The Emporia Arts Center (EAC) provides a cultural hub for individuals living in Emporia and the surrounding counties. Established in 1976, EAC allows children and adults to exercise their creativity, connect with friends, family and community and learn something new.

In 2011, EAC completed and moved into our 15,000 square foot arts center, the culmination of a four year, $3.1 million capital campaign. Our new facility has opened doors for new programs and collaborations that we never dreamed possible in the old space.

Your support through our Annual Fund Drive benefits our community and the people living in our area by broadening our understanding of the human experience. EAC provides a common ground for collaboration, communication and creation of the arts in their many forms.

Your 2013-2014 Annual Fund Drive gift supports our award winning facility and our recognized programming only made possible by the generosity and involvement of people like you.

Our missiOn

The mission of the Emporia

Arts Center is: “To Educate,

to Advocate and to Celebrate”

the arts in Emporia and

our surrounding counties

(Lyon, Chase, Morris, Coffey,

Greenwood, Osage and

Wabaunsee). EAC focuses

our mission on three major

initiatives:

The Art Education Project,

The Community Initiative and

The Performing Arts Series.

Advancing the Arts2013-2014 AnnuAL Fund drIvE

Art Education ProjectFrom melted crayon paintings to wheel-thrown ceramics, students of EAC art classes know how to create something beautiful. Specialized classes are lead by trained professionals, offered in our three multi-purpose classrooms: The reeble Classroom, Harry’s Classroom and Paula’s Classroom as well as our Humphreys Clay Studio. Our “Ladies night Out” events pair art with friends while creating a whole bunch of fun.

Since opening the new facility, EAC has served more than 13,000 children with our arts education programming and community initiative, including our ArtMobile program. The Artmobile outreach activities bring art education to community events such as the Brown Bag concert series, Breakfast with Santa, Cinco de Mayo, Americus days, Hartford Harvest days, Madison days, downhome Olpe days and Zoo Edventure days.

Our generous scholarship program allows EAC to keep our classes open and available to all, expanding the reach of the arts to those in need.

The Community InitiativeThe Community Initiative improves our everyday life. Our wide range of activities and quality facilities create opportunities for artists, both local and regional, to present their work to more than 5,000 visitors annually. EAC annual

fund donors receive exclusive invites to our Trusler Gallery artist receptions, pre and post performance parties and are the first

to hear about EAC special events.

EAC’s davis Theatre with its unique seating options and stage versatility provides a perfect rehearsal and performance space for other area arts organizations. This year, EAC had the opportunity to partner with ESu’s Sakura Choir, Community Theatre of

Emporia, Emporia High School drama students’ dinner theatre and the Kansas

Children’s Service League among others.

The Arts Center is a resource for business in Emporia, with a variety of quality rental spaces available; we have the opportunity to collaborate with companies and organizations statewide.

The Community Initiative represents EAC’s work to promote and advance artists, our arts community and the “business of art.” Whether it’s sold in our year-round “don & Mary Glaser Art & Gift Shop” or featured in the “Trusler Gallery,” EAC art sales benefit artists and the arts in our community.

2013 – 2014 Trusler Gallery Exhibits

Casey Wilson July 1, 2013 – August 5, 2013

Terry Maxwell August 12, 2013 – September 28, 2013

A Welsh Farmstead: The Story of the Howe Family from 1858 October 1, 2013 – October 31, 2013

All Vets Tribute Exhibit november 5, 2013 – november 15, 2013

Gallery Closed november 16, 2013 – november 22, 2013

“Art Gifts” Holiday Boutique november 23, 2013 – January 4, 2014

Check emporiaksarts.org for a complete gallery schedule.

All events and performances are subject to change. Please contact EAC to verify programming.

Andy mcKee

Friday, January 17, 2014; Albert Taylor Hall, ESU; 7:30 p.m.

Andy McKee’s acoustic guitar can approximate the polyrhythmic interplay of a percussion

ensemble, the harmonic sweep of a string section, the dazzling runs of a bluegrass doghouse bass-and-banjo duo, and virtually anything else his pastoral compositions and tasteful covers require. In nine years and five records he’s written a collection of work that

globally inspires and intrigues music fans.

Most fans first exposure to Andy has been through his YouTube presence; his 100 million

cumulative YouTube views puts him in the top three most viewed subjects on the site.

rave On! The Buddy Holly Experience

Friday, November 29, 2013;Emporia Granada Theatre; 7:30 p.m.

Join us for an electrifying, high-energy, rock n’ roll extravaganza featuring America’s Premiere Buddy Holly interpreter, Billy McGuigan, who is a dead-ringer for the legendary rocker. Experience the thrills of a Buddy Holly concert re-imagined with such hits as “Peggy Sue,” “raining in My Heart,” “It’s So Easy,” “That’ll Be the day,” “True Love Ways,” “Oh Boy” and of course, “rave On.”

Performing Arts SeriesBased on your Annual Fund donor level, you have the option to receive performing arts series tickets. EAC has a proven track record of bringing world class performing arts to our region for more than 37 years.

Ladysmith Black mambazo

Sunday, February 16, 2014; Albert Taylor Hall, ESU; 7:00 p.m.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo – led by founder and leader Joseph Shabalala – brings over fifty years of joyous and uplifting music that marries the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music.

Paul Simon visited South Africa and incorporated Black Mambazo’s rich

harmonies into his Graceland album – a landmark 1986 recording

that was considered seminal in introducing world music to mainstream audiences. A year later, Simon produced Black Mambazo’s first U.S. release, Shaka Zulu, which won a

Grammy Award in 1988. Since then, the group has been awarded

two more Grammy Awards and has been nominated a total of 15 times

including a nomination for their most recent Cd release, Songs From A Zulu Farm.

Their film work includes an appearance in Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker video and Spike Lee’s do It A Cappella. They’ve provided soundtrack material for disney’s The Lion King, Part II as well as Eddie Murphy’s Coming To America, Marlon Brando’s A dry White Season, Sean Connery’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, James Earl Jones’ Cry The Beloved Country and Clint Eaastwood’s Invictus. A film documentary titled On Tip Toe: Gentle Steps to Freedom, the story of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, was nominated for an Academy Award.

Andy mcKee

Friday, January 17, 2014; Albert Taylor Hall, ESU; 7:30 p.m.

Andy McKee’s acoustic guitar can approximate the polyrhythmic interplay of a percussion

ensemble, the harmonic sweep of a string section, the dazzling runs of a bluegrass doghouse bass-and-banjo duo, and virtually anything else his pastoral compositions and tasteful covers require. In nine years and five records he’s written a collection of work that

globally inspires and intrigues music fans.

Most fans first exposure to Andy has been through his YouTube presence; his 100 million

cumulative YouTube views puts him in the top three most viewed subjects on the site.

Turtle island Quartet

Saturday, March 8, 2014; Emporia Granada Theatre; 7:30 p.m.

Through their exploration of jazz, classical, American vernacular and world music styles, the two time Grammy award winning Turtle Island Quartet has taken its audiences on a journey through numerous musical genres and places including the American landscape, Latin America, Europe and India.

On their most recent recordings, Turtle Island has focused on the music of two pioneering giants from different musical

worlds, John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix. Have You Ever Been…features works from both recordings as well as other compositions

reflective of and inspired by Coltrane and Hendrix including selected movements from TIQ founder david Balakrishnan’s new

composition “Tree of Life.”

Cashore marionettes

Sunday, April 6, 2014; Albert Taylor Hall, ESU; 3:00 p.m.

THE CASHOrE MArIOnETTES are unmatched in artistry, grace and refinement of movement. The internationally acclaimed Cashore Marionettes redefine the art of puppetry.

Joseph Cashore has received numerous awards for his artistry including a Pew Fellowship for Performance Art, based upon his artistic accomplishment; a

Henson Foundation Grant, an award intended to help promote puppetry to adult audiences; and a Citation of Excellence from the unIMAuSA, the highest honor an

American puppeteer can receive. The Cashore Marionettes are so well conceived and projected, the movement so convincing, the illusion so powerful, that the result is a compelling and unforgettable theatrical experience.

missoula Children’s Theatre

(Summer 2014) Exact dates and Title to be announced

Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT), the nation’s largest touring children’s theatre, has been touring extensively for more than 40 years now. This year alone, over 65,000 kids will be cast in one of many MCT International Tour shows. A tour team arrives in a given town with a set, lights, costumes, props and make-up, everything it takes to put on a play...except the cast. The team holds an open audition and casts 50-60 local students to perform in the production. The show is rehearsed throughout the week and a public performance presented.

Performing Arts Series

educate. advocate. celebrate.815 Commerical St | Emporia, KS 66801 | 620-343-6473 | emporiaksarts.org | info@emporiaksarts.org