October’s vis-art action starts with Día de Los Muertos, then emphasizes new and live art

This year marks the 18th annual Día de Los Muertos exhibition of artwork and ofrendas (altars) at Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery (919 West 17th Street), starting with a 6-10 p.m. reception Friday, October 7, and continuing with a street festival from 1 to 9 p.m. the next day. At the latter, expect vendors, music, cultural activities and refreshments for sale. (The closing reception and Calaca Night Parade happen at 6 p.m. Friday, November 4.) This is one of Kansas City’s premier events: an opportunity to learn about Day of the Dead while commemorating the loved ones we’ve lost.

Before and after that big weekend event, there’s plenty of other art to see:

Friday, September 30

Lawrence Arts Center (940 New Hampshire, Lawrence)

Final Friday reception (5-9 p.m.) for Currently Nontraditional, an exhibition curated by Ben Ahlvers and featuring Jason Barr, Janet Davidson Hues, Patrick Giroux, Lora Jost, Leslie Kuluva, Judith G. Levy, Adam Lott, Tom Moore, Jeremy Rockwell, Tonja Torgerson, Dave Van Hee and Beatrice Von Holten, who have created new work in response to what 2016 means to them, all confined to 30-inch-by-22-inch sheets of paper. Concurrent with this is an opening reception for The Legacy of Pots by Simon Levin, a writer and potter who presents the collection of prized pots he is giving to his children.

Leopold Gallery (324 West 63rd Street)

Celebrate one of the longest-running Midwest galleries from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with a 25th-anniversary party featuring an exhibition by Allan Chow and MJ Rigby.

Monday, October 3

Black Archives of Mid-America (1722 East 1th Terrace)
CBN Presents: Honduran Women in Resistance Delegation Report Back, 7-9 p.m. Members of the Cross Border Network Women in Resistance Delegation to Honduras report back on how women are leading the movement against imperialism and fighting for justice, with performances by 100 Thousand Poets for Change.

Tuesday, October 4

Anita B. Gorman Conservation Center (4750 Troost)

Award reception and sale for the Brush Creek Art Walk plein air painting competition, 5-8 p.m.

Friday, October 7

Beco Flowers (1922 Baltimore)

THE MIRROR SELF.ie opens with a 6-9 p.m. reception. The show explores how we identify ourselves through photographic images today, and how those identities shift in public or private spaces. There’s a preview Instagram feed: #TMSBeco.

The Bunker Center for the Arts (1014 East 19th Street)

With Quintessence l Sirens in Distance, Ari Fish offers her fifth in a series of immersive Speak and Pell Temporary Temples; 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Front/Space (217 West 18th Street)

She Was Right: a Museum of Strange Archeology is dedicated to desire, revelation and truth. Erin Zona presents 16 drawings of historical fiction during an opening reception (6-9 p.m.) as part of a “temporary institution” that is designed to question our notions of authenticity.

Gallery 504-Crossroads KC (504 East 18th Street)

The Ties That Bind is a combination of art and music by Jill Huxtable (of JH Design) and Victor Penniman; doors open at 5:30 p.m., with music beginning at 6:30.

Jones Gallery (1717 Walnut)

Detailed Spontaneity by Dan Snow. He describes himself as a “free-ranging artist” who is willing to lock himself into a specific place or time.

Kansas City Artists Coalition (201 Wyandotte)

Artists in three new exhibitions will talk about their work at 6 p.m., and a reception follows until 8:30: Gregory Gutenko, Ione Angilan and Micaela de Vivero.

The Late Show (1600 Cherry)

An Overview: new works by Jane Pronko; opening reception 6-9 p.m.

Leedy-Voulkos Art Center (2012 Baltimore)

Memories, by Fernando Achucarro, opens with a 6-9 p.m. reception. It’s a collection of ghostly images executed in graphite and employing magical symbolism.

Night Blooms (529 Southwest Boulevard)

Works on Paper by John Robertson opens at 6 p.m. This nonverbal artist communicates through art and a love a words, obsessively documenting affection for food, friends and holidays. Four risograph editions of his book will be for sale and signed, and Full Life is presenting a book that documents six years of his work.

Studios Inc. (1709 Campbell)

/stärk/ opens with a 5-9 p.m. reception; the show includes art by current and former residents Miki Baird, Matthew Dehaemers, Jill Downen, Andrea Flamini, Beniah Leuschke, Marcie Miller Gross, Miles Neidinger, Garry Noland, Brett Reif, Colby K. Smith and Davin Watne.

Todd Weiner Gallery (115 West 18th Street)

My Way or the Highway by Donnie Molls opens with a 5-10 p.m. reception.

Also:

La Esquina (100 West 25th Street)

I Am Prepared for Amazing Things to Happen is a collective portrait of an idealized future, featuring Kansas City artists and artists from St. Louis, Joneseboro, Chicago and Brooklyn.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (4525 Oak)

Surveillance, an exhibition spanning 1864-2014 with works in photography, painting and Google Earth, featuring Roger Schall, a French reporter who spent time documenting the Nazi occupation of Paris. At 6 p.m. October 6, Belgian photographer Tomas van Houtryve discusses his work as it relates to contemporary warfare (free tickets; registration required).

Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art (2004 Baltimore)

Back Where They Came From: Norman Akers, Angela Babby, Frank Big Bear, Marwin Begay, Jason Garcia, Teri Greeves, Tom Jones, Karen Ann Hoffman, Pat Kruse, Nelda Schrupp, Dyani White Hawk , John Hitchcock, Dakota Mace, Meryl McMaster, Daniel McMoy, Wanesia Spry Misquadace, Henry Payer, Sarah Sense and Jason Wesaw.