Plant Folk by Anne Newman
2024-06-06 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-06-07 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-06-08 09:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108, United States
May 30 through July 9 – 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through SundayOn the gallery walls in the visitor and education centerIncluded with paid admission or garden membership. $15 + tax, $9 + tax for ages 3-12, free for ages 2 and under.This exhibit features a series of plant portraits. They are anthropomorphized depictions of plants in expressive motion. This series was sparked by the folkloric history of Mandrakes and continued on as an exploration of other plant species gaining consciousness and freedom of movement.About the ArtistAnne Newman is a painter and illustrator working in Omaha, Nebraska. She graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a BFA in Studio Art.In her home studio, she uses watercolor, pen, ink, and oil paint to create naturalistic, but darkly whimsical work. Her style is highly detailed and polished with richly saturated colors in oils or thickly cross-hatched over watercolor on paper. Outside of the studio, Newman is a sign maker and muralist.

Raven Halfmoon: Flags of Our Mothers
2024-06-06 11:00 - 21:00, 2024-06-07 11:00 - 17:00 | Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 724 S. 12th Street, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Raven Halfmoon’s practice spans torso-scaled and colossal-sized stoneware sculptures, with some soaring up to nine feet and weighing over eight hundred pounds. With inspirations that orbit centuries from ancient Indigenous pottery to Moai statues to Land Art, Halfmoon interrogates the intersection of tradition, history, gender, and personal experience.
Born and raised in Norman, Oklahoma, she learned about ceramics as a teenager from a Caddo elder. Working mainly in portraiture, Halfmoon hand builds each work using a coil method. Her surfaces are expressive and show deep finger impressions and dramatic dripping glazes—a physicality that presences her as both maker and matter. She fuses Caddo pottery traditions (a history of making mostly done by women) with populist gestures—often tagging her work (a reference to Caddo tattooing).
Her palette is specific and matches both the clay bodies she selects and the glazes she fires with—reds (after the Oklahoma soil and the blood of murdered Indigenous women), blacks (referencing the natural clay native to the Red River), and creams. Sometimes she stacks and repeats imagery, creating totemic forms that represent herself and her maternal ancestry while also reinforcing the multiplicities that exist inside all of us. Her works reference stories of the Caddo Nation, specifically her feminist lineage and the power of its complexities.
This exhibition will include a combination of new and borrowed works that vary in size and content from over the last five years. Halfmoon will also be creating some of her largest works to date commissioned by The Aldrich and Bemis Center. The artist’s first museum catalogue will accompany the exhibition.
Raven Halfmoon is curated by Amy Smith-Stewart, Chief Curator at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, and Rachel Adams, Chief Curator and Director of Programming at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts.
Raven Halfmoon. E-a’-titi (sister), 2021. Stoneware, glaze. 30 x 26 x 58 inches. Courtesy of the artist. Photography by Alan Koppel.
Learn more about Raven Halfmoon’s work here.
About Flags of Our Mothers
The Caddo Origin Story

About the Artist
Raven Halfmoon (Caddo Nation) is from Norman, Oklahoma. She attended the University of Arkansas where she earned double bachelor’s degrees in ceramics and cultural anthropology. She has garnered an impressive series of awards and accolades, including being named the 2018 Fund the Change recipient from the Activist and Social Justice Arts Organization in Oklahoma, a Burke Prize finalist at the Museum of Arts and Design, in New York, NY, the American Craft Council Emerging Voices Award, and Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist—all in 2019. She just concluded a two-year residency at Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts in Montana.

Paul Stephen Benjamin: Black of Night
2024-06-06 11:00 - 21:00, 2024-06-07 11:00 - 17:00 | Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 724 S. 12th Street, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Paul Stephen Benjamin’s practice is an ongoing investigation of blackness through concept, thought, and perception. From wordplay with the actual letters that comprise “BLACK,” to utilizing the expanse of shades of black house paint—including as Nightfall, Soot, Ebony Field, and Black Beauty—to posing the question, “If the color black had a sound, what would it be?,” Benjamin calls attention to the color’s deep historical and social resonance. In addition, across his practice, the artist’s work references integral moments in Black history as well as art history.
In Black of Night, Benjamin presents new and recent video installations, paintings, text-based work, and sculpture as conceptual entry points for dialogue around identity, race, and patriotism. By continually “documenting” the color black through his multifaceted practice, he is also deconstructing its meaning—breaking it down to its simplest form and allowing for it to operate as a medium for interpretation and introspection. Focusing on the connotations of the color black in society, culture and language, Benjamin incorporates history, text, imagery and sound from popular culture, in turn discussing the absence and presence of color.

About the Artist
Paul Stephen Benjamin was born in Chicago, IL, and lives and works in Atlanta, GA. He earned his BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his MFA from Georgia State University in 2013. Recently Benjamin has exhibited at Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, GA (2023), Blackness at the Montresso Art Foundation, Marrakesh, Morocco, (2023), The Thoma Foundation Art Vault, Santa Fe, NM (2022–2023), and a solo exhibition at the Van Every-Smith Galleries, Davidson College, Davidson, NC (2022).
He has been included in solo and group exhibitions at a variety of institutions and art spaces, including Prospect.5 New Orleans, LA (2021–2022). Gavlak, Los Angeles, CA (2021), The Dirty South at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond VA (2021), David Lusk Gallery, Nashville, TN (2021), Crystal Bridges Museum and the Momentary, Bentonville, AR (2020), The MAC, Belfast, UK (2019), VC Institute for Contemporary Art, Richmond, VA (2019), The Havana Biennial in Matanzas, Cuba (2019), Marianne Boesky Gallery, NY, NY (2019), Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA (2018), Telfair Museum Jepson Center, Savannah, GA (2018), The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY (2017), Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, GA (2017), High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA (2016), among others.
He has received a range of awards and fellowships, including The Hudgens Prize (2019), Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant (2019), Hambidge Distinguished Fellowship (2019), The Southern Art Prize (2018), The State Fellow of Georgia (2018), Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (WAP) Fellow (2017), Artadia Award (2014), Winnie B. Chandler Fellowship, and the Forward Arts Emerging Artists Award.

Inspiring: Guild Spring Luncheon
2024-06-06 11:30 - 13:00 | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108, United States
Put a “Pop of Peony” into your June 6 at this fundraising event with keynote speaker Christopher Spitzmiller. An artist, beekeeper, gardener, designer, and lover of antiques, Spitzmiller is known as the ultimate weekend farmer, who raises his own handsome chickens, grows his own flowers, and puts up his own jam, cider, and honey. In this presentation, he will treat luncheon guests to a full year at Clove Brook Farm, his idyllic but always-active country retreat.
Mark your calendar to join the Lauritzen Gardens Guild for an entertaining, nature-centered event to benefit our public garden’s educational programs!

Arts for ME! Spring Exhibition
2024-06-06 13:00 - 19:00, 2024-06-07 13:00 - 19:00 | KANEKO, 1111 Jones St, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
The Arts For ME! mission statement is:
WE EXIST TO EMPOWER MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES WITHIN OUR SCHOOL, AND TO INCREASE THE VISIBILITY AND IMPORTANCE OF THEIR WORK
This organization fosters, cultivates, and advocates for adaptive art programs for alternative students and are driven by their passion to share their philosophy and approach to teaching adaptive art. A truly collaborative effort, AFM employs the ideas, guidance, and expertise of educators and artists from around the world.
AFM’s successful methodology is based on (4) tenets: Collaborating, Lesson Planning, Set Up and Cycles, and Support.
Collaborating:
All programming is only made possible through their collaboration with Special Education teachers, occupational therapists, peer educators, guest artists, and public partners.
Lesson Planning:
Founded on Discipline-Based Art Education, each lesson plan starts by focusing on an artist or art movement and is built out from there. Lesson objectives are to develop individually tailored processes so each learner is able to express themselves with the goal to expose students to new artists and provide unique experiences that allow them to make choices within their work.
Set Up and Cycles:
Structure is integral to successful learning. AFM conducts class once a week led by two certified teachers with no more than 8 students per class. The classroom set up is based on the project and mobility needs of each student. Lessons may last 1-4 weeks with a project cycle of 4 years which ensures that a student can take the class for all 4 high school years and always have a new learning experience.
Support:
Participation from peers, nurses, occupational therapists, educational assistants, and special education teachers supports the organization’s operations and helps build friendships and confidence in each learner as well. AFM is dedicated to cultivating that confidence so students learn how to support themselves and feel it is equally important to provide students with independent space to freely express themselves on their own.
For more information on the Arts for Me! program, please visit www.artsforme.org

"Becoming a Witness: From Abstraction to Figuration" Exhibition Lecture Series
2024-06-06 17:30 - 19:00 | Samuel Bak Museum, 2289 S 67th St, Omaha, NE, 68106, United States
Exhibition lectures begin with a performance by a UNO flute student at 5:30 P.M. and are followed by a guest lecturer at 6:00 P.M. This Thursday evening lecture by Dr. Christine Erlander Beard, Kayser Professor of Flute & International Studies, will be presented on music of the Holocaust as it relates to the current exhibition Becoming a Witness: From Abstraction to Figuration.
Christine Beard on flute will be joined by Mary Perkinson on violin, Tyler Sieh on viola, and Gregory Clinton on cello to perform works by two Dutch Jewish composers, Rosy Wertheim and Reine Osorio-Swaab, who were forced into hiding during WWII.
RSVP required.

Rose Garden Guided Tour with the Omaha Rose Society
2024-06-06 17:30 - 19:00 | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108, United States
Enjoy a tram ride out to the Robert H. Storz Family Rose Garden at twilight followed by a tour of the garden from Don Swanson of the Omaha Rose Society. Learn about the roses in the garden’s collection and about rose families and their unique characteristics.
$25, $15 for garden members. Pre-registration is required.

Yoga in the Garden
2024-06-06 18:00 - 19:00 | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108, United States
Vinyasa yoga keeps your body moving in sync with your breath- leading towards an alignment of your physical, mental and spiritual self. Join instructor Jose Villegas for an expansive range of poses (and modifications) that make each class interesting and fun! No yoga experience needed – this class is perfect for beginners and welcoming to experienced yoga practitioners who seek a peaceful practice in a lovely setting.
Bring whatever props (i.e., pillow, mat, cork blocks, bolster, eye-mask, blanket) that you feel are necessary in making your practice the most comfortable it can possibly be.
$15, $10 for garden members. Pre-registration is required.

Hello, Dolly!
2024-06-06 19:30, 2024-06-07 19:30 | Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass Street, Omaha, NE, 68132
Winner of 15 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Revival, Hello, Dolly! is classic musical theatre at its finest. Hello, Dolly! is bursting with showmanship, glamour, romance, dance, humor and some of the greatest songs in musical theatre history. Whether you’re new to Dolly! or you’ve seen her 100 times, this colossal production is bound to be historic.

Live @ LOW END | JIJI
2024-06-06 20:00 - 21:00 | Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 724 S. 12th Street, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Praised by The Washington Post for her “mesmerizing” and “stirring” performances, JIJI is an adventurous guitarist known for her virtuosity and command of diverse repertoire. Equally at home with both acoustic and electric guitar, her concert programs range from traditional and contemporary classical to free improvisation.
Through her impeccable musicianship, compelling stage presence, and commitment to commissioning and performing new musical works, JIJI has solidified her reputation as a top 21st century guitarist. In 2021, The Washington Post selected JIJI as “one of the 21 composers/performers who sound like tomorrow,” and The Kansas City Star recently described her as “a graceful and nuanced player.” In recent seasons, JIJI has presented solo recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall; Lincoln Center; 92nd Street Y; Caramoor; Green Music Center; and the National Art Gallery, among other distinguished venues. Her performances have been featured on PBS (On Stage at Curtis), NPR’s From the Top, WHYY-TV, FOX 4-TV, Munchies (the Vice Channel), The Not So Late Show (Channel 6, Kansas), and Hong Kong broadcast station RTHK’s The Works. In 2016, she became the first guitarist in 30 years to secure first prize in the Concert Artists Guild Competition.

PACE | New Masters
2024-06-07 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-06-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Pottawamie Arts, Culture and Entertainment (PACE), 1001 S 6th Street, Council Bluffs, IA, 51503, United States
We welcome you to the 2024 PACE New Masters.
Feel free to tour all the featured 40+ local professional photographers depicting realistic landscapes, figures, and portraits.
Join us on Opening Night, Friday, May 24 to see who is named this years’ “PACE New Master!”
Exhibit runs through May 24 – Sep 28, 2024
FREE to the public on Fridays from 6-9PM & Saturdays from 12-4PM.

Omaha Summer Arts Festival
2024-06-07 11:00 - 2024-06-09 16:00 | Aksarben Village, Omaha, Nebraska

Icons in Transformation
2024-06-07 17:00 - 19:00 | All Saints Episcopal Church, 9302 Blondo St, Omaha, NE, 68134, United States
All Saint Episcopal Church will host “Icons in Transformation,” a dramatic 100-piece art exhibition featuring the contemporary work of internationally acclaimed Swedish-Ukrainian abstract expressionist Ludmila Pawlowska. This must-see exhibit will introduce her work to a broader audience and shed new light on this highly prolific and influential artist. It presents traditional icons as a source of inspiration for contemporary art. As such, the exhibit includes 15 traditional icons painted at the workshop of the Vassilevsky Monastery.
The exhibition will run from April 14 to June 9
Fridays 5pm to 7pm
Saturdays 12pm to 4pm
Sundays 11:30pm to 2:30pm

Opening Reception: “The Big Stillness” by Patrick Hargon
2024-06-07 18:00 - 21:00 | Radial Arts Center, 5915 Maple St, Omaha, NE, 68104, United States
Patrick Hargon’s photography and film aims to find points of tension, balance, and motion within objects and places. Through this media, he aims to capture moments where the image speaks to something more expansive than itself. Curated by Amber Nore (Lincoln, NE), this collection of film and photographs harken to Hargon’s play with the juxtaposition of ephemera and motion in this narrative series. However, the curation goes beyond the artist’s narrative. Instead, interpretation varies upon what story the viewer discovers for themselves whilst viewing this rich visual archive. These images aim to provoke the imagination to prompt viewers to develop their own personal narrative.
Patrick Hargon’s short films expand on musical techniques involving micro loops, or small fragments of sound that repeat and evolve into different atmospheric and rhythmic patterns. “Hands Unseen” superimposes these ever-evolving sound states over images of wind blowing through trees. Minimalist in inception, the film reveals surprising layers of emotional depth.
Hargon is a photographer, musician, writer, and educator living in Kearney, Nebraska.

Here & Queer - Opening Reception
2024-06-07 18:00 - 21:00 | The BFF Gallery, 5901 Maple St, Omaha, NE, 68104, United States
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Guardians of the Giggle
2024-06-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Blackstone Theater, 3624 Farnam St, Omaha, NE, 68131, United States
“Guardians of the Giggle” features a hilarious group of Big Canvas improvisers with short-form improv for the whole family at the Blackstone Theater. Each show is a new adventure you don’t want to miss! Cast members may include Adam Brownell, Doug Rothgeb, Ian Ross Hughes, Todd Rotramel, and Joshua Fairchild

Friday Night Concert Series
2024-06-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Rockbrook Village, 2800 S 110th Ct, Omaha, NE, 68144, United States
Enjoy live music on the plaza every Friday night, June – Aug, from 7-8pm. Come early and have dinner on the patio at Pasta Amore, Pulled BBQ or Jaipur. Afterwards, enjoy a drink at Public House or Corkscrew Wine & Cheese. Bring a folding chair and listen to great live music from country to rock to soulful blues. This event is FREE!
This is a Weekly Recurring Event
Runs from Jun 7, 2024 to Aug 30, 2024 and happens every:
Fridays: 7:00pm – 8:00pm Timezone: CDT

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2024-06-07 19:00 - 22:00 | The Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Book by David Greig
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman

Based on the novel by ROALD DAHL
Songs from the Motion Picture by LESLIE BRICUSSE and ANTHONY NEWLEYCHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com.
The world-famous Willy Wonka is opening the gates to his mysterious candy factory…but only to a lucky few. Young Charlie Bucket and four other winners will embark on a life-changing journey through Wonka’s world of chocolate waterfalls, nutty squirrels and incredible television technology, all to be revealed by Wonka’s army of curious Oompa-Loompas.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is your golden ticket to a sweet performance of “Pure Imagination.”

Mark Andrew: Body of Work
2024-06-07 19:00 - 22:00 | Petshop Gallery, 2725 N 62nd St, Omaha, NE, 68104, United States
Mark Andrew’s exhibition, “Body of Work,” explores the essence of artistic creation and challenges traditional definitions of an artist’s portfolio. Through this showcase, Andrew invites viewers to contemplate what defines an artist’s body of work beyond mere accumulation. The exhibition is divided into two galleries. The entrance gallery features Andrew’s signature styles, characterized by vibrant mixed media art with bold colors and whimsical iconography. This space also displays prints on T-shirts and collectible memorabilia inspired by tourist souvenirs.
In contrast, the second gallery presents work inspired by introspection and experimentation, reflecting themes of second-guessing and new directions. Influences from Midwest landscapes, ancient civilizations, and modern technology converge in this collection, encouraging viewers to reconsider the dynamic nature of creative expression. “Body of Work” challenges viewers to rethink artistic identity and evolution, prompting a reimagination of the boundaries of artistic practice.

Sounds of Summer
2024-06-07 19:30 - 20:30 | Omaha Conservatory of Music, 7023 Cass St, Omaha, NE 68132, Omaha, NE, 68132, United States
Experience the annual Sounds of Summer concert at the Simon Concert Hall, featuring Omaha Conservatory of Music’s extraordinary Artist-Faculty! This year’s program includes rarely performed works by Debussy and contemporary composer Charlie Leftridge, featuring performances by Dr. Janka Krajciova (piano), Dr. Elizabeth Grunin (cello), Gretchen Crane (soprano) and Melissa Tatreau Holtmeier (violin).
Tickets are just $15 per family! Families can buy just one ticket and bring their kids, partners, and anyone else they consider family.

Jitterbugs' Night Out
2024-06-07 20:00 - 23:59 | Eagles Ballroom, 201 S 24th St, Omaha, NE, 68102, United States
Jitterbugs’ Night Out, or as we like to call it, JNO, has been home to Omaha Jitterbugs’ since 2001.
On average 130 people come to JNO each week, and it’s one of Omaha’s longest-running weekly events.
Masks are optional at JNO.
You don’t need to bring a partner. The weekly beginning dance lesson is from 8:15 – 9:00 and you can choose to rotate partners throughout the lesson or stick with the partner you came with. Then the DJ plays swingin’ tunes for social dancing from 9 p.m. until midnight, so ask people to dance! Check our calendar for nights with live music. Our instructors and DJs are volunteers with JIVE who have completed training.
Dressing sharp is encouraged! But you’ll see people in t-shirts, jeans, dresses, and suits. For special events and live music nights, people tend to dress nicer.
We’ve created a diverse and welcoming community: smoke-free, drug-free, and all ages are welcome. Children younger than 15 must be accompanied by an adult. Most nights more than 100 people attend. While the highest percentage of people attending are aged 19–39, dancers range from middle and high school students to retirees in their 70s and above. Check out our Code of Conduct.
You can bring in your own food and bottle for water. We provide free water because you WILL get thirsty. A full bar is available downstairs.
Join us for the Birthday Jam! After the announcements, around 10:15 pm, we gather in a circle on the dance floor and those who have a birthday (or graduation, or are newly engaged, or any special occasion!) stand in the middle. A song is played and different partners jump in to dance with you for a bit.
If you’d like to have a party during JNO, you are welcome! We suggest showing up at 8:00 pm if you need to set up a table for your party.
No party fees are charged.
For discounted entrance, learn about volunteering with JIVE!

Into the Fire
2024-06-07 20:30 - 21:30 | Blackstone Theater, 3624 Farnam St, Omaha, NE, 68131, United States
Come watch host Matthew Hall and fresh stand up comics from the area showcase their skills onstage. A comedy show that lets you truly say “I saw them first!”

Digital Photography: Garden Macro Photography
2024-06-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE, 68108, United States
In this class you will learn the fundamental techniques of macro photography. Learn how to capture stunning extreme close-up images of the garden’s exquisite florals. You will gain knowledge on using specific settings, macro lenses, why manual focus matters, and creative elements to make your photos stand out.
Macro lenses are required like the following: 105mm, 100mm, 90mm, 85mm, 55mm, or any other macro lens including zoom macro lenses. A tripod is helpful, but not required.
Pre-registration is required. $30, $25 for garden members.
