Mission

The Kansas City Electronic Music and Arts Alliance (KcEMA) was founded in 2007 to encourage and develop understanding and appreciation of electronic music in the Kansas City Area. KcEMA organizes concerts and collaborative projects with generative and performing artists, and provides a forum for electronic musicians and artists in other media to collaborate, exchange ideas, and grow as an interactive, supportive community.

Organization Description

The Kansas City Electronic Music and Arts Alliance(KcEMA) was founded in 2007 with the goal to encourage and develop electronic music in the Kansas City area. KcEMA fulfills this goal by offering a variety of services to the local community. This includes formal concerts, collaborations with local arts organizations and national organizations, educational opportunities, and promoting local artists. Recent highlights for the organization include being a major partner for the Kansas City Contemporary Music Festival (KcCMF). KcCMF drew over 300 audience members for the May 2019 festival. For the past two years at MoxSonic, a music festival hosted by the University of Central Missouri, KcEMA has offered a unique program surround sound pieces, while serving local Kansas City coffee in a relaxed environment. This season includes a return to MoxSonic and KcCMF, Techno Chapel , presented in collaboration with Charlotte Street, an educational partnership with UMKC Conservatory’s Piano department presenting a concert of piano and electronic works through the ages, including a local composer receiving a performance, and our final concert featuring a new commission by a Kansas City artist for loadbang.

Diversity Statement and Progress

KcEMA actively works to create an inclusive and supportive environment for all artists. Electronic concert music and installation art is heavily dominated by male Caucasian composers, with significant minority populations of female Caucasians, and Asians of both genders. We have worked hard to increase the representation of minority groups in our board, in our programming, and through community outreach. Specifically, KcEMA has focused on programming works by underrepresented groups, and reaching out to varied communities through networking events to build a more diverse board. Furthermore, KcEMA recognizes an ever growing socio-economic disparity in art music produced by the high cost of production and the cultural norm of all costs being paid for by the artists. KcEMA views this as a major barrier to inclusivity for various groups. As such, KcEMA opportunities, such as participating in open calls or concerts, are always free for composers and artists. KcEMA strives to drive down the cost of attendance, making many concerts free. KcEMA believes low costs to entry, proactive programming, outreach into wider communities will drive diversity in our organization.