ABSTRACT ART - Local artist/designer Zach Arlan is currently showing some of his work at the Leawood Fine Art Gallery, located at 10709 A Roe Avenue in Leawood’s Camelot Court. The abstract paintings currently on display use fluorescent pigment in conjunction with geometric shapes.
“I organize the shapes into movements that are meant to convey a mood, an emotion, a place, a time: the intangible. The colors seem unnatural while simultaneously familiar. My intention is ultimately for the viewer to have a similar experience of discovery as I did while creating it,” said Arlan, a HBHA graduate.
PHILANTHROPY TRANSFORMED — Ever wonder how central funding agencies — specifically the United Way of Greater Kansas City and the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City — are impacted by local foundations? Sol Koenigsberg, Jewish Federation executive director emeritus, conducted an extensive study on that and it is published on the Jewish Federation website. Called “Philanthropy Transformed: A call for interaction and cooperation,” it’s been distributed to board members and senior staff members of both the Union Way and Greater Kansas City Foundation. The Jewish Professional Research Organization (JPRO) has also made it accessible on their North American website.
Morton Sosland has this to say about Koenigsberg’s effort:
“Sol Koenigsberg has performed a great service by pointing out the dramatic changes under way in the origination of charitable funds, not just in the Jewish community where he spent his finely regarded career, but also in the general community. Focusing primarily on community foundations and other similar organizations created to take advantage of IRS provisions allowing individuals to make donations salted away for future distribution, he aptly describes how this diverts funds that United Ways and Jewish Federations might have once counted on to utilize in their far-reaching programs. He warns, while avoiding alarms, how this relatively new — at least new in its quite large dimensions — approach poses a genuine challenge. He suggests that this change may well require organizations that once considered themselves exclusively central to community fundraising and charitable allocating to look for new approaches that are purposely designed to compete with a totally new funding system. As an observer on both sides of this new framework, I strongly commend Sol for bringing to light his valuable insights on what is obviously a revolution in the charitable field.”
The article may be accessed on the Jewish Federation’s website, www.jewishkansascity.org/home.aspx, by search philanthropy transformed.