Artspeak Radio

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with educator Whitney Boyd and Luna, singer/songwriter Heath Church. Fact: Missouri ranks near the bottom nationwide for teacher pay, consistently appearing in the 49th or 50th position. American teachers are increasingly stepping away from their jobs because of the educational systems and structures that prevent them from engaging in good teaching, which involves professional judgment, attunement to students’ multidimensional needs, and a connection to one’s purpose and values. The barriers to good teaching include overwork and underpay, in a profession that is increasingly undervalued—but that is not the whole story. The results of a massive survey, America’s Teachers on Teaching in an Era of Change, indicate a strong correlation between teachers’ job satisfaction and feeling that their voices are heard. Ninety-eight percent of the…

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Kasim Hardaway. KASIM HARDAWAY is a filmmaker and storyteller based in Kansas City, Missouri, whose work explores identity, mental health, and transformation. Before entering film, he built a decade-long career as a nationally recognized food influencer and brand strategist, partnering with companies like ALDI, Target, and Impossible Foods. His storytelling was known for its visual depth and emotional honesty, qualities that now define his filmmaking voice. After years spent curating perfection online, Kasim found himself unraveling behind the scenes. What had once been creativity turned into performance, and the constant pursuit of relevance gave way to burnout and fatigue. Rather than turn away from that collapse, he chose to document it and transform his breakdown into art. That decision became The UNBecoming, a cinematic exploration…

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd artists Kēvin Callahan, Marti Dodge, and InterUrban ArtHouse Executive Director Wolfe Brack join us on air. KĒVIN CALLAHAN & MARTI DODGE-Schoolhouse Art Gallery & Nature Center Presents Prairie Echos, a Sculptural Tribute to the Natural World New exhibition by Kansas City artists Kēvin Callahan and Marti Dodge opens Friday, July 31, in Brownville, Nebraska Prairie Echos is a new exhibition featuring the work of Kansas City artists Kēvin Callahan of the Elegant Line Studio and Marti Dodge of 3Herons Art, on Friday, July 31, 2026. The show will remain on view throughout August 2026. Prairie Echos honors and reimagines the artists' shared love for the natural world. Drawing from the prairie landscape that surrounds them, Callahan and Dodge transform what they have observed in nature — from fallen trees to birds on the wing — into work that brings…

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Babara Reres, Chair Greater Kansas City Area Committee National Museum of Women in the Arts. BARBARA RERES, Chair Greater Kansas City Area Committee National Museum of Women in the ARTS THE MISSION OF the National Museum of Women in the ARTS With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. NMWA addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.To fulfill this mission, NMWA: • Displays and preserves a collection of more than 5,000 objects • Presents ten world-class exhibitions featuring women…

ARTSPEAK RADIO 9:00 AM Wednesdays - Streaming at KKFI.org Produced and Hosted by Maria Vasquez Boyd Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 9:00am! Mark Manning fills in as host for Maria Vasquez Boyd Mark welcomes Special Guests: Dimitri Reyes + Sammy Loren + Kristin Conkright & Jessica Harp On the eve of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) 2024 Conference & Bookfair, February 7-10, here in Kansas City, MO., we'll talk with two writers/organizers participating this year's conference. We also talk with two musicians who will play Killith Faire, a one-night only collaboration of women/femme musicians from the KC & Lawrence areas, at recordBar on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. At 9:00am Mark welcomes Dimitri Reyes, Marketing & Communications Director at CavanKerry Press. Dimitri Reyes is a Boricua multidisciplinary artist, YouTuber, and educator from Newark, New Jersey. Dimitri’s book, Every First and Fifteenth (2021) is the winner of the Digging Press 2020 Chapbook Award. You can find more of his writing in…

ARTSPEAK RADIO 9:00 AM Wednesdays - Streaming at KKFI.org 90.1 FM KKFI - Kansas City Community Radio Produced and Hosted by Maria Vasquez Boyd Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 9:00am! Mark Manning fills in as host for Maria Vasquez Boyd Mark welcomes Special Guests: Elisabeth Kirsch + Christopher Leitch Elisabeth Kirsch is an art historian, curator, and writer who has curated over 100 exhibitions of contemporary art, American Indian art and photography, locally and across the country. She writes frequently for national and local arts publications including The Kansas City Star, Flatland KC, and KC Studio Magazine. Elisabeth Kirsch received her Ph.D in Art History, Religious Studies from The University of Missouri - Kansas City. Christopher Leitch served as Assistant Dean at Kansas City Art Institute. He was a consulting curator with the Center for Creative Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and he was director of Kansas City Museum. Christopher has been a visiting lecturer and instructor at many…

ARTSPEAK RADIO 12:00 NOON on Wednesdays Produced and Hosted by Maria Vasquez Boyd Wednesday, January 3, 2024 Harold Smith + Ioana Coman + Michael Andrew Smith Mark Manning fills in for Maria Vasquez Boyd, as host. Mark Welcomes Special Guests: Ioana Coman, is a writer, and chief editor at “Arte Magazine", and author of “Happy Apocalipsa Day." Ioana Coman is a member of KC Writers Supporting Writers, KC Storytellers, Writers Group Network KC, and KC Connect and Write. Ioana Coman is the recipient of the International Price for Art and Literature granted by Fundația Mitteleuropa/ Austria - Viena on December 2018; “Happy Apocalipsa Day” Fundația Mitteleuropa/ Austria - Viena on December 2019; and Poems in “Luceafărul” Magazine · January 1, 2000. Ioana is also active in the KC/Raymore community Raymore, Mo Hystorical Society & Museum, Missouri Humanities Council, RotaryClub Belton-Raymore, KC Theater Pipe Organ, Kansas City Piano Meetup-Club, Kansas City Musical Club, The National Philoptocos Society, and serves…

Wednesday, February 3, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd chats with TJ Templeton gallery director/artist in residence at the Bunker Center for the Arts, musician & KKFI DJ Jason Vivone, and artists Kevin Hopkins and Izsys Archer. TJ TEMPLETON the Gallery Director and artist-in-residence at the Bunker Center for the Arts talks about the current group exhibition "Stupid Cupid/Eros Unbound" and other projects in the future. The Bunker Center was established 5 years ago as an artist-run gallery and studio space. The Bunker currently provides studios for 12 artists in a variety of disciplines and contains 6 different galleries that feature a rotating monthly exhibition as well as an inventory of over 350 artworks by local, regional, and internationally collected artists. Bunker Center for the Arts is located on the corner of 19th and Troost and is open to the public through appointment only. Appointments can be made through the…

ARTSPEAK RADIO, Wednesday January 27, 2021, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Christine Boutros; Grants and Awards Programs Manager for Charlotte Street Foundation, Kimi Kitada the Jedel Familly Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Charlotte Street Foundation. Joining us in the second half of the hour, Nik D Douglas drummer/producer/lyricist/singer shares his list of favorite percussionists, recordings, and his latest projects. CHRISTINE BOUTROS Grants and Awards Programs Manager Charlotte Street Foundation- Christine Boutros returns to the Kansas City art community after serving as Associate Curator of Education at Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design in Honolulu, Hawaii. Before that, Boutros spent six years in the education department at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. As Grants and Awards Programs Manager, Christine will manage all aspects of Charlotte Street’s prestigious award programs including the…

ARTSPEAK RADIO, Wednesday January 20. 2021, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Annie Sánchez CEO Chief Goal Strategiest Mariposa Strategies, Robert Gann, Habitat Contemporary Gallery Owner, and artist/Kansas City Art Institute educator Andrew McIlvane. ANNIE SÁNCHEZ, Mariposa Strategies CEO, Chief Goal Strategist Mariposa Strategies-Mariposa Strategies is a heart-centered strategic planning and coaching firm. Spanish for butterfly, Mariposa represents transformation and change while Strategies represents process. Together, these words embody our mission to support BIPOC leaders and entrepreneurs with decreasing overwhelm so we can do what we’re here to do! Using a hybrid approach, coaching and consulting services are intertwined: coaching is conducted through a strategy lens and consulting is done with a coaching bend. This holistic model gives clients the best of both worlds. We prioritize strategic…

ARTSPEAK RADIO, Wednesday, January 13, 2021, 12-noon- 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas CityCommunity Radio, streaming live audio ​www.kkfi.orgProducer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Englewood Art Director Michael Baxley and TheVolland Store Proprietor Patty Reece. MICHAEL BAXLEY-Englewood Arts is a new and innovative organization focused on creating adiverse and sustainable community in harmony with the arts. Our ultimate goal is to provide much-needed, affordable and sustainable workspace, housing and culturally diverse,community-based arts programming. Vibrant with activity and creativity, the Englewood Arts District will showcase the visual arts, performing arts and culinary arts while providing enrichment opportunities for the local and regional community. Englewood Arts will become a distinct destination spot that will also complement the historic and revitalized Independence Square.In 2019, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the sale of a three-story building to become the Englewood Arts…

Wednesday, December 30, 2020, 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd presents the 2nd part of the year end special, 2020 THE _______YEAR EVER. 2020 THE ______ YEAR EVER To say the least, the year 2020 has become infamous for a plethora of reasons. Based on your point of view, beliefs, experiences, what reflections and/or revelations comes to mind; what have you discovered about yourself, human nature, the world? What did 2020 have in store for you? What are your final thoughts about 2020? We’ve asked artists, writers, performers, musicians, and creatives in the community to reflect and share with us about their 2020 experience. What was 2020 like for you? We’ll hear original stories and curated songs from our contributors; Noah Davis, Jessica Paige, and Eboni Fondren that reflect their responses. JESSICA PAIGE is a master storyteller, translating personal experience into music that is sophisticated, diverse in its influences, and instantly…

ARTSPEAK RADIO, Wednesday, December 23 and December 30, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd presents a 2- part year end special; 2020 THE ______ YEAR EVER. 2020 THE ______ YEAR EVER To say the least, the year 2020 has become infamous for a plethora of reasons. Based on your point of view, beliefs, experiences, what reflections and/or revelations comes to mind; what have you discovered about yourself, human nature, the world? What did 2020 have in store for you? What are your final thoughts about 2020? We’ve asked artists, writers, performers, musicians, and creatives in the community to reflect and share with us about their 2020 experience. What was 2020 like for you? We’ll also hear curated music from our contributors that reflect their response. On Wednesday, December 23, we’ll hear stories and songs from Heath Church, Sam Wells, and Shawn Stewart. On Wednesday, December 30, we’ll hear stories and songs from Noah…

ARTSPEAK RADIO, Wednesday, December 16, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes artist/author Stephen T. Johnson and artist/writer Jackie Denning. STEPHEN T. JOHNSON- Stephen T. Johnson’s visually arresting and conceptually rich body of work forges connections between words, objects and ideas. His art spans a broad range of concepts and contexts and can be seen in site-specific public art commissions, gallery and museum exhibitions, and original award-winning children’s books such “Alphabet City,” a Caldecott Honor and a New York Times Best Illustrated book of the year. His drawings and paintings are in numerous private collections including those of musician Paul Simon and actress Cherry Jones, and in the permanent collections of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut, and the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington…

ARTSPEAK RADIO, Wednesday December 9, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Connie Swartz founder Celebrate Fatigues, artist/educator Jason Pollen, and Christine Boutrous Charlotte Street Foundation Grants and Awards Program Manager. CONNIE SWARTZ, Founder Celebrate Fatigues; Our Mission is to honor the service of our country’s active military and veterans by providing a respectful and dignified way for veterans and their families to dispose of previously-worn fatigues. To avoid having fatigues end up in a landfill or be destroyed, we are creating products by recycling the fatigues into artful accessories to remember and honor the men and women who wore them in service to our country. These are the people who have created our American fabric. Veterans who see fatigues recycled into our products realize their service is not forgotten but rather displayed as a sign of appreciation for our active military and…

ARTSPEAK RADiO, Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host of KKFI ‘s Under The Radar, John Thompson Todd (John Todd – The Radio God) takes over ARTSPEAK RADIO with guests that include Bruce Young Co-owner Aztec Theater in Shawnee,KS, singer/songwriter Jake Wells, and Katie Mabry Van, owner/operator Strawberry Swing Indie Craft Fair. JOHN TODD’S Under The Radar can be heard every Sunday night, 8pm – 1pm on 90.1 fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio. John has made it his personal mission to unearth Kansas City’s best musicians by giving them the airplay they deserve. On his program, anything goes, from rock to country, folk to funk, there’s something here for all. BRUCE YOUNG – Aztec Theater is located at 11119 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas, is a 1927 historic theater, originally opened as The Mission Theater as a silent movie house. It was renamed as The Aztec in 1949. Co-owner Bruce Young remembers attending movies as a…

ARTSPEAK RADIO, Wednesday, November 25, 2020, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org ARTSPEAK RADIO presents a rebroadcast of El Amor que Mueve el Sol y las Demás Estrellas – The Love That Moves The Sun and Other Stars – a radio play in Spanish based on the lives of surrealist artists Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. El Amor que Mueve el Sol y las Demás Estrellas- The Love That Moves The Sun and Other Stars -The fictional drama is inspired by the lives of Lenora Carrington and Remedios Varo. The story begins at their auspicious reencounter, during their exile in Mexico City: the Mexico of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the Mexico of the Popol Vuh and indigenous healing, the Mexico that provided refuge for Europe’s artists and intellectuals, according to the synopsis. Surrounded by the “exciting and utterly strange” land where “even the trees were unfamiliar,” they begin to create art unbound by the masculine surrealist manifesto and towards the “true muse.”…

ARTSPEAK RADIO Wednesday, November 11, 2020, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd and Guest Co-Host Eboni Fondren present, All Things Molly!! – an audio love letter to Molly Hammer. This special program highlights Kansas City’s magnificent songstress, Molly Hammer, who has been performing in the Kansas City area since 2005. With an eclectic vocal background, Hammer has found her home in the world of jazz and blues, drawing inspiration from the likes of Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, Sara Vaughn, and many others. She has had the privilege of performing with some of the finest jazz musicians in the Kansas City area. You can hear her regularly at The Green Lady Lounge. She can also be seen and heard at one of the many Unity Churches in the area nearly every Sunday. Molly is a graduate of the Artist INC program and has also had the honor of singing the National Anthem for both The Royals and The Chiefs. Throughout the program, we’ll…

Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 12noon- 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes, author/artist Jim Ramirez, poet/writer A. Summer Javadi, Shannon Thompson, Story Center Manager, author/radio host Dr. Gene Chavez. DR. GENE CHAVEZ-Nuestra Herencia host/producer and book author, Mexican American Baseball in Kansas City, Dr Gene Chavez interviews local leaders about regional Latino history. The one-hour long interview programs will feature guest scholars, historians, researchers, radio and television personalities, civic leaders, politicians, entrepreneurs, and every day people who want to share their family history immigration and migration to Kansas City on both sides of the state lines. One KC Radio 100.1fm www.onekcradio.org (2018)Mexican American Baseball in Kansas City highlights the standout teams and players in the greater Kansas City area and other communities in the Sunflower State. Following labor opportunities, Mexican…

Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer-host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Kim Cotton-Martin Artistic Director KC Rep, Yetunde Felix-Ukwu Artistic Associate KC Reperotry, and Becky Ray author of Kansas City Hauntings History and Mystery of the Paris of the Plains. KIM COTTON-MARTIN, Artistic Director KC Rep & YETUNDE FELIX-UKWU Artistic Associate KCRep- KCRep is thrilled to present a brand-new Kansas City tradition that will leave you shaking with excitement! This hybrid concert and ghost story event weaves together local storytellers and musicians to share frighteningly fun tales from KC’s cultural crossroads. Under the stars on the South Lawn at the iconic Nelson-Atkins Museum, your family and friends will be transported into the diverse world of spirits, hauntings, and the great unknown. Storytellers include: Jane Barnette, Maria Vasquez Boyd, and Nathan Louis Jackson. Musicians include the Doom Blues Duo Freight Train…

Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd enters the 2nd week of the 2020 Fall Pledge Drive by asking for your support for the station at 888-931-0901 or pledge online www.kkfi.org Maria welcomes Marissa Starke Executive Director Kansas City Artists Coalition and Philip Eirich Gallery owner/Director Cerbera Gallery to the program. ARTSPEAK RADIO is entering its' 8th year-if you tune in weekly, download podcasts, listen online, if you learn about new and exciting opportunities happening in the creative community, enjoy listening to one of the many guests featured weekly on ARTSPEAK RADIO then call 888-931-0901 to pledge your support. Online pledges are simple, just go to www.kkfi.org and show us your support for YOUR community radio station. It's time for you to support this on air arts program that gives local artists, spoken word poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, arts educators, museums, arts…

Wednesday, October 14, 2020, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd with special guest Under The Radar’s producer/host John Todd- The Radio God joins Maria for the KKFI Fall Drive. Special guest include Jose Martinez and Du Ron Nutsell. ARTSPEAK RADIO is entering its' 8th year-if you tune in weekly, download podcasts, listen online, if you learn about new and exciting opportunities happening in the creative community, enjoy listening to one of the many guests featured weekly on ARTSPEAK RADIO then call 888-931-0901 to pledge your support. Online pledges are simple, just go to www.kkfi.org and show us your support for YOUR community radio station. It's time for you to support this on air arts program that gives local artists, spoken word poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, arts educators, museums, arts organizations, and so many more the opportunity to discuss their art, chapbooks, events, openings, performances, innovations,…

Wednesday, October 7, 2020- ARTSPEAK RADIO noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd airs recorded poetry by Gabriela Lemmons, Gloria Martinez-Adams, Gustavo Ayaber, and José Faus, appearing on the second half of the program, Mason Andrew Kilpatrick Marketing and Communications Manager with the Charlotte Street Foundation. Gabriela Lemmons, Gloria Martinez-Adams, Gustavo Ayabar, and Jose Faus recite their poetry from the Latino Writers Collective 2008 publication, Primera Pagina: Poetry from the Latino Heartland. The Latino Writers Collective can be found on Facebook and Instagram #latinowriterscollective. Mason Andrew Kilpatrick, Marketing and Communications Manager with Charlotte Street Foundation provides a fresh prospective to CSF. Kilpatrick will discuss artist opportunities and assistance, and update on additional projects. www.charlottestreet.org #artspeakradio #kkficommunityradio

Wednesday, September 30, 2020, ARTSPEAK RADIO 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd presents Estoy Aqui – I am Here with contributors Waco Porter and Shawn Neurstadt. Estoy Aqui - I am Here This pandemic has changed us. Uncertainty exists. We asked writers, poets, artists, performers, musicians, and the creative community to check in with us by sharing their thoughts, fears, success, beliefs, outrage, politics, creativity, etc. through recordings. Our contributors respond with poetry, short stories, music, or monologues, that capture the pain, humor, angst, joy, frustration, optimism, of their current mood. WACO PORTER has lived in the Kansas City area for 20 years. Born in Galveston, Texas, he served in the military and traveled widely. He now proudly calls KC home. Porter recently published his first book of poetry, Total Eclipse. He also enjoys writing short stories, working out, and hanging out with his wife, three…

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes film maker/producer, Megan Ponder and performer artist Kater Tot. Megan Ponder (PRODUCER)is a producer of the award-winning documentary The Story of Plastic. She is Co-Director of Peak Plastic Foundation, and her work is focused on plastic pollution including regulatory policy, plastics production, and global recycling systems. She has consulted for global and national plastic pollution campaigns and initiatives and has worked with stakeholders representing government, industry, and community perspectives on plastic pollution and waste management. THE STORY OF PLASTIC takes a sweeping look at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the people who inhabit it. Spanning three continents, the film illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash, rivers and seas clogged with waste, and skies choked with the poisonous emissions from plastic production and processing.…

Wed. Sept. 9, 2020, 12noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes poet/writer/educator TL Sanders and artist/writer/performer Rick Stassi join us for today’s special program, Estoy Aqui - I am Here. Estoy Aqui – I am here This pandemic has changed us. Uncertainty exists. We asked writers, poets, artists, performers, musicians, and the creative community to check in with us by sharing their thoughts, fears, success, beliefs, outrage, politics, creativity, etc. through recordings. Our contributors respond with poetry, short stories, music, or monologues, that capture the pain, humor, angst, joy, frustration, optimism, of their current mood. TL SANDERS Poet AKA Àtwist – The Language Artist, is a modern-day renaissance man who lives to build minds and loves to body build. He speaks French. He plays bass. He is a cage fighting martial artist. He educates. Give him a stage, he articulates. Lend him an ear, he motivates. As Paper Birch Landing Art…

Wednesday, September 2, 2020, 12noon - 1pm, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Katie Kline Director Greater Kansas City Writing Project, educator/artist Michael Toombs, Crissy Dastrup KCMO 4th District Legislative Aide, Shannon Thompson Story Center Program Manager. #artpseakradio #kkficommunityradio

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes writer/poet Annette Billings, artist/educator Vania Soto, and educator/poet Janie Harris. ANNETTE BILLINGS is an African-American Kansas poet, playwright, actress and nurse, who now offers by sharing her poetry and prose. She has written two collections of poetry, one-act plays and numerous short stories. Annette’s readers have dubbed her "the Maya of the Midwest," a moniker she allows with all due humility and gratitude. Known for her performance delivery style, she has been received enthusiastically in many diverse venues. Her first book of poems, A Net Full of Hope, garnered the Topeka, Kansas, 2015 ARTSConnect Arty Award for Literature. Her second book, Descants for a Daughter, is a collection of affirmations/meditations and very timely. Annette's third and newest work, Just Shy of Stars, is now available! www.anetfullofhope.com VANIA SOTO…

Wednesday, August 12, 2020, 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd presents a special program with guests Gunard Polite, Annette Billings, Philip Blue Owl Hooser, and Mark Manning. Estoy Aqui - I am Here This pandemic has changed us. Uncertainty exists. We asked writers, poets, artists, performers, musicians, and the creative community to check in with us by sharing their thoughts, fears, success, beliefs, outrage, politics, creativity, etc. through recordings. Our contributors respond with poetry, short stories, music, or monologues, that capture the pain, humor, angst, joy, frustration, optimism, of their current mood. GUNARD POLITE, President One Kansas City Radio-One Kansas City Radio unites the multicultural voices in the Kansas City Urban Core through programming and community services that entertain, educate, inform and inspire. One KC Radio will bring together the African American, Latino, and other underrepresented…

Wednesday August 5, 2020, 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with artist/educator Lita Sandoval and writer/educator Lucero Denisse Valderama. LITA SANDOVAL I am an adornment artist with an eye for beauty and style inspired by my New Mexico heritage, music, vintage fashion, and the serendipitous mess of art supplies on my table. I have been making jewelry since I was a little girl, playing with beads and colorful telephone wire. I find inspiration in simplicity, letting my materials – handmade and beautifully patterned papers, glass beads and rhinestones, pieces of vintage jewelry and found objects – guide and inspire my work. My unique decoupage and beaded jewelry is an expression of my passion for sumptuous materials and my desire to make the world a more beautiful place to live. I also am exploring making other crafty pieces such as mixed media ornaments and vignettes. I studied small metals and jewelry making at the…

Wednesday, July 29, 2020; 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with Cerbera Gallery owner Philipp Eirich, artists Susan Kiefer and Stephanie Lanter, also Katie Mabry van Dieren owner of the Strawberry Swing KC. SUSAN KIEFER-Making things makes me happy—from paper dolls and dolls clothes in childhood to costumes and scenery for my dance group as a young adult to artwork as the activity that sustains me. Drawing has been the starting point of every project, which led to a BFA and MFA in Printmaking from the California College of Arts in San Francisco, and a woodcut artist book in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Introduced to painting in a graduate seminar with John Zurier, I was seduced by the immediacy and directness of painting. I abandoned my training as a printmaker, and the relief prints and artist books that held my attention for the first several years of my art career. With…

Wednesday, July 22, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes musician/host-producer/writer Barry Lee. BARRY LEE, Musician/DJ/host/producer/writer-I started with KKFI in April of the station’s first year of broadcasting! I am the host of “Signal to Noise,” a free-form radio show that accepts and explores all genres of music. Each show is different. Sometimes, I even have a guest co-host. I like to put emphasis on artists and songs not often heard on the radio. I also do concert shows wherein the artists have an hour to play and talk and do what they want without interruption. I have had many national and local guests, including Townes Van Zandt, Kevin Ayers, the Iguanas, Tom Russell, Del McCoury, Rosie Flores, Ian Matthews, and many others. I have also had many local artists play live on the show. I have long believed in community radio. It is the purest form of radio-grassroots and locally based. Community radio is…

Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with CEO/founder Latino Arts Foundation Deanna Munoz, poet/activist Terry Sanders, and Fringe Festival Executive Director Cheryl Kimmi. DEANNA MUNOZ, CEO/President/Founder of Latino Arts Foundation has supported the arts all her life, herself wanting to be an artist, but due to events in her life she unfortunately was never able to fulfill her dream. Now, for the last 10+ years, she has been working hard and with no funding to create a no cost space for the arts and community engagement for our aspiring artists who otherwise would not be able to attend or afford such programming. Latino Arts Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to bring forth the fiercely authentic voice of the underrepresented artists through their diverse stories, cultures and beliefs creating an artist based space OF their community FOR their community. Latino Arts…

Wednesday, July 8, 2020, 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd chats with Toy/Miniature Curator of Collections Amy McKune, President/Co-found No Divide KC Stacy Busch, and Kansas Poet Laureate Huascar Medina. AMY McKUNE Curator of Collections, Toy and Miniature Museum- Bridging the Gender Divide: Toys that Build STEM Skills The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures (T/m) unveils a new exhibit Wednesday, July 15 to coincide with the museum’s public re-opening from the COVID-19 shutdown. Bridging the Gender Divide: Toys that Build STEM Skills offers a historical look at how toys helped children develop the skills that contributed to success in STEM-based careers, and how the advertising of these toys has changed over time to reflect cultural values. From chemistry to construction, toys have prepared generations of kids to pursue careers in STEM fields. Discover how these toys, once marketed primarily to boys, have evolved to…

Wednesday, June 24, 2020, 12noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd and John Todd KKFI DJ/producer/host of Under the Radar fill the hour with music and conversation. John Todd (The Radio God) celebrates his 8th year of Under the Radar on KKFI. John (Thompson) Todd, “I’ve been involved in the music scene in KC since I was a teenager eventually becoming a professional musician & DJ. I found my way to KKFI 90.1fm as a sound engineer with the Heartland Labor Forum and eventually a DJ.” John Todd has made it his personal mission to unearth Kansas City’s best musicians by giving them the airplay they deserve. On his program “Under the Radar” that airs every Sunday night, 8pm – 10pm, anything goes, from rock to country, folk to funk, there’s something here for all. Check out www.kkfi.org for information about Under the Radar plus past & present guest list. #artspeakradio #kkficommunityradio

Wednesday, June 17, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with artist/musician Robert Castillo and Gillian Helm CEO Literacy KC in the first half of the program. In the second half, musician/educator Diego Chi, and community activist/spoken word writer-performer Sheri "Purpose" Hall contribute original work in honor of Father's Day, Sunday June21. ROBERT CASTILLO is an upright and electric bassist, composer and arranger, visual artist, meditation instructor, and community organizer. This Kansas City native creates with the intent to imbue individuals with positivity so that they may be inspired to help construct a more beautiful world. After graduating from North Kansas City High School in 2010, Robert attended North Central College in Naperville IL, majoring in Jazz Studies and minoring in Environmental Studies. Shortly after, he moved to the West Coast where accepted a position with AmeriCorps as the K-8 Music…

Wednesday, June 10, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org ARTSPEAK RADIO is entering its' 8th year-if you tune in weekly, download posdcasts, listen online, if you learn about new and exciting opportunities happening in the creative community, enjoy listening to one of the many guests featured weekly on ARTSPEAK RADIO then call 888-931-0901 to pledge your support. Online pledges are simple, just go to www.kkfi.org and show us your support for YOUR community radio station. It's time for you to support this on air arts program that gives local artists, spoken word poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, arts educators, museums, arts organizations, and so many more the opportunity to discuss their art, chapbooks, events, openings, performances, innovations, and submissions for artistic opportunities. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS RADIO STATION AND ARTSPEAK RADIO NOW IN ITS' 8TH YEAR!!! Call 888-931-0901 and make your pledge. #artspeakradio…

Wednesday, June 3, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with James Martin KC Public Art Administrator, TJ Templeton The Bunker curator, and artist/photographer/queer trans disibility activist Kathyrne Grimm. JAMES MARTIN, Public Art Administrator, General Services Department, Facilities & Architecture Division, City of Kansas City, Missouri, develops public policy for the City Coordinates the Municipal Art Commission’s role in City public art and building projects. Martin holds a Master’s degree in arts administration, art, art history, architecture, landscape architecture, construction community and capital construction project coordination. Martin will discuss how the art selection process works and talk about projects that are currently ongoing and upcoming public art opportunities at KCI. By City Charter, the Art Commission’s responsibilities include the approval of works of art on, or extending over, any City…

Wednesday, May 27, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes award winning painter/artist Cristina Muñiz and filmaker/director Stephen Wallace Pruitt. CRISTINA MUÑIZ, native to San Antonio, went to Kansas City, Missouri in 2012 to finish her BFA at the Kansas City Art Institute. She was a recipient of the Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Residency program for 2014-2015, after which, became a resident artist with The Drugstore studios until returning to Texas last year. Her work has recently been acquired by the Nerman MOCA, for their permanent collection. Muñiz lives and works in San Antonio, Texas. "My work draws from narratives, whether personal recollections, or stories I’ve heard growing up from my parents, or from people I’ve never met. I am interested in all sorts of family history as a way to fill in the gaps in my own. I am interested in familial ownership of any kind, whether it’s land, home, objects,…

Wednesday May 20, 2020, noon-1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with Sarah Hyde-Schmiedeler, Francis Family Foundation Educator for the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Jenny Mendez, Director of Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery and multi-media artist Anson Thee Ornery. SARAH HYDE-SCHMIEDELER, Francis Family Foundation Educator, Family Programs & Events The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art -It’s time to stay home. Time to do everything we can, as individuals, to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is closed for now, and we hope you will visit us online to draw inspiration and courage from our works of art. We regret that all events, classes, workshops and tours are canceled, at least through mid-June. This includes the museum’s Passport to India festival and the largest fundraiser for the museum, ShuttleCork. It also includes the Juneteenth festival. Check the museum’s online calendar for details. During…

Wednesday May 13, 2020, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with Deanna Munoz founder of Latino Arts Foundation, singer/songwriter Shawn Stewart and Dana Knapp CEO/President ArtsKC. DEANNA MUNOZ-Latino Arts Foundation aka Latino Foundation for the Arts is nonprofit organization created to bring forth the fiercely authentic voice of the underrepresented artists through their diverse stories, cultures and beliefs creating an artist based space OF their community FOR their community. The Latino Arts Foundation is a safe space where we offer mentorship for children and adults whom have an interest in the arts. We are a safe, fun place where we strive for excellence in mentorship for all art genres. Our program is here for our community, to help them grow in what they are interested in, support the community in finding their voice, to ensure the community is seen and visible and to continue to help them reach all their…

Wednesday May 6, 2020, noon – 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd returns with infinite THANKS to Mark Manning for his diligence and commitment to keep ARTSPEAK RADIO on air along with his own program, MidDay Medley during this pandemic!! Listeners, staff, colleagues, community and the entire world are grateful for your superpowers!! ARTSPEAK RADIO invited four musicans/performers/writers and poets to contribute original work for today’s program, “Word To My Mother.” Inspired by Mother’s Day, contributors were asked to share a love letter, a memory, gratitude, or an observation as it relates to Mother and their definition of the term. Often Mother is defined as a woman in relation to her child or children, other definitions may include Mother Earth, mother of invention, Mother Teresa, individuals who identify theirself as Mother/Father, or Mother used as noun or adjective. Today we’ll hear from musician/singer/songwriters Heath…

Wednesday, April 29, 2020, noon-1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Co-producer/host Mark Manning talks with award winning poet/writer Julia Alvarez, Mason Andrew Kilpatrick; Marketing + Communications Manager Charlotte Street Foundation, Adina Duke; Associate Director of Public Engagement Department Head at Spencer Museum of Art University of Kansas, and Wolfe Brack; Operations Manager/Curator InterUrban ArtHouse. JULIA ALVAREZ- Born in New York City in 1950, Julia Alvarez's parents returned to their native country, Dominican Republic, shortly after her birth. Ten years later, the family was forced to flee to the United States because of her father’s involvement in a plot to overthrow the dictator, Trujillo. Alvarez has written novels (How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies, ¡Yo!, In the Name of Salomé, Saving the World, Afterlife), collections of poems (Homecoming, The Other Side/ El Otro Lado, The Woman I Kept to Myself),…

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Co-producer/host Mark Manning talks with director/writer/filmmaker Morgan Cooper, composer/performer Stacy Busch, and writer/community activist Miguel M. Morales. MIGUEL M. MORALES grew up in Texas working as a migrant/seasonal farmworker. He is a Lambda Literary Fellow and an alum of the Macondo Writers Workshop. Miguel also earned the Society of Professional Journalists's First Amendment Award. He is also a founding member of Brown Voices/Brown Pulse and of La Resistencia. His work appears in: * From Macho to Mariposa: New Gay Latino Fiction * Hibernation and Other Poems by Bear Bards * Imaniman: Poets Writing in the Anzaldúan Borderlands * Primera Página: Poetry from the Latino Heartland * Cuentos del Centro: Stories from the Latino Heartland * Desolate Country: We the Poets United Against Trump * If You Can Hear This: Poems in Protest of an American Inauguration * Only Light Can Do That: 100…

Wednesday, April 15, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Co-producer/host Mark Manning talks with artist/community activist Michael Vance Toombs, Ebony M. Johnson, and a surprise guest! MICHAEL VANCE TOOMBS is an accomplished painter, art activist, and founder and CEO of Storytellers Inc.- Artist Collective. Mr. Toombs is a community leader and champion for young people and working artists in the Greater Kansas City area. His work has involved thousands of young people, and over 30 years of service in connecting art and community. Michael began as a young student with Matthew Monks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. He furthered his study through classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and completed a business entrepreneurial course of study through Donnelly College, Kansas City, Kansas. For nearly a decade Michael worked in the corporate world for GEHA Insurance helping to create the company's customer service department, handling 3500 calls a…

‪Wednesday, April 8, 2020, noon -1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org‬ ‪Co-producer/host Mark Manning talks with Richard Blanco the 5th poet to read at a United States presidential inauguration and American poet, Flying Ketchup founder/poet Polly Alice McCann, and award-winning journalist Fally Afani. Richard Blanco’s mother, seven months pregnant, and the rest of the family arrived as exiles from Cuba to Madrid where he was born on February 15th, 1968. Forty-five days later, the family immigrated once more to New York City. Only a few weeks old, Blanco already belonged to three countries, a foreshadowing of the concerns of place and belonging that would shape his life and work. Eventually, the family settled in Miami, where he was raised and educated. Growing up among close-knit Cuban exiles instilled in him a strong sense of community, dignity, and identity that he’d carry into his adult life as a writer. Though possessed by a strong creative spirit since childhood,…

Wednesday, April 1, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Mark Manning talks with Tim Miller from Venice Beach, California, Amy Farrand from Italy, and Lisa Cordes from Midtown Kansas City. At 12:00 Mark talks with Tim Miller, internationally acclaimed performance artist and gay rights activist. Tim has performed in such venues as the Yale Repertory Theatre, the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He has sold out shows from London to DC to Australia to Los Angeles. He addresses issues of gender, immigration, homophobia, and censorship. As one of the “NEA Four,” who successfully sued the federal government for violating their First Amendment rights when their funding was rescinded in the early 1990s, Miller has always played an important role in defending queer artistic expression on stage. Tim Miller's autobiographical explorations into identity, politics, and art…

Wednesday, March 18, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Programs Director for the Kansas City Museum Paul Guiterrez, artist Anthony "AO" Oropeza, and KC Storytellers. PAUL GUITERREZ, Programs Director for The Kansas City Museum. The Kanas City Museum is implementing the following: Effective today, March 17, the Kansas City Museum at the Historic Garment District and the Historic Garment District Museum (800 and 801 Broadway locations) will be closed to the public through Saturday, April 4, 2020. Public programs, tours, events, and meetings will not be permitted until after May 15, 2020. We will work closely with our program partners to reschedule activities, and we will post new dates on social media and our website. The annual Derby Party hosted by the Kansas City Museum Foundation is rescheduled from Saturday, May 2, 2020 to Saturday, September 5, 2020. If you have questions about the Derby Party, please…

Wednesday March 11, 2020, noon - 1pm CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes artist Jane Booth, artist/Director Mattie Rhodes Gallery, Jenny Mendez, The Volland Store owner Patty Reece, and artist Tori Johnson. PATTY REECE, The Volland Store-24098 Volland Road, Alma, KS 785-499-3616 Hours of Operation | Saturdays and Sundays 12-5 pm Always open by appointment | call 785-499-3616 and leave a message. The Volland Store opened in 1913 in the little railroad community of Volland and quickly became the social and cultural center of the ranching community that surrounded it. Today the former general store has been re-purposed as an art gallery and event center and serves once more as a gathering place for the community, both near and far. Located in a scenic valley in the Flint Hills, the Store is an award-winning space with good art and friendly conversation. Join the artists, writers, scientists, and poets who enrich and enliven our…

Wednesday, March 4, 2020, noon - 1PM CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Director, Englewood Arts Michael Baxley, Executive Director, Englewood Arts Monte Short, President CEO-Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity, Christina Leakey, and artist Teresa Cosgrove to the program. Englewood Arts is a new and innovative organization focused on creating a diverse and sustainable community in harmony with the arts. Our ultimate goal is to provide much-needed, affordable and sustainable workspace, housing and culturally diverse, community-based arts programming. Vibrant with activity and creativity, the Englewood Arts District will showcase the visual arts, performing arts and culinary arts while providing enrichment opportunities for the local and regional community. Englewood Arts will become a distinct destination spot that will also complement the historic and revitalized Independence Square. Strengthening Our Community Through Arts In…