Moon Age Dreamscape
Step into Moon Age Dreamscape, Kemper Museum’s 2026 ArtSmash Gala, transforming the museum into a celestial playground where contemporary art, music, imagination, and community constellate. Inspired by the cosmic beauty of Barbara Takenaga's work, this art party of the year invites you to dream beyond the ordinary! Every moment of the evening supports Kemper Museum's mission to connect people through art and keep contemporary art accessible to all.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Cocktails 7 pm
Dinner 8pm
Followed by dancing
until midnight
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
4420 Warwick Blvd
Kansas City, MO
Fantasy.
Glamour.
Electric.
Fantasy. Glamour. Electric.
Meet Our Gala Leadership
Dominique Davison & Robert Riccardi
As leaders at DRAW Architecture + Urban Design, Dominique Davison and Robert Riccardi bring a shared passion for thoughtful design, community connection, and impactful spaces across Kansas City and beyond. We’re thrilled to partner with these brilliant creatives to bring this year’s ArtSmash to life.
Co Chairs
Photo credit: Kenny Johnson
John & Sharon Hoffman
Sharon Hoffman and John Hoffman are longtime Kansas City arts champions whose leadership, philanthropy, and advocacy have strengthened cultural institutions across the city. We are honored to have their vision and support helping shape this year’s celebration.
Honorary Chairs
Photo credit: Jorden Durkee
to Wear
What
Moon Age Dreamscape celebrates glamour, fantasy, and electric self-expression. Lean into every shade of blue, embrace fluidity, and take inspiration from David Bowie’s many transformative looks. Think inky blues, shimmering metallics, dramatic silhouettes, feathered details, sparkling embellishments, and celestial accents that catch the light.
Come dressed as though you truly Belong in the Stars.
the Menu
On
Chef Ted Habiger will present a seasonal menu of elevated bites, elegant dinner fare, and artful desserts crafted exclusively for the Gala. Signature cocktails inspired by David Bowie's music, alongside wine, beer, and classic favorites, will keep the celebration sparkling well into the night.
Barbara Takenaga, Forte (2011), Acrylic on linen, 54 x 135 inches. Courtesy of Uncrated Art Foundation, Kansas City, MO. Image: courtesy DC Moore Gallery, New York, © Barbara Takenaga.
Featured Exhibition
Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck
Barbara Takenaga: Awestruck is the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s work in nearly a decade. Bringing together paintings made over the past 25 years, the exhibition highlights dazzling demonstrations of the many approaches to abstraction that have shaped Takenaga’s career. Featuring some 50 works from institutional and private collections, this exhibition includes paintings up to her most recent, revealing Takenaga’s continued expansion of her practice across increasingly ambitious canvases, opening new paths within her ongoing exploration of abstraction. Takenaga reminds us that painting is a discipline shaped by both action and chance, so too is looking and perceiving: we make the work through our active gaze. Known for her mesmerizing, intricate compositions, this exhibition examines Takenaga’s work through four thematic sections: an emphasis on process, a masterful confusion of scale, an embrace of illusion, and reverent nods to art history. Together, these strategies work to upend the viewer’s expectations, engaging imagination and stoking curiosity.
The exhibition is curated by Jessica May, Executive Director, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and Tae Edell, Independent Curator
Gratitude
Eternal
Kemper Museum remains open and free to all only because “free to all” means supported by many. Please share our gratitude for what all our donors, Members, and volunteers make possible.
Access
You keep exhibitions and public programs free and accessible for everyone.
Inclusion
You provide a platform for artists representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and foster a welcoming environment of belonging for all.
Innovation
You support cutting-edge artists, often at key moments in their careers, and programs that use art to teach everyone from tots to medical students.
