the KTWU Web site, ktwu.washburn.edu, beginning May 1.

Creative clicking

New York — The Museum of Modern Art wants to make art appreciation a more interactive experience — especially for the fully wired generation — so it has created Web sites for children and teenagers to explore art through image, sound, animation and activities.

They can be accessed at www.moma.org/destination/.

The contemporary artist site Red Studio was developed with the help of a teen advisory group, which chose Vito Acconci as its first subject.

Acconci, best known for performance videos and architectural projects, contributed a personal video interview to the site. As Acconci talks about his preference for all-black clothing and his middle name (Hannibal), pop-up windows offer more detailed information on art-historical and popular culture references.

The children’s site, Destination Modern Art: An Intergalactic Journey to MoMA and P.S. 1, offers an introduction to the museum’s collection and an explanation of different art techniques and inspirations.

The site features a cartoon-like space creature on a mission to explore earthly art. Among the first works he’ll see are “Blossom” by Polly Apfelbaum and “The Dove” by Romare Bearden.

By clicking on each piece of artwork, children launch activities, including an opportunity to create a self-portrait in Kahlo’s style or to compose a poem about “Starry Night.”