I am back from my trip to Kansas City. I don't know what I was expecting, but just loved Kansas City. It is full of art and the Surface Design Conference was held at the Art Centre. Really close by was the Kemper Museum which was a small museum but full of modern art and a great restaurant. Also close by was the Nelson Atkins which was a quite large museum which covered art both old and new. They had just completed a new wing where the fashion show was held during the conference which was every bit as wild as the one at ACAD. We got to Kansas City during Memorial Day Weekend and on the Saturday night we went down to the old Station which is now a museum and the building in this picture. They held an outdoor concert with a mixture of the Philharmonic with jazz and blue grass bands amongst other things. Mostly patriotic music and the colours projected on the building were stunning, but this was the one I liked best. The public sat on the hill opposite which formed a natural amphitheatre and behind us at the end of the performance was a huge firework display. It was a gorgeous warm evening and the crowd was friendly and warm to complement the evening.

This was one of the many sculptural pieces outside the Nelson Atkins. They also had a sculpture garden at the back of the museum open to the public even when the museum is closed. It was full of Henry Moore's amongst other things. I just couldn't get over the amount of sculptures around the city, no matter what part of town you were in. We went to the older part of town which has been turned into lots of different galleries. It was obviously the seedier part of town, although it is obviously in transition. Even there, we found sculptures both formal and informal. A bike shop had stacked a whole pile of bikes and parts on a pole, which looked quite neat.

This was the dining area at the Nelson Atkins, it was a serve yourself kind of buffet but very upmarket. The town is twinned with Seville in Spain and for good reason. There were almost as many fountains as there were sculptures and obvious touches of spanish architecture and tilework all over the place. The Plaza which is a shopping area has a lot of elements where you would think you were back in Spain with lots of Moorish influences, so could have been back in Doha!

I dont know the name of the flower on this tree but was very orchid like. I have never seen so many types of trees in my life. The city is really green and lush. The conference itself was fantastic. I was surrounded by very well know people in the surface design field and in the lectures and events you could be equally likely to be sitting next to Alice Kettle and Jane Dunnewold as someone completely new to the field. It was a fabulously well run event and hardly a minute to myself with all the events. The class with Jane Dunnewold was really interesting and learned all kinds of new things. The evening lectures with other teachers were really interesting and the lecures and demonstrations were just teasers leaving you with wanting to know much more. Many of the teachers had concurrent shows in the galleries so the gallery tour was even more pertinent after meeting the teachers. The members show was really inspirational. The last day was an informal invitation to Jason Pollen's house which was full of his artwork. By the end of it all my brain was numb but I picked up all kinds of dvds and books to entertain me during the hot summer months in Doha. If you ever have an occasion to visit Kansas City do so and I am sure you will find it as enjoyable as I did and I really didn't have time to see very much. It is the home of Hallmark Cards, barbecues and Jazz. Apparently during the days of prohibition it was know as the Paris of the Plains with jazz and beer parlours. It was the home of Charlie Parker and is on the banks of the Missouri river. My flight home was long but uneventful. I think I am up to date with my movies now, you can fit a lot in on a 13 hour flight! On the flight from Washington to Doha I had all three seats to myself, which was wonderful.