Straw House Initiative brings its 'DIY, punk spirit' to Ink & Honey Studios
The long-running exhibition series creates space for provocative, often political work by younger artists.
In 2019, two Wichita State art students wanted to curate a provocative exhibition of work by young artists — the kind no local gallery would show. So Tim Fey moved the furniture out of his living and dining rooms, and he and Hugo Zelada-Romero installed “Explicit Content,” the first Straw House Initiative group show.
“There’s always been that DIY, punk spirit about it,” Fey said.
Installation views from the first Straw House Initiative show in 2019. (Courtesy)
Five years later, Fey and Zelada-Romero organized a second exhibition in the vacant Caldwell-Murdock building in downtown Wichita. After a week spent cleaning inches of dust and other particles from horizontal surfaces, they opened the show on the second floor, up a precarious flight of stairs. Some of the explicitly political works included Micala Gingrich-Gaylord’s critique of Somewhere Fest, Dale Small’s exploration of police kettling techniques, and Zelada-Romero’s Astroturf crop circles.
“That show made it feel more like a collective,” Fey said. “All the artists are in there, cleaning the space out, making decisions on how this whole thing should look.”
Installation views of works by artists who participated in the second Straw House initiative exhibition: Micala Gingrich-Gaylord, Dale Small, Hugo Zelada-Romero, and Tim Fey. (Courtesy)
The third Straw House show just concluded in its most respectable location yet: Ink & Honey Studios, 637 S. Oliver St. in Wichita. WSU student Isabella King and recent graduate Zelda McAfee opened the space last year. Fey admires the effort, and a startup student-led gallery “felt like the right fit for (Straw House).”
The tiny gallery is located in a former insurance office in a small center just south of Jefferson Elementary School.
For this show, Fey and Zelada-Romero wanted to collaborate with regional artists. Zelada-Romero, who is now based in Chicago, recommended Elan Warren, a student at the Kansas City Art Institute. After seeing Vincent Stemmler’s work at “Counterpublic,” a triennial, citywide exhibition in St. Louis, Fey invited him to contribute.
“It’s a way to build community with artists in the region,” Fey said. “I’m sure (Vincent) doesn’t think about Wichita much, and a lot of people in Wichita don’t think about St. Louis, either.”
This exhibition skews dark. Most pieces reference environmental degradation and dystopia in general, including video works by Stemmler and Fey.
Fey plans to continue the exhibition series in some fashion, though he’s not yet sure when or where.
“The cool thing about this show is you don't need to have it all figured out yet if you don't want to,” he said. “We can make things that are interesting and make things that are a bit experimental.”
Emily Christensen is one of the co-founders of The SHOUT. She is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and a recipient of an Arts Writing Grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation. Send her a message: emily@shoutwichita.com.
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