Belger Arts Center presents La Gruta/The Grotto: Joann Quiñones, opening Friday, September 3, at 2100 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64108. This exhibition is based on the concept of the grotto, an artificial or natural cavern used for both sanctuary and devotion.  Rich in iconography and symbolism, La Gruta/The Grotto holds figurative sculptures, including “relics,” that explore the intricacies of race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion.  The work in the exhibition is an invitation to contemplate narratives of the domestic, family, and womanhood and how they are complicated by a history of slavery, stolen labor, and racism, particularly in the U.S. and the Caribbean. The exhibition is on view through February 5, 2022.

Also on view through February 5, 2022, is a large-scale, textile triptych titled The Towers by British artist Alice Kettle.  The artist created the work in response to the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.  After the work was first shown in the U.S. during a 2009 Surface Design Conference in Kansas City, the artist gifted The Towers to the Belger Collection so that it would remain in the U.S.  We are honored to have received this special gift and to share it with visitors.   To learn more about Alice Kettle, please visit her website.  For information about Joann Quiñones’ exhibition, click below.