The Atrium Project: 10th Anniversary Forum

This public forum celebrates the closing of The Atrium Project: 10 Years, 10 Stories, an exhibition honoring a decade of commissions for the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art’s Atrium Project, featuring the current installation by Edra Soto, which will remain on view through early 2027.
The day brings together artists, curators, and community members for a program of conversations, reflections, and participatory sessions. Attendees will explore the themes of material, memory, place, critical histories, and community engagement, learning how artists approach site-specific commissions and the relationships they build with communities and institutions.
This special forum reflects on the series’ impact while looking forward to its continued future.
What is the Atrium Project?

For the past ten years, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art has invited artists to create original, large-scale works specifically for the Museum’s soaring central Atrium space. Each Atrium Project commission is site-specific—designed in response to the architecture, history, and community surrounding the Museum and is on view for at least a year. View past Atrium Project commisions here.
Schedule Highlights:
(Artists in attendance will be present to speak about their work; additional commissions will be discussed by curators or moderators.)

• Session A:
  - 10:15–10:30 AM – Welcome
  Soileh Padilla Mayer, Consul of Mexico in Kansas City, opens the forum.
  - 10:30–11:00 AM – Origin Story
  Jessica S. Hong, Chief Curator, and Erin Dziedzic discuss the origins and vision of the Atrium Project commissioning series.
  *Conversations will be in the galleries of the Atrium Project commissions
  - 11:10 AM–12:30 PM - Material, Memory, and Place
  Featuring artists: Angel Otero (work discussed), Aliza Nisenbaum (work discussed), Paul Henry Ramirez (work discussed), and Pepe Mar (in attendance)
  Moderated by: Joanne Northrup, Kimi Kitada, Erin Dziedzic, Raechell Smith, Jessica Hong, DJ Luis
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• Session B:
  - 1:45–2:45 PM - Mining Critical Histories
  Featuring artists: Joiri Minaya (work discussed), Sarah Zapata (in attendance), and Firelei Baez (work discussed)
  Moderated by: Sue Moreno, Anna Marie Tutera, Amy Kligman
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• Session C:
  - 2:45–3:45 PM - Roots, Ritual, and Place
  Featuring artists: Edra Soto (in attendance), Jose Lerma (in attendance), and Lucia Vidales (in attendance)
  Moderated by: Jose Faus, Erin Dziedzic, Sean Kelley
  - 4:00–4:30 PM – Open Door Wrap-Up Sessions, engagement space
  A participatory working session invites discussion on artist-community engagement, site research, and commissioning strategies, concluding with reflections from moderators and artists.

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This program is free and open to all. Registration is required due to limited seating. Check-in upon arrival is appreciated but not required.

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