Hastings College and KANEKO are ready to welcome 28 students to the first class of Open Space. The summer art immersion program designed for future artists completing their junior year of high school runs Sunday, June 24 through Friday, June 29, with a public showing of the students’ work in the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center (JDAC) set for 10:00 a.m. to noon on Friday.
While on campus, students will work directly with Hastings College art professors and KANEKO staff in glass blowing, digital fabrication and physical computing, sculpture and ceramics.
Days will be filled with hands-on applied learning, as well as individual time to create in various world-class JDAC art studios.
Students initially met at KANEKO in Omaha on Monday, June 11. During this time, students had the opportunity to meet KANEKO staff and Hastings College professors, as well as to immerse themselves in the Omaha creative arts community. They took a trip to Hastings College 2001 alumna Jess Benjamin’s studio to hand construct a cactus pot, and then toured Jun Kaneko’s private studio space.
Following their time at Hastings College next week, students will return to KANEKO on July 9 for a wrap up celebration.
After a competitive process that included students submitting a portfolio of work, KANEKO and Hastings College faculty selected 28 students for the inaugural Open Space. Following such a strong interest this year, the groups plan to increase the number of spaces for 2019.
Students selected for the 2018 Open Space include:
- Jennifer Alonso, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Jesus Diaz Avalos, Omaha South High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Ava Bettger, Marian High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Niyah Flanagan, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Hallie Frazier, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Mikayla Gallagher, Bellevue East High School, Bellevue, Nebraska
- Allison Goetzinger, Burke High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Ashley Horan, Benson High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Madison Jagels, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Desiree Kempkes, Silverlake Public Schools, Roseland, Nebraska
- Su Klay, Benson High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Payton Lofdahl, Marian High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Cassidy Mahrt, Abraham Lincoln High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa
- Enrique Martinez, Grand Island High School, Grand Island, Nebraska
- Avery Mckennan, Fort Calhoun High School, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska
- Jackson McVea, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Maggie Meiers, Duchesne Academy, Omaha, Nebraska
- Stephanie Mlynarik, Fort Calhoun High School, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska
- Jacque Platt, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Jocelyn Polacek, Skutt Catholic High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Makayla Reavis, Millard West High School, Millard, Nebraska
- Ashley Straub, Marian High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Tayonna Thomas, Abraham Lincoln High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa
- Jocelyn Wahl, Silverlake Public Schools, Roseland, Nebraska
- Sydnie Waldron, Alliance High School, Alliance, Nebraska
- Anna Wilwerding, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Johnathan Witulski, Omaha North High School, Omaha, Nebraska
- Raven Young, Westside High School, Omaha, Nebraska
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
The Jackson Dinsdale Art Center is an architecturally innovative showplace for the arts and a superb teaching and learning environment for Hastings College students. The 25,000 sq. ft. facility opened in August 2016 and is the premier art center in the region and houses the best college glass studio in the country. The JDAC offers spacious studios, classrooms and gallery space.
KANEKO is a nonprofit arts and cultural organization dedicated to exploring and encouraging the creative process and how it impacts our lives. Established by internationally renowned sculptor Jun Kaneko and his wife, Ree, KANEKO was conceived of as “open space for your mind,” a place where thoughtful examination of others’ ideas through exhibitions and public programs leads us to new and exciting ideas of our own. For more information about KANEKO, visit thekaneko.org.
