Events
Pop Up Party for ‘Past & Present: Celebrating New Acquisitions and Collection Highlights at the Wichita Art Museum’
October 16, 2026 | 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Featured Event, FREE Event, Past & Present: Celebrating New Acquisitions and Collection Highlights at the Wichita Art Museum, Member Events, WAM Nights, Youth & Family
Cost:
Free | Open to the public
Location:
Wichita Art Museum
Organizer:
Wichita Art Museum
About this Event
Member exclusives: Welcome from Director/CEO Molly McFerson and curator Dr. Tera Lee Hedrick (6:00 – 6:30 PM) | Stick around for the afterparty on the Terrace (8:30 – 10:00 PM).
Join us to celebrate this exciting exhibition showcasing WAM’s world-class collection! Dozens of new acquisitions, including works by groundbreaking contemporary artists and icons of historic American art, are paired with beloved favorites collected over the past 90 years.
- Explore the exhibition with live music by Wichita Symphony Orchestra musicians, inspired by WAM’s collection
- Experience Smack Dab Dance Lab artists’ original choreography created in response to the exhibition (6:45 and 7:45PM)
- Dance with DJ Marcus El
- Make a mural with Armando Minjárez Monárrez
- Sip and snack on signature cocktails and treats from EAT
K-college teachers, as a special toast to you, have a drink ticket on us and unwind with just-for-educators artmaking. (Please bring your faculty ID.)
About WAM Nights: We’re open late on Fridays until 9 pm. Start your weekend with after-hours access to the galleries, shopping in the Museum Store, and a stop at EAT for dinner and specialty drinks. WAM Nights feature programs with artists, musicians, and performers, offering a dynamic way to experience the museum. The building comes to life with local creatives during WAM Nights—an energizing, creative start to your weekend. WAM Nights are generously supported by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
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About Armando Minjárez Monárrez
Armando Minjárez is a Mexican interdisciplinary artist, designer, and community organizer based in Wichita, Kansas. Over the past two decades, Minjarez has explored themes of displacement, identity, and liberation, contributing to the cultural landscape of the heartland through socially engaged art, community organizing, and activism. Working across multiple media and social contexts, Minjarez interrogates the politics of visibility and spatial belonging. Through the synthesis of craft, activism, and cultural strategy, he reimagines what it means to be an artist in service of community. Armando’s work is on view at WAM in the exhibition Armando Minjárez Monárrez: En Cuerpo Presente.
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About DJ Marcus El
DJ Marcus El, aka Marc Lujan, has been a staple in the Wichita and Midwest music scene since 2005. He brings over 20 years of music and DJ experience to the stage. Most recently he’s released/produced tracks on Fuzion Four Records/Fuzion Dreams out of Kansas City, Flunked Records out of Dallas and Wichita’s own house music label, OddSpot Records.
