This conversation, moderated by Missouri Prairie Foundation Executive Director Carol Davit features three Midwest artists: Julie Farstad (Kansas City, MO), Erin Weirsma (Manhattan, KS), and Keli Mashburn (Fairfax, OK), whose creative practices focus upon the rich and nuanced significance the prairie has in our understanding of time, self, and place.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this webinar to present and share ideas about art, ecology, and sense of place with the other panelists,” said artist Julie Farstad, who brought the panelists together for this event. “I feel deeply about the natural world around me, and as an artist whose work is informed by prairie and native plants, I am very much looking forward to this special event.”

The webinar, to be held via Zoom, will be 45 minutes including a question and answer session. The webinar will be recorded, and sent to all registrants as well as posted to the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s YouTube channel.

Cost: Free. Register here.

About the panelists: Keli Mashburn is a photographer and filmmaker living and working at the edge of the Tallgrass Prairie on the Osage Reservation of northeastern Oklahoma. Julie Farstad is an artist, professor and co-chair of the Painting Department at the Kansas City Art Institute, who explores the role of plants and the idea of cultivation in mixed media studio artwork and community based painting projects. Erin Weirsma is an artist and professor at Kansas State University. Weirsma’s new and ongoing works draw from Konza Prairie, becoming both the medium and subject matter.

About the Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Kansas City Art Institute:

The Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) is a 55-year-old conservation organization and nationally accredited land trust. Its mission is to protect and restore prairie and other native grasslands through acquisition, management, education, and research. MPF also runs the 21-year-old Grow Native! program (www.grownative.org) and administers the Missouri Invasive Plant Council (www.moinvasives.org).

The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a college of art and design awarding a bachelor of fine arts degree in 13 majors. Founded in 1885, it is Kansas City’s oldest arts institution. KCAI’s mission is to prepare gifted students to transform the world creatively through art and design. Learn more at www.kcai.edu or follow KCAI on Twitter: @KCArtInstitute, Facebook: Facebook.com/kansascityartinstitute and Instagram: KCArtInstitute.