Linda Blaha-Kemnitzer has been a Lecturer of Design at the University of Kansas since 1993. A native of New York City, she studied at the University of Cincinnati in the cooperative five-year interior design program, with her fifth year at Maryland Institute of Art, earning a BFA in Interior Design and Photography. Blaha-Kemnitzer also holds a MA with honors in Environmental Design and Urban Planning from Michigan State University.
In addition to her work at KU, Blaha-Kemnitzer is the Artistic Director at reStart, a homeless shelter located in the urban-core of Kansas City. The reStart Arts Program for Children and Youth was initiated by Blaha-Kemnitzer in 2001, making reStart one of the first homeless shelters in the nation to receive funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Arts Program provides children and youth with extensive integrated arts experiences in conjunction with the program's arts partners, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Coterie Theatre, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, AIA of Kansas City, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, Kansas City Public Library, Hallmark's Kaleidoscope, Paul Mesner Puppets, Dan White & Associates Photography and American Jazz Museum. In 2008, with funding from the Missouri Arts Council, Blaha-Kemnitzer extended the Arts Program to reStart's Homeless Services Center, a facility providing day-time shelter, counseling and care to chronic homeless adults.
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The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts Lawrence, KS 66045 785/864-3421 |
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