Textural. Aethereal. Vibrant. Smoky.

Evan Tedlock, Assistant Professor of Animation at the Kansas City Art Institute, uses these words to describe his contribution to a series of upcoming shows at the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium.

In honor of its 25th Anniversary, the venue is hosting a menagerie of non-traditional acts curated by Digital Dreams KC, taking over the space better known for its educational space programming and laser concerts.

For example, Tedlock is creating and providing visuals for Confluence, the headline act in the series. Working with acclaimed musician Calvin Arsenia, the pair will set the ambience (and vice versa) for Voler Thieves of Flight - edgy and experimental aerial dancers and acrobats performing under the 60-foot dome theater.

"Calvin and I are good friends. With him, it's always an interesting and new project. I enjoy working outside of traditional formats and the opportunity to use a professionally run planetarium space really allows for a unique opportunity," Tedlock says.

He highlights his collaboration with Arsenia - saying they have spent so much time talking about who they are as artists that their instincts have aligned.

Calvin Arsenia During Past Performance

Voted KC’s Best Musician six years in a row in The Pitch, Arsenia’s angelic stylings on voice and harp create rare harmonies and arrangements that look past the boundaries of his traditional gospel and classical upbringing, creating elaborate and ceremonious sensory concert experiences that merge jazz and electronic influences.

"He writes and performs his own music. But he also does pop music arrangements and covers mixed with his own music as well. He's very much an artist, very performative. His shows are often much more than just music. He thinks about sets, costumes, and experience," Tedlock says.

As for Tedlock's input, he says he is building his content from the ground up. He describes himself as an expanded cinema animation. For this project, he's focusing on dreamlike imagery emphasizing the sounds and textures in Calvin's music with some brief but intense moments.

And Tedlock's planetarium connection has added benefits for KCAI students.

"Next semester I’m offering an elective where students will be making dome content. And that happened after meeting and having conversations with planetarium coordinators about KCAI," Tedlock says.

Confluence Ticketing Information

Tedlock is not the only KCAI faculty member participating in performances.

Cyan Meeks, Associate Professor and Chair of Filmmaking and Photography at KCAI, will team with DJ Stevie Cruz for Cinemaphonic- 1999. The acclaimed multi-media audiovisual performance duo's tagline is "A sonic voyage through the screen of the mind."

Cinemaphonic has performed in more than 70 exhibitions and events to audiences throughout the Midwest since 2012. Their collaboration seeks to be an exploration of re-contextualizing visual and auditory nostalgia into something that speaks of cultural values, sometimes profound, at times facetious- even beautiful, according to the description of the planetarium's show.

Cinemaphonic- 1999 Ticketing Information