![]() ![]() “The other part of the temporary exhibits are going to be mostly historical, looking at what is in our collections and building temporary exhibits out of that. One of the visions that I have is for the jazz museum at 18th and Vine to be the place where quality art is presented east of Troost. That will mostly include art with the theme of jazz or African American culture. “There are going to be major exhibits that will be in place for three months. ![]() “There will be a number of changing exhibits,” Kositany-Buckner said. Plans are already proceeding for exhibits. “There are people in the community who come into that space to meet. Every First Friday we have over 250 kids in the atrium. We use the space now for jazz storytelling. The Gem at 500 seats is sometimes too much for some of the activities we want to do. We are bringing in artists who have written books about jazz musicians. “We plan to increase our public programming. Having the ability to experience jazz when you come in there, whether it’s through exhibits or music or performance or different kinds of activities.” Other plans, Kositany-Buickner says, “will allow us to create a new feel when walking into the jazz museum. The entire experience, I think, will change.” ![]() ![]() We need to have state of the art technology to stream music, to allow people to connect to the live music going on in the Blue Room. I tell people that we are an organization that deals with sound. Audiences sometimes leave to go seek food somewhere else. That has really been a challenge for us, not having food in the Blue Room. Some of those funds will go towards reimagining the Blue Room including, Kositany-Buckner says, “the furniture, the look and feel, the ambiance and the food issue. It’s where the most programs, education initiatives, a major club, a major festival – and, oh yeah, a museum – begin.įor starters, out of the $27.6 million bond issue proposed for the 18th and Vine district, over $2 million is targeted for the museum. But the American Jazz Museum is the elephant in the jazz room. The Mutual Musicians Foundation is the most historic and revered building in Kansas City jazz. Those are mighty lofty goals for someone who has been on the job just a few months.īut nobody who has met Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner doubts that she will pull it off, including the mayor (as you can read in his interview in this issue). I want our festival to be one where people say, I must be in Kansas City for the Kansas City Jazz Festival.” People who love jazz go to these festivals, a lot of them. “There are a lot of jazz festivals that happen all over the world in major cities. I want it to be something that families prepare to go to every year. I want it to be a legacy for generations to come. The festival is about celebrating our own brand. We will bring artists from out of town but we also want to elevate Kansas City jazz and Kansas City music and made in Kansas City. It will be a collaborative effort with various organizations to launch something huge. It will start on Memorial Day weekend, 2017. “We are launching the Kansas City Jazz Festival. Next year, Kansas City is getting a major new free admission jazz festival.Ĭheptoo Kositany-Buckner, the still-new Executive Director of the American Jazz Museum explains: ![]()
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