“Living Together With Difference” – Art in the Loop Announces 2024 Theme: Convivencia
By Ann Holliday, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Downtown Council of Kansas City
The Art in the Loop Foundation is pleased to announce the theme for our annual summer art exhibition and performance series in Downtown Kansas City. Each year we partner with the KC Streetcar and many other organizations and corporations to exhibit artwork on one streetcar vehicle and at various streetcar stops as well as with a performance series that will kick off in June.
This year, we are following the lead of the Kansas City Public Library, which brought inaugural Bloomberg Public Innovation Fellow Tommi Laitio to town in late 2023 to kick off their year-long 150th Anniversary celebration. Laitio spoke about the importance of public spaces as places with “convivencia” – a Spanish word that means to coexist with others by sharing space and resources despite our differences. It can also be described as the space that exists between harmony and conflict.
Convivencia
For 2024, we will ask artists to respond to the word “convivencia” and what it means to them and their artwork. Convivencia is a shared life with others that is a constant practice, effort, negotiation, and joint achievement while recognizing friction or opposing energy. We recognize that artists and creatives are very familiar with navigating space, energy, and time amongst one another and within their communities.
Throughout Downtown Kansas City and on board the Kansas City Streetcar, we observe moments of “convivencia” through the interactions of visitors, residents, workers, and commuters. We invite artists to share how they practice or observe convivencia. We challenge artists to explore moments that demonstrate the act of joint achievement and negotiation, whether that be in an abstract or a representational sense.
Stay tuned for more information – calls for both visual and performing artists will be released in mid-February. Sign up for our newsletter at artintheloop.com to be notified when the calls are released.
Community, Sponsors & Supporters
Artists have played a key role in the revitalization of Downtown Kansas City over the past few decades and this will continue. In the words of renowned local artist Michael Toombs, “Through projects like Art in the Loop, Downtown KC is becoming part of a highly visible cultural landscape that reminds us of who we are, as well as inspires us in who we are yet to become.” We have unique opportunities for your organization to connect with the community and support local artists through sponsorships and charitable donations.
We appreciate the generous support of the KC Streetcar Authority, Henderson Engineers, JE Dunn Construction, Stinson LLP, Copaken Brooks, UMB Bank, and the Kansas City Art Institute. This project is funded in part by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund, as well as by awards from the Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC, and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank Trustee and other philanthropic supporters.
For more information contact Ann Holliday, ann@downtownkc.org, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the Downtown Council and Executive Director of the Art in the Loop Foundation.
Special recognition and gratitude are due to the Kansas City Public Library and the foresight in bringing Tommi Laitio to Kansas City! We appreciate the support and participation of all our project partners including the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement Districts, KC Streetcar, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City Art Institute, City Market and Union Station.
For more information about the project and the artists, visit www.artintheloop.com, www.facebook.com/artintheloop, https://www.instagram.com/artintheloop, or twitter.com/ArtintheLoop.
