Artist Talk
Saturday, February 5, 2022 | 3 – 5 pm
Enjoy art, poetry, and music
and meet artist Ada Koch and Rosily Temple from KC Mothers in Charge.
Artist Talk begins at 4 pm.
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Ada Koch’s preoccupation with war began with her childhood in Oak Ridge, TN where both parents worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories, a production site for the Manhattan Project where researchers developed the atomic bomb. She was persistently reminded of WAR: the Cold War, the Vietnam War, anti-war songs, local bomb shelters, and bomb drills in school. Now, decades later, Ada revisits anti-war protest songs from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s in her quest to understand the repetition of violent cycles. Sadly, the songs of the past are currently relevant in the context of local and international violence.
Collectively, the pieces in this show touch on causes of war (power, fear, confusion, misinformation) which lead to violence, hate, and death. Yet Ada promotes a REMIX, taking what we have learned from a violent history and hoping for a more positive outcome with an emphasis on love and individuals.
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A Kansas City artist and poet hope to inspire change with exhibition promoting love, instead of war
Artist Ada Koch, right, is joined at her new exhibition by poet Glenn North, center, and activist Rosilyn Temple. The three have collaborated over the last decade to use lessons from past wars to emphasize the need for love.
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Artist Ada Koch takes inspiration from anti-war protest songs from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s in an exhibition in the Crossroads Arts District.
In the 1970 protest song, Edwin Starr asked the question: “War … what is it good for?”
It’s a question artist Ada Koch has grappled with since childhood and continues to explore in an exhibition at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center.
There are nearly a dozen multimedia works, all inspired by anti-war protest songs from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, including artists from Bob Dylan to Iron Maiden.
“So the title of the show is ‘Remix: Love Over War,’” said Koch. “And the subtitle is ‘Changing the Narrative,’ which is an important part of our message.”
Koch grew up in Tennessee, where her parents worked at a production site for the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb.
“So I was indeed surrounded by this idea of the bomb,” she said, “and war and the Vietnam War and the Cold War.” .…
