Terra Hall, Operations & Communications Director at KANEKO, poses for a photo. Through her work with Ree and Jun Kaneko, she has helped support the organization’s artistic mission and community projects.
By Michael Hilt
KANEKO at 28: Building Community Through Creativity
July 6th, 2026
For 28 years, KANEKO has invited people to explore one powerful idea: creativity belongs to everyone.
Founded in 1998 by artists Jun and Ree Kaneko, KANEKO occupies three historic warehouses in Omaha’s Old Market and has become a hub for exhibitions, performances, conversations, and public events. While rooted in the arts, its mission reaches far beyond artists and performers, bringing together people from all walks of life, including scientists, physicians, educators, and entrepreneurs.
Terra Hall, KANEKO’s Executive Projects and Communications Director, says the organization serves as a place where people can explore ideas, ask questions, and discover how creativity can help address challenges in society.
“Creativity is not a luxury,” Hall says. “It’s essential.”
She believes creative thinking allows people to move beyond established patterns and imagine new possibilities. The creative process itself, she says, is just as important as any finished work of art.
Hall’s own path to KANEKO reflects that philosophy. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa, served in the Peace Corps in Africa, worked on an organic farm in Oregon, and eventually moved to Omaha, where she met Ree Kaneko while selling vegetables at the Downtown Omaha Farmers Market.
Those varied experiences continue to shape the way she approaches her work at KANEKO, helping create opportunities for others to connect, collaborate, and embrace creativity in their own lives.
After nearly three decades, KANEKO remains what it has always aspired to be, an open space for the mind and a place where creativity can inspire community and change.
