Wichita is our little city. We take ownership of it. We take our city to heart with immense pride. Art in our city is flourishing because we have made it so. The word is out that Wichita has an art scene because we made that happen.

On June 5, 2012, the Wichita community suffered a huge loss when one of our great local artists, Diane Thomas Lincoln passed away. The loss was sudden. This beautiful soul and talent, with a heart as big as the sun was here smiling one day and simply gone the next.

So much has been said about the return of the Joan Miro’s mural, "BIRD PEOPLE" at the Ulrich Museum, I feel that Miro is part of our community. We should know more about the man himself.

Ian Stewart's work is to local art what Iggy Pop's music is to rock and roll. Place yourself in its midst and you'll get a full dose, right in the face.

Painter Jack Wilson was recently overlooked for the fine, just-published book Wichita Artists In Their Studios. One or two things may be possible here: Jack Wilson often flies under the radar, and Jack Wilson and his work may be too cool for such a book.

My wife, Taeko, and I include photography in our small art collection at home. I believe photography is often under-appreciated in fine arts circles in America. Thankfully, we have a photographer-artist in Wichita who devotes her life to the fine art of photography. She's Linda K. Robinson, owner of the Midwest Center for Photography, on Franklin Street in Riverside.

I received my monthly art publications in the mail this week and I found myself first rifling through them, looking at images, and identifying all the crap. Maybe I'm just grouchy this week, but I'm sick and bored of "art-as-trend."

Dear Sam,

When I lived away from Wichita and I would come home to visit, I would always take some time and drive Douglas Avenue from Oliver to the river. My beloved Douglas is the artery with the real pulse in Wichita.

More than 100,000 Iraqi refugees have resettled in the United States in the past decade.