ARTS & CULTURE IN KC

THE PRESIDENT OF THE KANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE ANSWERS FOUR QUESTIONS

by Judith Fertig photo by Lauren Bieri

With unanimous approval from its board, the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) chose Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar as its 25th president, succeeding Tony Jones. With only a few months on the job, Neuhold-Ravikumar not only embraces the institute as a place of higher learning, but also as a “nurturing creative community,” she says. “I am excited to lead KCAI into its next phase of evolution.”

Born in Chennai (formerly known as Madras), India, Neuhold-Ravikumar has taken a long and winding path to becoming an award-winning graphic artist as well as a dynamic administrator, receiving an MFA in graphic arts from Iowa State, a certificate of museum studies from Northwestern, and business training at Yale. Most recently, she

was the director of education for the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.

“I have the joy and pleasure of getting to know the faculty and staff, each of them pushing the boundaries of their field. I am interested in developing partnerships in the community and continuing the long and impressive history of supporting and developing creative professionals,” she says, many of whom have been featured in the pages of this magazine. “I want to build with change in mind.”

Neuhold-Ravikumar is married to Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar, the president of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Oklahoma. The key to the success of their long-distance relationship might have a little something to do with a popular cat named Pixel. Read on.

For more information, visit kcai.org.

INKC: You’re early into your first year at KCAI. How has your vision for the institute changed/broadened/deepened? Neuhold-Ravikumar: I’m even more impressed and more impassioned. KCAI changes the game for higher education. Students come here, maybe not knowing what they want to do in life, and they just light up. They see what the future could look like for them.

We have always been a local gem, but I want the nation to regard the Kansas City Art Institute as a landmark institution. My mission is to help people see that. INKC: How do you keep a long-distance relationship going—lots of frequent flyer miles or treks on I-35? Neuhold-Ravikumar: We text a lot. And I am very familiar with I-35. I take my elderly cat Pixel—he’s black and white—on the road and he naps in the back of the car. The truckers seem to like him. They honk. You’d be surprised how many truckers have cats.

INKC: When you return to India, besides seeing friends and family, what is the first thing that strikes you? Neuhold-Ravikumar: The food! The smells, the sounds, the flavors of the place. There is something about the spices, the local ingredients, the old methods, but the food there tastes so much different and so much better than when you try to make it here.

INKC: If you could have one work of art in your collection—money, no object—what would it be? Neuhold-Ravikumar: My wife and I are Frank Lloyd Wright buffs. We dream about owning one of his houses—some day! I’d also love to have a piece by the late German designer Ingo Maurer. I love the poetry of his work, especially the lighting. Maybe one of his pieces, like the chandelier with Japanese paper that you can customize with messages. I love that his work can be interactive, pushing boundaries.

THE NUTCRACKER, TWO WAYS—LIVE AND IMMERSIVE

WHEN THE HOLIDAYS roll around, American audiences can’t get enough of The Nutcracker, the 1892 two-act ballet with an original score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s 1816 short story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Every year, we welcome Clara, The Nutcracker Prince, Herr Drosselmeier, and the Sugar Plum Fairy.

This year, Kansas Citians can enjoy a double dose.

From December 7 through 24, the Kansas City Ballet performs The Nutcracker at the Kauffman Center, with live orchestral music, local dancers, grand sets, and award-winning choreography by Devon Carney. “It bursts forth on the stage with its abundance of joy and holiday cheer,” one reviewer gushed. Many ballet companies earn up to 40 percent of their total annual revenue through The Nutcracker performances, so see this one first. For more information and tickets, visit kcballet.org.

If seeing it live only whetted your appetite for more, check out The Immersive Nutcracker: A Winter Miracle at Lighthouse Artspace at Zona Rosa, from December 1 through the 31st. Recorded music, animation, and special effects highlight this offering. For the immersive experience, visit immersivenutcracker.com.

Kansas City Ballet dancers Emily Mistretta and Liang Fu in The Nutcracker.

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HANDEL’S MESSIAH

THE SURE CURE for the holiday blahs? Sing (or at least hum) along with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus to the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel’s Messiah, the heart-pumping, mood-lifting, all-out celebratory swell of music. It worked for Handel. It can work for you. is oratorio came about in 1741 when composer George Frideric Handel’s career was teetering on the brink of failure. He had had a string of musical ops. He was in debt and just this far from debtor’s prison. Two key events saved him. A friend, Charles Jennens, wrote a libretto based on the King James version of the bible and gave it to Handel. And then a charity in Dublin, Ireland, asked Handel to compose a new work for a bene t performance to help free men in debtor’s prison; they also provided nancial compensation that rescued Handel from that fate. No wonder it sounds uplifting.

With performances from December 9 through 11, over 200 instruments and voices animate this choral masterpiece. Christopher Allen conducts the KC Symphony while multiple Grammy Award-winning Charles Bru y conducts the Chorus.

For tickets, visit kauffmancenter.org.

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Gary Neal Johnson as Scrooge in KCRep’s 2021 production of A Christmas Carol.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL—TWO WAYS

CHARLES DICKENS’ HOLIDAY CLASSIC started off as the 19th-century’s version of a bestseller at a time when the British public was slowly adopting new secular Christmas traditions, such as the holiday tree and season’s greetings cards. The novella was published in London on December 19, 1843, and sold out by Christmas Eve. It has never been out of print since.

This year, Kansas City theatergoers can double up on experiencing A Christmas Carol.

From November 18 through December 24, KCRep takes us on the redemptive journey of Ebenezer Scrooge from meme-me to “God bless us every one,” with the help of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and To Come. Kansas City’s favorite actors—including Gary Neal Johnson, Walter Coppage, John Rensenhouse, Mark Robbins, Chioma Anyanwu, and Peggy Friesen reprise their roles. Savion Jackson and Patrick McGee share the role of Tiny Tim. For tickets and information, visit kcrep.org.

On December 3 at the 1900 Building, the Kansas City Chorale performs Benedict Sheehan’s dramatization of A Christmas Carol, complete with a concert-length story score. Sheehan weaves traditional Christmas carols into the story we almost know by heart. 1900bldg.com.

…or a craft cocktail or perhaps your favorite beer. Whatever your beverage of choice, now is the perfect time to plan your new outdoor dining and entertaining space so you can lift your glass in cheer when the weather turns warm again. Call today and we’ll take care of everything, from design to installation to maintenance.

ADORNED

IN AN AGE OF MINIMALISM and less is more, when no one wants your great aunt’s china, where does adornment t in?

It must pop up somewhere, suggests the new exhibit, Adorned, at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art at Johnson County Community College, running until February 5, 2023. We might live in spaces sleek and spare, but have gallery walls, perhaps of vintage handheld mirrors, such as the installation by Genevieve Gaignard. We might adorn ourselves with scents such as incense to take us to a spiritual plane or with braids and piercings and tattoos to celebrate our individualism, as Martine Gutierrez so vividly paints.

Fifty Native American Bolo Ties tells its own story on another installation wall, gathered and arranged by Sanford Biggers and Zac Balber. With works by Dylan Mortimer, Nick Cave, Patty Carroll, Hank Willis omas, Umar Rashid, Kori Newkirk, Rose B. Simpson, Zanele Muholi, and more, this exhibit explores all the various, multi-cultural ways we adorn to t in—and stand out.

For more information, visit nermanmuseum.org.

Do You Only Want To See What You Believe? by Genevieve Gaignard.

By Emily Park

Look around the showroom at Mazzarese in Leawood’s Parkway Plaza, and you’ll see a smartly curated collection of fine jewelry, including rings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, earrings, and watches glimmering under the glass—plus an excellent selection of designer handbags.

For more than 40 years, Mazzarese has been a one-stop shop for all your jewelry needs. Not only will you discover exquisite collections imported from around the world, but also exclusive in-house jewelry designs. Founded by Antonio (Tony) and Tosca Mazzarese in 1981, Mazzarese is steeped in four generations of fine jewelry design that Tony Mazzarese brought to the U.S. from Italy.

Since the beginning, Mazzarese has offered Kansas Citians the opportunity to create custom-made jewelry and repair treasured jewelry pieces and watches in-house. Now, Tony and Tosca’s daughter, Veronica Mazzarese, runs the business as the fourth generation of fine jewelry craftsmanship in the Mazzarese family.

“I’ve always had a love of the industry. I remember being really young, my parents had a store in Oak Park Mall, and I would ring up sales when I could barely see over the counter,” Veronica Mazzarese says. “It was so much fun. Even at that age, I would just roll with the punches—especially during the holidays. Some of my first memories are wrapping those tiny little ring boxes.”

Since taking the reins five years ago, Veronica has upheld the traditions of fine craftsmanship created by her parents and expanded the in-store shopping experience—perfect for holiday shopping.

WATCHES, JEWELRY, AND BAGS, OH, MY! If it’s been a while since your last visit to Mazzarese, expect a wider selection of designer jewelry pieces and watches—with additional pre-owned watches available.

“We’ve added to our collections, and part of our business is now preowned,” Veronica says.

“People are really wanting to be sustainable, and we want to be part of that. We’re also doing preowned watches, so you can sell or

trade your watch for something new.”

Looking for the perfect watch to gi a loved one this holiday season? You’ll fi nd 15 watch lines to shop from at Mazzarese. Be on the lookout for the jeweler’s collection of Breitling, the newest watch line in the store, which includes an extensive selection of the brand’s Avenger, Classic AVI, Chronomat, Superocean Heritage, Superocean, Top Time, Navitimer, and Professional styles.

If watches and jewelry aren’t your style, don’t count Mazzarese out. They also carry luxury handbags with an extensive selection of new and preowned bags from brands such as Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, and Gucci.

“There aren’t very many places you can fi nd this variety of brands without leaving Kansas City,” Veronica says. “Half of our selection is brand-new and some are what we call pre-loved, and they are in what we call A+ condition. We’ll also take requests if someone is searching for something and we don’t have it.”

FIND EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR AT MAZZARESE One of the holiday season’s most satisfying experiences is watching a loved one’s face light up as they open that carefully wrapped gi you’ve been so excited to give them. Mazzarese makes fi nding a gi to elicit that reaction easy.

If you don’t fi nd quite what you’re looking for in the showroom, Mazzarese can custom-make any piece you want. Plus, you can even supply an old, treasured piece and remake it.

“We love the fact that jewelry is forever, and you can melt it down and make it into something new,” Veronica says. “A lot of people are realizing that they’ve got this jewelry in their drawer that they really want to do something with. There’s so much you can do with old diamonds to make something new, and we don’t charge extra to do that. It’s just a matter of what materials you want to use and what you want to make. People are getting more and want to make. People are getting more and more sentimental about their pieces.”

From start to fi nish, it only takes four to From start to fi nish, it only takes four to fi ve weeks to custom-make a new piece of fi ve weeks to custom-make a new piece of jewelry since it’s all done in the store. jewelry since it’s all done in the store.

If you’re shopping for a special someone If you’re shopping for a special someone and don’t know which item will make the and don’t know which item will make the best gi , Mazzarese has a team at the ready best gi , Mazzarese has a team at the ready who can help you fi nd the perfect piece. who can help you fi nd the perfect piece.

“We get to know who customers are buy“We get to know who customers are buying for,” Veronica says. “We fi t the jewelry ing for,” Veronica says. “We fi t the jewelry to the lifestyle. We fi nd out their style and to the lifestyle. We fi nd out their style and start with core pieces, like hoop earrings or start with core pieces, like hoop earrings or a diamond necklace.”

Stop by Mazzarese at 4850 W 135th St. in Leawood to discover all the possibilities. Stay tuned to mazzaresejewelry.com or follow Mazzarese on Facebook and Instagram @mazzaresejewelry and on Twitter @MazzareseJewels for updates about limited-time trunk shows and in-store events and promotions this holiday season. Open House: December 9th and 10th from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.