Restore KC

In this two-part series, mindfulness teachers Tracy Ochester, PsyD and Sydney Spears, Ph.D., of Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness will hold an interracial conversation exploring how practicing mindfulness and compassion can support dismantling racialized trauma and help prepare us for sustainable racial justice work.

During this time of social unrest, reckoning, and polarized political views, food can provide a bridge for unity. In this Restore KC program, Danielle Lehman, Founder of Open Belly Podcast, will have a conversation with Chef Keeyoung Kim of Sura Eats, and explore how the tradition of sharing a meal together can help us find our common humanity, while enjoying great food!

On October 31, 2017, the United Nations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative City Network (UCCN) designated the City of Kansas City, Missouri as UCCN Member, making Kansas City the first and only City of Music in the United States. The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote global cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. The 246 cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.

Creative Placemaking is a strategy and collaborative process that uses arts and cultural expression for meaningful resident-driven engagement and community development. This Restore KC program will provide an opportunity to learn about the field and practice of Creative Placemaking, and why it is essential to deploy now—during this pandemic and social reckoning—in our parks and public spaces where we can address complex community issues to create a deeper understanding of place and shared heritage.

This program will be a conversation with Kansas City-based Artist and Interactive Arts Educator Michael Toombs and Design Trust for Public Space Executive Director Matthew Clarke. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Jacob Wagner, Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Design and Co-Founder of the Center for Neighborhoods at the University of Kansas City-Missouri and Nia Richardson, Assistant to the Director for Small Business + Entrepreneurship at KC BizCare.

This program is presented by the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center in collaboration with the Restore KC initiative.

The Community Remembrance Project of Missouri (CRP-MO) is a community coalition that partners with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) to memorialize victims of racial terror lynchings throughout history and foster meaningful dialogue about race and justice today. This Restore KC program will provide an opportunity to learn about the CRP-MO including its 2018 origins with the collection of soil at the location of the lynching of Levi Harrington, installation of the Levi Harrington memorial marker, and its vision to challenge racial injustice while advocating for equal treatment in the criminal justice system. The program will be led by CRP Co-Liaisons Glenn North and Staci Pratt.

Since spring 2019, the Kansas City Museum has been working with an education team on developing programs and experiences using a restorative practices methodology. The Kansas City Museum education team includes museum staff members Paul Gutierrez and Anna Marie Tutera; Damron Armstrong, Founder and Artistic Director of The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City; Deb Campbell, Founder and Executive Director of Arts & AGEing KC; Dr. Gene Chávez, Historian and Curator; Anita Dixon, Director of UNESCO Creative Cities-Kansas City; Oralee McKinzy, Founder and Executive Director of Life 360; Dina Newman, Director UMKC’s Center for Neighborhoods and Dr. Jacob Wagner, Co-Founder of UMKC’s Center for Neighborhoods and Associate Professor in Architecture, Urban Planning + Design at UMKC; Glenn North, Executive Director of Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center; Blanca Anchondo-Polite, Owner/Principal of Engage and Connect, LLC and Lisa Middlebrook, Collaborator and Catalyst; and Dr. Carmaletta Williams, Executive Director of Black Archives of Mid-America.

The first Restore KC program will create a virtual community circle to learn about restorative practices and why the Kansas City Museum is embracing its core framework and strategies to advance a civic unity vision. The program will be led by Blanca Anchondo-Polite and Lisa Middlebrook of Engage and Connect, LLC.

The Kansas City Museum education team includes museum staff members Paul Gutierrez and Anna Marie Tutera; Damron Armstrong, Founder and Artistic Director of The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City; Deb Campbell, Founder and Executive Director of Arts & AGEing KC; Dr. Gene Chávez, Historian and Curator; Anita Dixon, Director of UNESCO Creative Cities-Kansas City; Oralee McKinzy, Founder and Executive Director of Life 360; Dina Newman, Director UMKC’s Center for Neighborhoods and Dr. Jacob Wagner, Co-Founder of UMKC’s Center for Neighborhoods and Associate Professor in Architecture, Urban Planning + Design at UMKC; Glenn North, Executive Director of Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center; Blanca Anchondo-Polite, Owner/Principal of Engage and Connect, LLC and Lisa Middlebrook, Collaborator and Catalyst; and Dr. Carmaletta Williams, Executive Director of Black Archives of Mid-America.