Signature Event Archive

Search the Signature Event Archive to discover past Library events. Watch videos, hear speaker interviews, and listen to audio recordings of previous presentations. Search by keyword (event title, subject, or presenter name), location or by date range.
Signature Event Video Video Signature Event Audio Audio Signature Event Interview Interviews
E.g., 2019/03/23
E.g., 2019/03/23

Building Resilient Cities

Internationally renowned Dutch architect Matthijs Bouw discusses today’s increased attention to urban resilience – preparing cities for challenges ranging from climate change to threats of a pandemic or cyberattack to the more chronic stresses of inadequate infrastructure.
 
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Internationally renowned Dutch architect Matthijs Bouw discusses today’s increased attention to urban resilience – preparing cities for challenges ranging from climate change to threats of a pandemic or cyberattack to the more chronic stresses of inadequate infrastructure.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Reception: 
6 pm
Program: 
6:30 pm
Plaza Branch
Event Audio

Who Will Lead KC?

Nearing Kansas City’s April 2 primary, the sprawling field of hopefuls to succeed outgoing Mayor Sly James gathers for a public forum soliciting their stands on the city’s most pressing issues. Nick Haines of KCPT-Kansas City PBS moderates. Audience members can get involved, submitting their own questions.
 
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Nearing Kansas City’s April 2 primary, the sprawling field of hopefuls to succeed outgoing Mayor Sly James gathers for a public forum soliciting their stands on the city’s most pressing issues. Nick Haines of KCPT-Kansas City PBS moderates. Audience members can get involved, submitting their own questions.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Program: 
6:30 pm
Plaza Branch
Event Audio

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Indie Lens Pop-up

How much does television—does all of America—miss the kindness and moral compass of Fred Rogers? Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville reminds us with the affecting, critically praised Won’t You Be My Neighbor (2018; PG-13).

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How much does television – does all of America – miss the kindness and moral compass of Fred Rogers? Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville reminds us with the affecting, critically praised Won’t You Be My Neighbor (2018; PG-13), the latest installment in the Indie Lens Pop-Up film series. A Neighbor Resource Fair before and after the screening offers information on local organizations and volunteer opportunities for helping our youngest neighbors.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Reception: 
6 pm
Program: 
6:30 pm
Plaza Branch

Becoming American: Between Two Worlds

The Library continues its examination of immigration in America, exploring the challenges of living in a new country and culture and balancing the traditions and values of homes left behind. The presentation, Between Two Worlds: Identity and Acculturation, features the screening of an episode of the award-winning documentary The New Americans and a subsequent discussion led by University of Missouri-Kansas City historian Sandra Enriquez.
 
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The Library continues its examination of immigration in America, exploring the challenges of living in a new country and culture and balancing the traditions and values of homes left behind. The presentation, Between Two Worlds: Identity and Acculturation, features the screening of an episode of the award-winning documentary The New Americans and a subsequent discussion led by University of Missouri-Kansas City historian Sandra Enriquez.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Program: 
6:30 pm
Central Library

Yes, We Can! Immigrant Women and Their Influence on Kansas City

Missouri Valley Sundays
Commemorating Women’s History Month, University of Missouri-Kansas City social historian Sandra Enríquez identifies and examines some of the female immigrants – past and more contemporary – who were instrumental in shaping Kansas City’s politics, culture, and society.
 
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Commemorating Women’s History Month, University of Missouri-Kansas City social historian Sandra Enríquez identifies and examines some of the female immigrants – past and more contemporary – who were instrumental in shaping Kansas City’s politics, culture, and society.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Reception: 
Following
Program: 
2:00 pm
Central Library
Event Audio

Jazz at Lincoln Center: Handful of Keys

Friday Night Family Fun
The Jazz at Lincoln Center digital concert series again spills into Friday Night Family Fun with a streamed presentation of the jazz piano extravaganza Handful of Keys. Four generations of master pianists reveal the full breadth of the instrument’s evolution over the past century. For all ages.
 
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The Jazz at Lincoln Center digital concert series again spills into Friday Night Family Fun with a streamed presentation of the jazz piano extravaganza Handful of Keys. Four generations of master pianists reveal the full breadth of the instrument’s evolution over the past century. For all ages.
Friday, March 8, 2019
Program: 
6:30 pm
Plaza Branch

Islam's Eternal Struggle: Interfaith Marriage

Pennsylvania State University’s Nina Safran kicks off a series exploring connections between contemporary issues and medieval concepts of race, gender and identity, discussing “She Nourishes Them According to Her Religion”: Interfaith Marriage, Conversion, and Transmission of Culture in the Medieval Islamic World.
 
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Pennsylvania State University’s Nina Safran kicks off a series exploring connections between contemporary issues and medieval concepts of race, gender and identity, discussing “She Nourishes Them According to Her Religion”: Interfaith Marriage, Conversion, and Transmission of Culture in the Medieval Islamic World.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Program: 
6:30 pm
Plaza Branch
Event Audio

Kessler's Historic Parks and Boulevards: A Green Framework for a Great Kansas City

Making a Great City
Kurt Culbertson, the chairman and CEO of Design Workshop and a George Kessler historian, launches a three-part study of Kansas City’s distinctive system of parks and boulevards with a look at the visionary, late-19th-century landscape architect who designed them.
 
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Kurt Culbertson, the chairman and CEO of Design Workshop and a George Kessler historian, launches a three-part study of Kansas City’s distinctive system of parks and boulevards with a look at the visionary, late-19th-century landscape architect who designed them.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Reception: 
6 pm
Program: 
6:30 pm
Plaza Branch
Event AudioEvent Videos

The Challenges of Reading in a Digital Age

Renowned cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf discusses the challenges – and dangers – of reading increasingly on screens. It’s not as sustained and deep. People tend to stick with the simple and familiar, eschewing new voices and viewpoints. Society suffers.
 
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Renowned cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf discusses the challenges – and dangers – of reading increasingly on screens. It’s not as sustained and deep. People tend to stick with the simple and familiar, eschewing new voices and viewpoints. Society suffers.
Monday, March 4, 2019
Program: 
6:30 pm
Plaza Branch
Event Audio

Women Behind the Lens: The Bling Ring

Searching the Psyche Through Cinema
***ALERT: This event has been postponed until March 24 due the continuing threat of inclement weather.
 
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Sunday, March 3, 2019
Program: 
1:30 pm
Plaza Branch
Event Canceled

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