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WEDNESDAY EDITION
Siuslaw News
Coast Life
Making a scene
in Florence
❘ MAY 13, 2015 ❘
SECTION B
SENIOR NEWS
CALENDAR
INSIDE — 6B
Kenneth B Gallery expands to
KB Gallery on Maple Street
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
KB Gallery on Maple Street opened for its first event on May 2 with the monthly Spoken Word Poetry Contest.
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
K
enneth B Gallery opened on First
Street just more than a year ago.
Now, owner SK Lindsey is opening a
new gallery space with the name KB Gallery
in the heart of Old Town.
“We talk a lot about wanting to get an arts
district in town. What that’s going to require
is a deep commitment by property owners,
the community and artists. What you need is a
synergy of vibrant artists who are wanting
to break boundaries — because you’ll never
establish a ‘scene’ if you don’t have a
newer vision for people to come see,” said
Lindsey.
Lindsey is one of the new voices instrumen-
tal to the gallery movement in Florence.
She has a fine arts degree and specializes in
acrylic painting, printmaking and drawing, but
it was only after an early retirement from
working with the California legislature
and trading stocks that her dream of owning
a gallery was realized.
She named Kenneth B
Gallery after her stepfather,
who has supported her in the
arts.
“He’s very special to me,
so I chose his name for the
gallery,” she said.
As for choosing the second
location on Maple Street,
Lindsey said that the
landowners made that possi-
ble.
“Without that, this would
never have happened,” she
said.
Kenneth B Gallery, at 1458
First St., will continue to
function as a gallery
and event space, featuring Two-dimensional artists like Curt R. Peters are on display.
two live shows this weekend.
began
at
Kenneth
B,
Soul Vibrator will play Friday, May 15, at that
7:30 p.m. and Tommy Hogan will play like the Spoken Word Poetry Contest on
the first Friday of every month and Radio
Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m.
A Taste of Hawaii begins Theater.
“This place is designed to connect both to
serving food one hour before
tourists and the local community market. I’m
both events.
“Kenneth B will be a place representing community artists and a space for
for people to kick up their people to come in and create art,” she said. “I
heels and dance,” she said. can’t do anything without that. I really need
“There is space to listen to the that vibrancy of people creating art.”
Lindsey said it will be an “arena for the tal-
event, eat excellent food from
A Taste of Hawaii and drink in ents” of local artists like Michael Woods,
the beer garden area,” Lindsey Stuart Henderson, Terri Warpinski and more.
Artists will get the chance to use the space
said.
Other upcoming groups to create art while guests view the gallery.
Lindsey personally hopes to create more art
will be Soul Seed, George
Mann and Petunia and the as well.
“I could literally sit here and manage the
Vipers.
The new space at KB space and be painting with Michael Woods.
Gallery will hold local art and That’s not bad — it would be totally cool. And
feature artist demonstrations, he would have a lot to teach me,” she said.
The new versatile space is all part of a con-
workshops, poetry readings,
instrumental jam sessions, versation to create a unique district that
print classes and events encourages artists and draws people to the
area.
“If Florence really wants to establish a des-
SK Lindsey hopes to incor-
tination,
it needs to bring in some very creative
porate more three-dimen-
ideas
that
people will talk about,” Lindsey
sional and figural art.
said.
“Other-wise,
it’s not much of a conversa-
Here, Gigi Lassan’s unique
tion.”
handcrafted jewelry is on
She knows Kenneth B and KB galleries are
display.
Gallery owner SK Lindsey
only part of the developing art movement.
Florence Regional Arts Alliance and
Backstreet Gallery both feature talented artists
and useful spaces.
“Together, my two buildings can serve as an
impetus for supporting local artists to come in
and create, and have spaces for them to use.
I’d like to open the doors to all workshops and
work with FRAA to shore up resources,” she
said.
Now, with the addition of a Public Arts
Committee in the City of Florence, the public’s
eyes are more open to the importance of
adding to the natural beauty of the area. With
the awareness, Lindsey hopes for more hands-
on support.
“We need the community support because
it’s such a financial burden for artists to pro-
duce these things. The framing alone can be
$100 a piece,” she said.
With summer traffic through the new loca-
tion and her plans to have painting going on
almost every day, Linsey is hopeful that it will
help artists get exposure.
“As an artist, it feels so much more ener-
gized when you’re working together with oth-
ers and you’re being validated by the public.
It’s really important,” she said.
Through it all, she wants to be part of mak-
ing a dynamic space full of vibrant art and tal-
ented people.
She is looking for people willing to help in
the gallery and be part of events; for example,
painters setting up an easel for a day,
musicians bringing in their instruments or peo-
ple creating mono prints on her etching
press.
For more information, contact SK Lindsey
at 541-999-5875 and at sk@KennethB
Gallery.com.
To learn more about upcoming events at
Kenneth B Gallery and KB Gallery, go to
www.kennethbgallery.com.
What can we do?
Child Abuse Prevention Month ends with 90by30 conference
Seven members of the West
Lane County 90by30 Initiative
Team participated in the third
annual 90by30 Conference in
Eugene on April 25.
The day-long conference
featured speakers, presenta-
tions and live dramatizations
followed by discussions and
examinations of factors that
help break the child abuse
cycle.
West Lane County team co-
leader Jesika Kaczenski attend-
ed, along with Suzanne Mann-
Heintz, Amy Tanikawa, April
Dumas,
Teresa
LaNasa,
Maggie Oldershaw, Constance
Castaneda
and
Becky
Goehring.
Rose Wilde, outreach coordi-
nator for the 90by30 Initiative,
was also in attendance. More
than 200 people from through-
out Lane County participated in
the event.
The Lane County 90by30
Initiative’s goal is to reduce
child abuse and neglect 90 per-
cent by the year 2030. It is the
first initiative of its kind in the
United States.
“Some think this is a lofty
goal,” said Phyllis Barkhurst,
director of 90by30 and co-
founder, with Jeff Todahl, of
the University of Oregon
Center for the Prevention of
Abuse and Neglect. “We think
it’s an amazing goal and with
support from residents of Lane
County we think we can get
there. And even if we reduce by
80 percent, or 70 or 50 percent,
what a difference that will
make for our children.”
West Lane team members
were enthused and energized
by the conference, according to
Kaczenski.
“There’s nothing more
empowering than when you
have over 200 people in the
same room with the same mis-
sion,” she said. “Great things
can happen.”
A highlight of the conference
was the presentation by a three-
member team from Australia,
representing National Assoc-
iation for Prevention of Child
Abuse and Neglect.
The team shared experiences
COURTESY PHOTO
West Lane 90by30 co-chair Jesika Kaczenski, Teresa LaNasa, Becky Goehring, April
Dumas and Suzanne Mann-Heintz and other area representatives attended an April 25
conference on the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
and strategies used to prevent
child abuse and neglect
throughout Australia.
“The
presenters
from
Australia demonstrated how to
create a “child friendly” com-
munity ... focused on listening
to children, respecting children
and modeling appropriate
behaviors,” said Tanikawa.
See
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