What is First Friday, you might ask? First Friday is one of Kansas City’s most dynamic and popular events, where thousands of residents and visitors fill the Crossroads Arts District to enjoy artwork and products created by local Kansas City artists. We will be having live music performed by Jay Melody & Co, many local vendors: Teddy Bear Bandana Co, Self-Empowerment Every Day (SEED), Charcuterie Boards, KC Handmade Goods, Magical Rainbow Sloth Creations, The Short Stop Shop, Virgil’s Plant Shop, N.R.D. Designs, and Purchase with a Purpose-Have Hope. We will also have drink specials at the Jim Leedy Bar.

Exhibition Statement

The body of work before you is an exploration of a primordial theme: encountering the new and unknown. By creating an eerie landscape woven together with sound design, we draw the viewer in as they are totally enveloped by the ever-evolving soundscape. The strange pinpricks of light that dot the various works guide the viewers along their journey.

Not everything the viewer encounters is completely alien: nature blends with outdated technology in a relationship that cannot clearly be defined as symbiotic or parasitic. A coyote snarls, hair raised at an encounter with some new creature. A tree, wrapped in old wires, bears odd black fruit. An abandoned tent stands as a remnant of human life. But even in these glimpses of the familiar, the unknown lurks behind every corner, changing just a little bit every time you look away.

This work speaks to our fear of losing control. Our rapidly changing technology and constant consumerism continue unabated, altering our environment in ways both obvious and unfathomable. What will happen to us when we no longer recognize the ecosystem from which we came?

Artist Bios

Cameron DuPratte

Cameron DuPratte is a visual artist and sound engineer based in Lawrence, KS. His fascination with the discarded and forgotten often leads him to fill his garage with far too many useless objects. This practice informs his artistic work, which explores the layers of detritus in our lives, both physical and spiritual.

Cameron graduated from The University of Kansas in 2016 with a Bachelors in Visual Art. Since then, he has shown at multiple galleries across the Kansas City and Lawrence areas, including showings at the KU Union Gallery in Lawrence and the Four Chapters gallery in Kansas City. Since graduating, he has developed his passion for sound and music into a career as an audio engineer, working on musical projects for himself and other artists.

You can follow Cameron’s visual work on his Instagram page @camerondupratte and his sound explorations on @brotherspaceber.

Chesney Buck

Lawrence-based artist and taxidermist Chesney Buck began her practice in 2015 as an intern with VanGo Arts. There, she was introduced to her teachers and mentors: the Kansas taxidermy master, Marvin Schweda, and the University of Kansas Natural History Museum.

While working with the K.U. Natural History Museum, Chesney worked on a team of researchers who developed new and improved techniques for photographing wet mounted vertebrate specimens. Their findings were published in 2018 in the peer-reviewed journal, Copeia, and featured in National Geographic in March of 2021.

Chesney continues to utilize both experimental and traditional taxidermy techniques to breathe life into creatures of her imagination. Drawing heavily from the momento mori tradition, she strives to transform what would otherwise be wasted remains into treasured relics.

To watch works in progress, view works for sale, and to keep updated on future events, please follow Chesney on Instagram @chez_babba

Exhibition Statement

The body of work before you is an exploration of a primordial theme: encountering the new and unknown. By creating an eerie landscape woven together with sound design, we draw the viewer in as they are totally enveloped by the ever-evolving soundscape. The strange pinpricks of light that dot the various works guide the viewers along their journey.

Not everything the viewer encounters is completely alien: nature blends with outdated technology in a relationship that cannot clearly be defined as symbiotic or parasitic. A coyote snarls, hair raised at an encounter with some new creature. A tree, wrapped in old wires, bears odd black fruit. An abandoned tent stands as a remnant of human life. But even in these glimpses of the familiar, the unknown lurks behind every corner, changing just a little bit every time you look away.

This work speaks to our fear of losing control. Our rapidly changing technology and constant consumerism continue unabated, altering our environment in ways both obvious and unfathomable. What will happen to us when we no longer recognize the ecosystem from which we came?

Artist Bios

Cameron DuPratte

Cameron DuPratte is a visual artist and sound engineer based in Lawrence, KS. His fascination with the discarded and forgotten often leads him to fill his garage with far too many useless objects. This practice informs his artistic work, which explores the layers of detritus in our lives, both physical and spiritual.

Cameron graduated from The University of Kansas in 2016 with a Bachelors in Visual Art. Since then, he has shown at multiple galleries across the Kansas City and Lawrence areas, including showings at the KU Union Gallery in Lawrence and the Four Chapters gallery in Kansas City. Since graduating, he has developed his passion for sound and music into a career as an audio engineer, working on musical projects for himself and other artists.

You can follow Cameron’s visual work on his Instagram page @camerondupratte and his sound explorations on @brotherspaceber.

Chesney Buck

Lawrence-based artist and taxidermist Chesney Buck began her practice in 2015 as an intern with VanGo Arts. There, she was introduced to her teachers and mentors: the Kansas taxidermy master, Marvin Schweda, and the University of Kansas Natural History Museum.

While working with the K.U. Natural History Museum, Chesney worked on a team of researchers who developed new and improved techniques for photographing wet mounted vertebrate specimens. Their findings were published in 2018 in the peer-reviewed journal, Copeia, and featured in National Geographic in March of 2021.

Chesney continues to utilize both experimental and traditional taxidermy techniques to breathe life into creatures of her imagination. Drawing heavily from the momento mori tradition, she strives to transform what would otherwise be wasted remains into treasured relics.

To watch works in progress, view works for sale, and to keep updated on future events, please follow Chesney on Instagram @chez_babba

I paint landscapes shaped by internal and external conditions I experience. I question how to make sense of and find closure in a world constantly evolving, a world where everyone and everything continuously grows. My painting process mimics my body’s movement as I create spaces of wonder and apprehension. Paint becomes my vehicle for contemplating change. I hope to remember that the act of transformation can be an overwhelming, terrifying, and surprisingly beautiful process.

What can grow does not always bloom, and what falls apart does not remain in pieces.

Artist Statement

I explore internal landscapes constructed from my environment, the human body, memories, and witnessing change through growth and destruction. Through my paintings and drawings, I question how to handle change when no one can ever fully predict or prepare for what the future holds. I often feel lost in the transition of change and the overwhelming, terrifying, and surprisingly beautiful spaces that can emerge from both malignant and benevolent growth. My process starts with painting from observation. I study nature, self-portraits, and the human figure collecting information like color palettes, textures, and forms that later merge into unknown internal landscapes. Working in this manner allows for the exploration of consciousness and documents my reactions to the constantly changing world we live in.

Artist Bio

Hannah Lindo is an oil painter from Garden City, Kansas who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Fort Hays State University in 2017 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 2022. Lindo’s work is inspired by the act of looking and discovery, her paintings are observations from nature and the human body, and encourage the viewer to question their own intrigue when looking.

I paint landscapes shaped by internal and external conditions I experience. I question how to make sense of and find closure in a world constantly evolving, a world where everyone and everything continuously grows. My painting process mimics my body’s movement as I create spaces of wonder and apprehension. Paint becomes my vehicle for contemplating change. I hope to remember that the act of transformation can be an overwhelming, terrifying, and surprisingly beautiful process.

What can grow does not always bloom, and what falls apart does not remain in pieces.

Artist Statement

I explore internal landscapes constructed from my environment, the human body, memories, and witnessing change through growth and destruction. Through my paintings and drawings, I question how to handle change when no one can ever fully predict or prepare for what the future holds. I often feel lost in the transition of change and the overwhelming, terrifying, and surprisingly beautiful spaces that can emerge from both malignant and benevolent growth. My process starts with painting from observation. I study nature, self-portraits, and the human figure collecting information like color palettes, textures, and forms that later merge into unknown internal landscapes. Working in this manner allows for the exploration of consciousness and documents my reactions to the constantly changing world we live in.

Artist Bio

Hannah Lindo is an oil painter from Garden City, Kansas who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Fort Hays State University in 2017 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kansas in 2022. Lindo’s work is inspired by the act of looking and discovery, her paintings are observations from nature and the human body, and encourage the viewer to question their own intrigue when looking.