(upbeat music) - We are getting arty on, "Inspire," today.

A discussion on the impact of women in art and the benefits of the arts in our schools communities.

And well, there's always something for everyone of all ages coming up next on, "Inspire."

- "Inspire," is sponsored by the estate of Ray and Ann Goldsmith, the Raymond C. and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and the Lewis H. Humphreys Charitable Trust.

(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to, "Inspire."

I'm excited to be here with my be beautiful inspire sisters, Danielle Norwood and Betty Lou Pardue.

And I am really excited about today's show.

Anyone who knows me knows I love the arts and I am actually part of our performing arts community.

And it's great when we can have a show dedicated to the arts and the value it brings to our community.

- Definitely, I agree.

I am also a huge lover of the arts, and I know we have many community members who greatly appreciate the uniqueness our talented artists bring to our Kansas communities.

We've got two great guests for you to talk to today, - And two local organizations that have dedicated their mission to featuring the stories of our local and national artists are the Mulvane Art Museum and the Topeka Art Guild.

Both have multiple events and collections throughout the year.

And here to provide us with some more insight about the role that art plays into our community are Connie Gibbons, the director of the Mulvane Art Museum, and Marie Plinsky of the Topeka Art Guild.

Ladies, thank you for being with us on, "Inspire."

- Thank you.

We're delighted to be here.

- I am so excited as someone who has not lived here my entire life, but moved into Topeka, the role that art plays in this community is so big.

And I wanna start with you, Marie.

Tell us about the Topeka Art Guild.

- The Topeka Art Guild was formed in 1916.

Many of our first members were instructors at Mulvane College.

Or Washburn College.

- Washburn College.

(everyone laughs) - Now the Mulvane.

- Yeah.

- And wives of the professors.

So at the beginning, we were all tied together, and later we went sort of our separate ways, but we'd been around a long time.

- Why did they decide to start the Art Guild?

- In 1916, there wasn't a lot to do.

So at first they had like 300 members.

- [Danielle] Wow.

- And they would bring big exhibits in from New York and Chicago, and it would be open to the public.

They had workshops and classes and just to introduce art to the city.

- Okay.

- Okay, so we have the Topeka Art Guild and we also have the Mulvane Art Museum.

Now, how are those two related?

Do you work together?

What is the Mulvane Art Museum?

- Well, I don't think there would be a Mulvane Art Museum if we hadn't had the Topeka Art Guild in 1916, you know, early days.

And if you think about that time, was right after when the museum opened, you know, early '20s when things were really rolling up.

It was right after World War I.

So think about what our communities were like and what was going on.

And there was here in Topeka, this real interest in the arts and the visual arts.

And many of these people that were coming here, I think to teach at Washburn brought with them this big interest in having a place for the exhibition of art.

- Right.

- And to have access to artistic programs.

And Frances Whittemore taught at Washburn College as a, she taught painting and drawing.

And she brought with her to that position this avid interest and passion for the arts, and making sure that students were exposed to original artworks and through the exhibition of those works.

And we didn't have a space dedicated to that.

Often exhibitions happened in classrooms or in space that could be carved out where there might be an empty wall, but didn't have good lighting.

Accessibility to it wasn't the greatest.

So the Mulvane really came about as this initiative that was led by, I think Frances Whittemore and the Art Guild and artists in our community that wanted to see a museum and a gallery space where art could be presented.

- Well, we explained the difference between a guild and the museum.

I mean, you've touched on it a little bit, but also, what is the importance besides culture of being exposed to art?

- Wow, that's a big question.

(everyone laughs) - I'm glad it was you, Connie.

- Yes.

(everyone laughs) I think it is without art and without access to it, you know, what do we have?

We become drudges, right?

I mean, it is, when we are remembered in history, it's not necessarily gonna be the infrastructures that we're remembered by.

It's gonna be the production of what our artists do and what we invest in as communities.

It's the aesthetic values that we bring to the life that we create here.

And I think the arts are so important and the humanities.

I think that's all part and parcel of this conversation.

It's really what makes us human.

And it is what makes us, I think that's what I see happening in Topeka even today, is this growing interest and dedication to the arts and making it more accessible to our community and to the people here.

And making sure our students here on campus have access to seeing original works, to talking with artists who are creating in their studios.

And it's not just visual arts.

I think performing arts and music, and it's all part of that synergy and energy that we wanna see happening.

- And if the Guild, it's more of like every local artist, you have high school students?

- We show high schools six months out of the year, but most of our members are a bit older.

Guild is kind of an old fashioned term.

It was like the wood carvers guild, the blacksmith guild.

It was just a group of people that kind of did a similar thing, I think was probably the original meaning of guild.

And we still do art and hang out and have a good time.

- Yeah.

- So tell me, how can people be a part of the Guild?

Because I know a lot of organizations want a resurgence of people coming in, especially youth to carry it on.

How can people get involved?

- We have a yearly membership of $50.

We have a monthly newsletter.

We have a monthly meeting with different speakers that are sometimes our members that do sort of a unique form of art.

We've had speakers from outside communities that do different art.

Our most recent one was a man who's making a magazine of black superheroes for children.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Really?

- Awesome.

- Nice.

- And he does all his art on an iPad.

It was just amazing to watch him work.

And we were all going like, "Ooh."

(everyone laughs) Let's learn about that iPad stuff.

(everyone laughs) We know brushes.

So his art was a very different art, but it was really fun to see.

And he's working hard to educate young black children.

They can be heroes, which is pretty important.

- Very.

- I love the idea of accessibility because there are a lot of communities of colors that may not necessarily get to enjoy art on the same level as other people.

Talk about the importance of making that happen here in this community.

- We've always allowed almost anyone to become a member.

And we show art of varying qualities from very young into your art career.

Not young, physically, but in your art career.

And then as they mature, they stay with us.

And some move on to different places.

But we show everybody, and we show high school six months of the year, which they are all agog, and their parents and their grandparents are all in there taking pictures.

But to have their peace in a gallery- - [Amy] Sure.

- Is a big thing when you're 16 or 17, 18.

- [Betty Lou] It's a big deal.

- And, Connie, with the Mulvane Art Museum, talk about accessibility in terms of connecting with a broader audience.

- So I think it's, one thing is that I think is important to kind of distinguish what the Guild does and what the Museum is doing.

And what we are, is we're really associated with that physical space.

And the Guild has, it's not necessarily tied to a physical space or collection.

It really is about helping local artists and making sure that there's an opportunity for those artists to be seen, to participate in educational things.

So the Mulvane is, we do a lot of work to kind of reach out to the community.

We're free of charge.

We actively try to reach into communities that are underserved.

And which means very diverse communities.

We have adopted a really proactive stance on presenting exhibitions and collecting artworks that are by artists of color.

So just within the last 10 years, we've added some really amazing and exciting works that really expand the meaning of what our collection is.

And it includes people that have grew up here, but were often overlooked because they weren't part of the mainstream that we've added to the collection.

But also some young contemporary artists that are really doing important work to explore kind of themes in American culture and society that allow us to have deeper conversations with students and faculty and the community.

And so we've, you know, that's part of just, it's like walking the walk.

We do it as just as a matter of that's, you know, we breathe, we look at ways to engage the broader community and make it accessible for all kinds of people.

- Oh, I have so many more questions to ask.

(everyone laughs) But we need to take a quick short break and we'll be back with more artistic discussions, so stay with us.

(upbeat music) - I'm Sherry Best.

I'm the art collection curator here at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.

I'm not a member of the Art Guild myself, but I was able to give a program about their history a few years ago.

That really was fun because I got to learn so much, not just about the Topeka Art Guild, but Topeka history also.

Well, they were founded in 1916 by a group of artists and art students who were really wanting to bring more and better art to Topeka.

People missed culture who were coming in from other towns and really wanted to emphasize that cultural ability here in Topeka.

So we had started as art lessons at the Topeka and Shawnee County, or Topeka Public Library then with an artist who came in and gave art lessons to anybody who wanted to learn.

A couple of artists.

One was named George Hopkins, and his classes were taken over by George Stone.

George Stone was a founding member of the Topeka Art Guild.

He taught artists like Helen Hodge, who was also a founding member of the Topeka Art Guild.

And she stayed involved with it for decades.

One of the things that the Art Guild would feature when they had their gallery at the high school were exhibits by different artists, especially Topeka artists.

And Helen being incredibly prolific, would have a show almost every year.

So people really got to know Impressionism through George Stone, having gone to Paris and studied and brought back Impressionism to Topeka within just a decade or so of it having been invented.

So that was pretty hip for Topeka.

(upbeat music) Frances Whittemore was teaching art and art history at Washburn College.

And she and her students wanted to emphasize building their own art skills and also having places to exhibit art, places where they could learn about art.

So what she was able to do with the Art Guild was get people together, teach each other different techniques like watercolor, oil painting, drawing skills.

They were able to, in their first year, bring artists like Gutzon Borglum who did Mount Rushmore.

They had an exhibit of his sculpture at one of their first exhibits.

That kind of thing was exciting for people because they got to know more about art happening outside Topeka and that would get people inspired and ready to make art here.

So when they started doing classes, a lot of times people were beginners.

Other times somebody like Birger Sandzen would come in and do demonstrations and talk about color, or talk about how to use brush work or things like that.

So really, a lot of the artists in Topeka were very, very supportive of each other and just excited about art.

(upbeat music) - We're back with Connie Gibbons, director of the Mulvane Art Museum on the Washburn University campus.

And Marie Plinsky of the Topeka Art Guild in Fairmont Plaza.

So thank you both so much for being here.

I wanted to divert just a little bit because I was able to go with Connie Gibbons on a trip, and I don't know that everybody knows that you helped form the B.B.

King Museum in the deep South.

- Yes, yes, I was the founding director for the B.B.

King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center.

So got to work, this was about a four year project and worked with B.B.

and a lot of people in Mississippi and in the South to kind of tell this story of civil rights through B.B.

King's music and his experiences growing up in Mississippi.

- I encourage everybody to go.

You've got to go to this.

Okay anyway, back to the thing ahead.

- Why did you open that up?

(everyone laughs) Now you're asking some questions about Lucille and everything else?

- I just wanted everybody to know her expertise and the fact that she knows what the heck she's talking about.

- Right.

- So we gotta get here and Mulvane.

- And she's here on, "Inspire."

- Yes, yes, yes, yes.

(everyone laughs) Well, we appreciate both of y'all's expertise.

We talked in the break about defining art.

What is art to you and what is art to you?

And I know that's a loaded question, but can you give us the, "Reader's Digest," version of what you think art is?

- Well, it's almost everything.

I mean, when you design a building that's an artistic talent of, you know, is it gonna be square corners, is it gonna be round and soft, is it gonna be all glass, is it gonna have textured stone?

So, that's a form of art.

- Right.

- Anything you put on a canvas or watercolor paper is art.

- Okay.

- Scarves are art.

- Scarves.

- Absolutely.

- This is silk painted.

It's silk painted.

So, that's art.

- Absolutely.

- It covers almost everything.

Your lovely little decoration on your necklace there, your little rhinestone.

- [Betty Lou] Thank you.

- Yeah, yeah, it's all art.

- Okay, Connie.

- Well, and to kind of take that one step further, I think art really informs everything.

It informs how you curate, how you're gonna present yourself for the day, what you wear, how this set is designed.

And how we think about it.

I think in terms of what museums are collecting and what we might see in an art gallery or a museum wall, it really has broadened in several years, because it used to be oil on canvas or a sculpture that was carved out of a piece of marble.

We had very specific views of what an art piece might be and who it served.

Initially it served the church and it has become more and more accessible to individuals to hang a piece in your home or to decorate your office.

So I think there, it isn't an easy, it isn't easy to answer that question because in the minds of some, the banana taped to the wall (everyone laughs) is an important art action.

And it may be ephemeral, it may not have a life that you can archive and put in the museum vaults, but the action has some impact on how we think about what art is and how we consume it.

And if you're eating the banana, you are literally eating.

(everyone laughs) - I wanna change direction a little bit because I know that women played a very significant part in both the Topeka Art Guild and the Mulvane Art Museum.

What role have they played and what role are they continuing to play?

I'm curious to what you say about that.

- Probably at the Art Guild, we are probably at least 90% female.

- [Amy] Wow.

- In the original 13 members, I think eight of them were female.

So, they've always been there.

They've at times donated quite a bit of money to the Art Guild.

So, we're a true nonprofit, so we like donations.

(everyone laughs) - And prominent women at the time.

- Yes, yes, we've had some great gifts in the '80s.

And then in the recent 10 or 15 year past, we've had members that have passed away that left us some, or as one of their contributions at their memorial service was we were named.

- Yeah.

- And I think at the Mulvane, Frances Whittemore , I mean she was a force and it was really, I think her determination and her commitment to seeing a museum or a space built where art exhibitions could be presented.

I think it would not, again, have happened had it not been for her.

And partnering with the Guild, which was made up of women.

- The Guild - And they were the ones that were working nonstop to raise money to bring in these big exhibitions from New York or Chicago, you know, trying to do educational programs to engage the community.

And there was a real hunger for that.

And so I think that it was the women of that time that really made the difference in the Museum being built.

And I think they've continued to be involved.

And some of our most important collections have come from their gifts from women that have been made over the years, including Dr. Dorothy Fuller.

In the '40s and '80s, we were working with her on some gifts that came to the Mulvane that include a Bierstadt.

- [Amy] Wow.

- Which is a pretty important American artist.

You know, some works from the 14th century.

Or not 14th century, 17th century.

Who's counting?

(everyone laughs) So I think women have been really pivotal in the evolution of the Mulvane.

- Well, in that time period, women probably didn't get to work too much.

- Right.

- So they had to have something fun to do with their days.

- And so setting up art and curating little shows, whatever they were, you know, that was- - I'm so surprised as I've been reading about the history of art in our community, how, what a leadership role women were taking.

And it was, you know, and the difference that they were making in our community through that leadership.

- [Amy] Wow.

- Well, I know that women played an important role and they continue to play an important role.

And I look forward to seeing what women are going to continue to do on the art scene here in Topeka and northeast Kansas, 'cause we still have a powerful voice.

And I know that we have a passion for art as well.

So thank you both Marie and Connie for being here and your passion for art and bringing that to us here on, "Inspire."

After the break, Betty Lou, Amy and I continue getting arty with all of you, so please stay with us.

(upbeat music) - And we are back with Connie Gibbons and Marie Plinsky.

And we wanna continue our discussion about art and art in this community.

And more importantly, the fact that the Mulvane Art Museum is celebrating a hundred years of existence.

Now, the Topeka Art Guild is just over a hundred years.

- We're 109 now.

- 109 years.

- Wow.

(applauds) - Whoo.

- So, these are longstanding institutions.

Tell us about what's happening with the Mulvane Art Museum this year.

- So 2024 was our hundredth anniversary.

And we spent, even though we were shut down for some renovations for part of that, we spent the entire year really celebrating that a hundred year anniversary.

And if you think about it, we have a collection of 6,000 plus artworks.

- Wow.

- Wow.

- We serve anywhere from, depending on the programs, we're doing anywhere from 25 to 40,000 people a year.

It's all free.

We do anywhere from 12 to 25 exhibitions a year.

And so we did a number of things to celebrate what it means to be a hundred.

I mean, think about it.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Whoo.

- That's a pretty significant milestone for an art museum in the Midwest.

We were opening right about the same time some of the big major museums were opening in New York City.

- Yeah, fancy, fancy.

- Yeah.

- So we have the future of both, let's talk about the Art Guild's future.

- We continue to host classes of varying different media.

We have the high school kids in six months of the year trying to encourage them and their career on in art.

We give 'em a little cash along the way.

So that's always fun to see them and to know that we've bought 'em a few tanks of gas (everyone laughs) or new tires for that car so they can drive back and school.

(everyone laughs) And that way we encourage the youth and it's always fun to see 'em.

And if you've not seen any high school art recently, you need to come look.

- Yeah, amazing.

- They are just blow your socks off on some of their products they come up with, so we're proud of them.

- Yeah.

- Well, I'm excited for the future and I'm also excited that Topeka gets it.

You know, we get the importance of art all across the board.

I know that you all have had a hand in that, and I just want to applaud you.

- Yes.

(hosts applaud) - For everything that you have brought to this community and you'll continue to bring.

And we're losing you, Connie, I'm sorry about that, from the Mulvane Art Museum, but thank you for everything that you've brought to that particular place.

- Thank you.

It's exciting to think about and I invite us all back in a hundred years to continue this conversation.

- We'll be here.

- Deal.

(everyone laughs) - Well, that's all the time we have for today.

We thank you for our wonderful artistic representatives, Connie Gibbons from the Mulvane Art Museum, and Marie Plinsky from the Topeka Art Guild.

Thank you so much for joining us for, "Inspire" and thank you for joining us.

And you can watch this program again at watch.ktwu.org.

- And if you were so inspired to learn more about our guests and to find out what's coming up on future shows, visit our website at ktwu.org/inspire.

- Inspiring women inspiring artistic expression.

Inspiring you on KTWU.

Thank you for watching.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] "Inspire," is sponsored by the estate of Ray and Ann Goldsmith, the Raymond C. and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and the Lewis H. Humphreys Charitable Trust.