I have to say, I don’t envy you all this decision. Believe me, I know how lucky I am to live in Lawrence and be close enough to take in so many of these amazing NCECA shows. For those of you coming from afar, your best bet is to book the bus. But which one? Well, there’s the tempting tour to Lawrence that I told you about a couple of weeks ago, and there are some evening shuttles that will take you to the receptions on Thursday and Friday night. But there’s MORE!!!
There are also three 
shuttles running on Wednesday with expanded routes, all of which are hop on/hop off, so you can spend as long as you like looking at the art that you like. Many stops have multiple galleries or venues to visit, and each location has been provided with a red white & black NCECA Exhibition flag, so you can more easily locate and identify the shows you want to see!
Buses operate continuously (much like a city bus system) with departures every 15 to 20 minutes from the Kansas City Conference Center on 14th Street (across Center Street from the Convention Center’s Bartle Hall). Board the bus at the Conference Center and receive a wrist band which is your “ticket” to re-board the bus at any stop on the route. At any of the stops on the shuttle route people may hop off and visit the exhibition(s) knowing that every 15 to 20 minutes a bus will be available to hop on and ride to the next stop or return to the Conference Center.
The North Route
Think of this as the Elite Eight….or the Great Eight….Maybe even eight is enough…? No, eight isn’t enough, which is ok, because these eight excellent stops represent ten venues, nineteen exhibitions, and well over a hundred artists. Save $5.00 by purchasing your ticket prior to Conference! Only $25.00 per person (I’m just guessing here, but that’s probably about a penny per piece of art you have the opportunity to view!)
Stop 1:
Allan Winkler, Figure Maker
Blue Bird Bistro Art Gallery:
“Allan Winkler, Figure Maker”
Stop 2:
***NCECA SPONSORED EXHIBITION***
Charlotte Street Foundation, La Esquina:
“Across the Table, Across the Land”
Stop 3:
from Collective Identity
Haw Contemporary Gallery
“Collective Identity: The Legacy of Apprenticeship Under Toshiko Takaezu”
“Legacy of an Icon – Ken Ferguson
“Lifted: Joey Watson”
Plug Projects
“Christina West – Stay Asleep”
“Lifted”
Stop 4:
from Measured Space
Kansas City Public Library
“Measured Space”
Box Gallery
“Dino-might” – Click here for more details about this exciting show
Stop 5:
Kansas City Artists Coalition
“Aesthetic Influence: The Art of Chinese Scholar Rocks”
“BAI MING”
from 50 Women
Stop 6:
American Jazz Museum
“50 Women: A Celebration of Women’s Contribution to Ceramics”
Stop 7:
Vine Street Studio Art Gallery
“Clay Gate Keepers”
Stop 8:
Belger Crane Yard Studio.
from Decalcomaniacs
“Decalcomaniac”
“Home Base: ‘Exhibition of Red Star Studios Members”
“Alumni Gathering: Red Star Studios’ Past and Current Artists-in-Residence”
“Archie Bray Foundation Resident & Visiting Artists”
“Objectify”
“The Kansas City Connection: Victor Babu, John Balistreri, Chris Gustin and Matt Long”
The South Route
Everyone knows that things heat up as you travel south, so think of this as the scintillating seven. Not just that, this is a truly convenient tour, as these SEVEN stops represent ELEVEN venues. You will have the opportunity to see fifteen blockbuster exhibitions. Save $5.00 by purchasing your ticket prior to Conference! Only $25.00 per person
from György’s Life Changing Hungarian Adventure
Stop 1:
The Drug Store
“Gyorgy’s Life Changing Hungarian Adventure: Special Artists Use a Special Material at ICS”
Stop 2:
H & R Block Artspace
“Simone Leigh”
Kansas City Art Institute
from Middle Ground
“Highlights of the Ken Ferguson Teaching Collection”
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
“A Whisper of Where it Came From”
The Warehouse
“Middle Ground”
Stop 3:
***NCECA SPONSORED EXHIBITION***
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
“Unconventional Clay: Engaged in Change”
from #F*nked!
KCAI Dodge Painting Building
“#F*nked!”
Stop 4:
UMKC Gallery of Art (Fine Arts Bldg.)
from MAN and MADE
“MAN and MADE”
“Makers Curate / Curators Make”
Stop 5:
Leopold Gallery
“In The Company of Animals”
“Move Me: Celebrating Women of Remarkable Influence”
Stop 6:
National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
“Fine-scale Ceramics at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures”
From Strictly Figurative
Stop 7:
Carter Art Center Gallery at MCC-Penn Valley
“Strictly Figurative: Invitational – read more here
“UM-Columbia Ceramics Graduate Student Exhibition” – read more here
“The Sound of Color” – read more here
The Central Route
Last but not least, we have the gallery packed central route. Don’t let the “merely five stops” deceive you. The first stop alone offers over twenty walkable locations in the popular crossroads gallery district. This shuttle is truly a feast for the eyes with forty-five exhibitions on this shuttle. Save $5.00 by purchasing your ticket prior to Conference! Only $20.00 per person (and again, I’m just guessing here, but we’re probably actually UNDER a penny per piece of art you have the opportunity to view on this bus!)
Stop 1:
2016 Main
“A Quiet Cadence”
“Ordinary Opposites”
“New Works by Brian Horsch”
Arts KC
“Nothing You’ve Ever Done Before”
Beco Flowers
from Around the Corner
“Pewabic: Past/Present”
Beggar’s Table Gallery
“Around the Corner” – Read more here!
Blue Gallery
“Figurative Fascination + Forms Embellished: New Work by Mark Knott + Kirsten Stingle”
“Counterpoise: New Work by Patricia Kochaver”
From Vision and Persistence
Blvd Tavern
“Vision and Persistence: 30 Years of Ceramics Excellence at Utah State University”
Fine Folk
“Contemporary Confluence”
From Tramp L’oeil
Fraction Gallery & Print Studio
“Tramp L’oeil: Ceramics of the Third Wave”
Garcia Squared Contemporary
“From the Wheel to the Wall”
Kemper at the Crossing
“Matter and Force”
From National Student Juried Exhibition
Leedy-Voulkos Art Center
***NCECA SPONSORED EXHIBITIONS***
“NCECA2015 National Student Juried Exhibition”
“Shapers of the field: NCECA Honors and Fellows Exhibition:
NCECA 2016 Emerging Artists Exhibition”
From Ware and Tear
Marietta Chair Building
“From Here to There”
Marietta Chair Building/VML Wise Gallery
“Ware and Tear”
Mid America Arts Alliance Convening Space
“Masquerade/The Ceramic Figurine”
From InCitefulClay
Culture Lab
“InCiteful Clay”
Pots on Wheels (POW)
“In Situ: Pottery Tours and Clay Culture”
Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art
From Once and Future
“Red-Hot Shop”
“The Once and Future: New Now”
The Gallery at 1708 Baltimore
“Filter
Todd Weiner Gallery
“Image as Metaphor”
Webster House
“Midwest Clay Artists: A Collective of Our Progression”
Weinberger Fine Art
“SunSet/SunRise: Work from Studio Nong”
Stop 2:
From Desire
Belger Arts Center
“The Garden Party”
“DESIRE” (read more here)
“Every Semester: Collecting KCAI 1995-2015 Ceramics” (read more here)
“Role Models”
Stop 3:
From Makers as Mentors
Bredin-Lee Gallery
“Makers: The Independents”
“Makers as Mentors”
“Generations: A Legacy of Mentorship”
“323CLAY: Studio Show:”
“3 Degrees of Separation: Work by Susan Speck, Robert Lawarre III and Marko Fields”
KCAI Gallery
“Chromafillia / Chromaphobia”
From Flourishing
Hilliard Gallery
“International Cone Box Show”
“Past Cone Box Juror Show”
“Flourishing: Ceramic Legacy of Kansas State University”
Stop 4:
The Studio, Inc.
From Ghosts and Stooges
“Materiality, Methodology, Metamorphosis”
“Ghosts + Stooges”
Downstairs Studio P
“Standing Wave”
Stop 5:
Vulpes Bastile
“Accessibility by Design”
