Artwork by three Wichita teachers selected for national exhibition at Mark Arts
Emily Kirby’s classroom cred among her young art students has gone way up, ever since they found out she had a painting selected for a highly competitive art exhibition.
Artworks by Kirby, an art teacher at Wichita’s Seltzer Elementary School, and two other USD 259 teachers are among the more than 80 pieces selected from a record 972 submissions to Mark Arts’ Abstract National Exhibition, which is on view in the arts education center’s main gallery through March 23.
It’s the first time that three current art teachers from Wichita Public Schools have been selected to be part of this competition, which has been held every other year since 2016, according to Katy Dorrah, the Mark Arts CEO.
“It shows the quality of instruction we have for students in our community,” Dorrah said, noting that the acceptance rate for this exhibition was only about 9%. About 20 of the selected pieces were created by artists in the greater Wichita area.
Along with Kirby’s portraiture “Daydream,” paintings by Taylor McQueary, a new art teacher at West High School, and Meredith Radke-Gannon, an art teacher and department chair at Northeast Magnet High School, can also be found in the biennial exhibition, which features artworks in various mediums ranging from sculptures to paintings to metalwork.
While both McQueary and Radke-Gannon have had other works selected in juried competitions, it was Kirby’s first venture into entering work in a competition.
Her selection was acknowledged enthusiastically by her art students, who mistakenly thought her piece is in a museum.
In the days following the news of her being in the exhibition, students would hold up their art creations asking, “What about this? Do you think I can be in a museum too?”
Kirby — who has been honing her painting skills in a Mark Arts acrylic class taught by Doug Billings — is pretty excited herself at being part of the exhibition.
“It’s a confidence booster when your works get selected,” said Kirby.
The exhibition pieces by the three teachers all reflect combinations in different ways.
For her 11-by-14-inch “Daydream” painting, Kirby explored mixing her ability to create realistic portraits with more abstract concepts of shadows and nature.
McQueary’s 5-by-4-foot “Balance” painting blends a Georgia O’Keeffe-influenced floral background with hard lines and patterns.
In the 12-by-16-inch painting “Hay Bales & Crop Circles,” Radke-Gannon drew inspiration from her Cherokee and German heritage and ancestral links to the land.
‘I want to pay homage to both parts of me when I’m creating art,” Radke-Gannon said. “I think art is exploring who you are, and I really feel like I’m on a pathway — I understand myself more the more I paint and create.”
McQueary and Radke-Gannon have been active for some time in the local art scene before earning spots in this year’s Abstract National.
McQueary, who taught at two other Kansas public school districts before joining USD 259, created her art business, TayFive Studios, five years ago and has participated in gallery shows at Harvester Arts.
She was selected for the 2022 Abstract National as well; the piece she submitted was purchased and is now displayed in Woolsey Hall, the new business school building on the Wichita State campus.
Her 2024 Abstract National piece has also been sold, purchased by Mike Michaelis, the Emprise Bank official who has created the well-regarded Art of Emprise private collection.
Since 2013, Radke-Gannon has appeared in at least one or more exhibitions or gallery shows annually. Last year, she participated in the Symphony in the Flint Hills juried art show and in an indigenous artists exhibition at the Wichita Art Museum.
Over the past decade, she’s painted nine of the 10-foot fiberglass Keeper of the Plains statues as part of Wichita’s public art project Keepers on Parade.
While she’s entered other juried competitions, this was Radke-Gannon’s first time entering Mark Arts’ Abstract National Exhibition, as she followed her own advice for artists.
“For artists, it’s good to keep reaching toward putting yourself out there. A lot of people are afraid of what will happen but whether you get accepted or rejected, trying new things will keep you going as an artist.”
Admission to the Abstract National Exhibition is free. Gallery hours at Mark Arts are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. All exhibition artwork is available for purchase either in person or online at markartsks.myshopify.com.
Abstract National Exhibition at Mark Arts
Where: Mark Arts, 1307 N. Rock Road
When: through March 23; gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays.
Admission: free
More info: 316-634-2787 or markartsks.com
