Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes artists KE Griffin, Anna Marten, DeAnna Skedel, and gallerist/curator Lee Smalter. KAREN E. GRIFFIN (KE) Kansas City native is an award-winning visual, teaching, and performing artist creates vibrant abstract works explore themes of identity and urban landscapes. Influenced by her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit and formative experiences with her seventh-grade art teacher, art classes the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City and Hallmark Cards Inc. Griffin’s art reflects a unique perspective shaped by her Kansas City, Missouri and Marlin, Texas roots. She is a Certified National and International Storyteller due to life encounters regarding her grandmother picking cotton and her mother measuring cotton in the garment district in Kansas City. Karen E. Griffins artistic contributions to the Kansas City area have earned her significant recognition, including being named the Missouri Arts Council Honoree 2025 Individual Artist presenting the State of Missouri and the City of Kansas City. The Jackson County, Missouri, Office of the County Legislature further honored her with Proclamation Resolution NO. 21819. Artist-in-Residence, Englewood Arts Center 2023- 2025, Independence, Missouri. Her educational and historical collections, exhibited across the metro area and other states, were highlighted in the Examiner, Wichita, Kansas The Shout, Kansas City Studio Magazine, The Call Paper and The Kansas Ci Globe. In addition to her art, Griffin dedicates time to reading, enjoying conversations with her grandchildren, and supporting the homeless community. Karen E. Griffin (KE) creates striking two-dimensional portraits that aim to empower viewers to embrace their unique identities as well as African based abstractions depicting cultural and community narratives. She fuses high fashion with vibrant storytelling of African American heritage. Inspired by her connection to the diaspora, Karen uses African prints to meticulously render each image, capturing the intricate details of the fabric and the bold energy of the patterns. Her work celebrates the the rich tapestry of African American culture through the exploration of prints, patterns, and symbols. By incorporating these elements, she aims to create pieces that resonate deeply with the African American community and offer a connection to our ancestral heritage. “While we may never fully comprehend the lives of our ancestors, we carry their legacy within us through art, fashion, music and storytelling.” Her art serves as a visual expression of this enduring connection. See website for upcoming events  https://www.artbykegriffin.com Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ IG:artbykegriffin  ANNA MARTEN- After ten years as a production illustrator who hand painted signs and murals for a grocery store, I left to reimagine creative processes outside the context of corporate structure. The professional setting introduced me to a wide range of technical skills, from hand-lettering to woodworking, but it was also a world that penalized asking too many questions. My professional practice now reacquaints myself with permission to generate inquiry rather than sell something. As an avid daydreamer, my work tends to examine the boundary between memory, fantasy, and reality. I’ve been described as a “playful” creator, but we all learn early in life that play is the only way to grow. Are we not playing our way through new experiences even in adulthood? I want to reconcile fantasy with everyday. I want to remind adults that we’re in charge of allowing ourselves surprise and delight. Find Me Here... ● Open Studios at Bunker Center First Fridays 6pm ● PACE Magazine Publication August Issue 2025 anna.marten.91@gmail.com Instagram: @kc_muralist Bluesky: @kc-muralist Cara: @kcmuralist DEANNA SKEDEL - DeAnna M. Skedel https://www.instagram.com/deannaskedel/ LEE SMALTER, Curator/gallery founder/owner The Smalter Gallery located at 1802 W. 39th St. KCMO Our Community Vision The Smalter Gallery is a community space that fosters human connection through art. The gallery door opens to all, from casual visitors to avid collectors. A visit to our gallery is an experience of exploration and discovery, free of pretentiousness, pressure, or gatekeeping. Here you will find a welcoming and inclusive environment where art is accessible to patrons of all economic circumstances. Through vibrant discussion with fellow guests, fascinating cultural events, and the joy of falling in love with a new artist’s work, each visit to the Smalter Gallery is an opportunity to forge your own destiny via the power of artistic expression. Our Artistic Mission The Smalter Gallery aims to create a space in which our artists feel guided, valued, and cared for. We are a second home for both emerging and experienced artists, driven by a desire to support creators so they may realize their greatest artistic ambitions. Never imposing ourselves upon an artist’s creative vision, we will act as a safe and ever-present foundation upon which artists of all backgrounds can evolve and thrive. Simply put: The Smalter Gallery nurtures creativity and trusts artists. The Smalter Gallery 1802 W. 39th St., 816-200-2554, smalterart.com Currently on exhibit; Vespera - A Solo Exhibition by Brittany Noriega The Smalter Gallery is located at 1802 West 39th Street Kansas City, MO, 64111. From the artist: Vespera means “evening star” or “of the evening.” It is a threshold; when day exhales into night, shadows stretch long, and the air grows heavy with quiet. Resilience here isn’t loud; it is patient, watchful, and steady. For the past two years I’ve been studying thresholds, in my artwork, in my research, and my own life. What does it mean to step into darkness prepared instead of afraid? The drawings that emerged became guardians: figures that endure, quietly holding space. We all pass through seasons of transition, grief, and change. These moments aren’t ornamental; they are essential. Vespera reminds us that resilience often hums low in the marrow, where endings fold into beginnings, asking us simply to notice, to wait, to watch. The opening reception, including an opportunity to meet the artist, will be held at Smalter Gallery on November 7th from 5pm - 8pm. Lee Smalter, who grew up in Connecticut, felt compelled to own and operate an art gallery. She answered an advertisement for a space in Kansas City’s West 39th Street neighborhood next to Prospero’s Books. Extensive renovation in 2018-2019 led to the gallery’s debut before the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite citywide uncertainty and isolation at the time, the public embraced Smalter’s gallery, situated in the dense residential and small business community. Since inception, the gallery has served as a space dedicated to displaying work by emerging and established artists. By design, Smalter established a space that’s non-elitist and inviting for both artists and the public, especially passersby who may not be avid arts patrons. Contact Info: • Website: smalterart.com • Instagram: smalterart • Facebook: The Smalter Gallery Smalter Gallery hours Thursday, Friday, Saturday | 1pm - 7pm Tuesday & Wednesday | By Appointment Only Sunday & Monday | Closed