Join us at the Radial Arts Center for the closing reception of “The Frankenartist” — a collaborative group exhibition by Alyssa Schmitt, Mark Sabaliauskas, and Sam Hulsebus.

“The Frankenartist is a triad of artists working frankly and collaboratively in the caves of Omaha, Nebraska for lifetimes spanning right now. Together, gargoyles, they sit atop the skyline, solemn, spitting out rain water, burning frankincense. Feel free to dance in the rain, Frankly, when no one is watching. We need to solidify this. We don’t have much longer.

The Frankenartist accumulates a body of work that is a testament to the importance of totally and completely rejecting artistic isolation. The individuals involved are not named separately but as one voice, the Frankenartist.”

Artist Statement:

What happened to working together in the caves? I don't want to be lonely. We have left the caves and I don’t want to be lonely. Welcome to our cave. It’s beautiful and it's far from lonely. We share a vulnerability that is rare. We are a bit dramatic, a bit used to being alone in our drama, but we can be that (artists) around each other. We're bringing strength in numbers, reclaiming the human from ourselves.

These works are a major feat, a middle finger to loneliness and individualism. This is a testament to our honesty with each other. That's a work of art.

Join us for a conversation with Alyssa Schmitt, Mark Sabaliauskas, and Sam Hulsebus, the collaborative artist team behind The Frankenartist.

“The Frankenartist is a testament to rejecting artistic isolation — a body of work born from honesty, vulnerability, and the joy of creating together.”

Come hear the artists share how their collaboration began, what it means to create as one voice, and how this project reimagines creativity and connection through art.

The Radial Arts Center welcomes you to the opening reception of “The Frankenartist” — a collaborative group exhibition by Alyssa Schmitt, Mark Sabaliauskas, and Sam Hulsebus.

“The Frankenartist is a triad of artists working frankly and collaboratively in the caves of Omaha, Nebraska for lifetimes spanning right now. Together, gargoyles, they sit atop the skyline, solemn, spitting out rain water, burning frankincense. Feel free to dance in the rain, Frankly, when no one is watching. We need to solidify this. We don’t have much longer.

The Frankenartist accumulates a body of work that is a testament to the importance of totally and completely rejecting artistic isolation. The individuals involved are not named separately but as one voice, the Frankenartist.”

Artist Statement:

What happened to working together in the caves? I don't want to be lonely. We have left the caves and I don’t want to be lonely. Welcome to our cave. It’s beautiful and it's far from lonely. We share a vulnerability that is rare. We are a bit dramatic, a bit used to being alone in our drama, but we can be that (artists) around each other. We're bringing strength in numbers, reclaiming the human from ourselves.

These works are a major feat, a middle finger to loneliness and individualism. This is a testament to our honesty with each other. That's a work of art.

"What does a non-profit Art Center do for Artists?"

There are lots of different kinds of venues to show your art in. Commercial galleries, museums, coffee shops, and nonprofit spaces among others. They're different, and each has its own advantages. This time we will focus on NONPROFIT ART CENTERS, with Radial Art Center as the specific example.

Join us at the RADIAL ARTS CENTER, where board member LAURA JOHNSON and local, award-winning artist TODD McCOLLISTER will have a scintillating conversation about this corner of the art world and how it can help you move your career forward.

ABOUT THE LECTURE SERIES

FIRST TUESDAYS at Todd's is a free monthly event series at 6:00 pm on the first Tuesday of each month, at LONG GRAIN FURNITURE, which is the studio of artist and furniture maker Todd McCollister. Each event is different; past events have seen guest speakers, panel discussions, round-table discussions, or no format at all. The main idea is to share our experiences and grow a stronger artist community, so before and after the more formal part, we'll have some time for mixing and mingling. All events are FREE and OPEN to the public. Please share with anyone you think might be interested.

This episode of First Tuesdays will be LOCATED at Radial Arts Center, 5915 Maple Street, in Benson!

Support for the series is provided by folks like you, through PATREON. If you can, please consider becoming a patron, at www.patreon.com/FinalFridaysAtTodds

Join us at the Radial Arts Center for the closing reception of Vanessa Lekule’s solo exhibition “In Case I’m Not Here Tomorrow.” Don’t miss this final opportunity to experience the work in person and connect with the artist.

Artist Statement:

In Case I’m Not Here Tomorrow is not a farewell. It’s an urgent call to the present.

What if everything I believe is worth saying is already in the work? My thoughts on beauty, control, joy, chaos, and mourning—all illustrated through color, surface, and form. Could the compositions I leave behind be a lasting legacy? Could the marks outlive the conversations I’ve had, the colors bring joy where I may have brought pain?

I often think about the inescapable truth that one day I will leave this world. What of me will remain? What have I done with twenty-eight years on this plane?

Maybe these paintings don’t offer answers—perhaps they hold contradictions. Forgiveness, empathy, love, anger—all at once. Using oil, pastel, collage, and pencil, I layer opposing elements—structure and chaos, softness against harshness—into compositions that speak without needing to explain.

This is a visual journal of now: of what is being felt, seen, and experienced in real time. In Case I'm Not Here Tomorrow.

Artist Bio: Vanessa Lekule (b. Tanzania) is a mixed-media visual artist based in Lincoln, Nebraska. She earned her BFA in Studio Art with an emphasis in painting from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she received the Shelly Arnold Waggoner Memorial Scholarship and the Jean R. Faulkner Memorial Art Exhibition Award.

Independent of narrative and representation, her paintings assert their own autonomy by exploring visually opposing elements — order against chaos, hard edges bordering soft shapes, depth layered over flatness, and expressive marks against subdued spaces. Through bold color, playful abstraction, and the incorporation of materials like oil, collage, pastel, and colored pencil, she creates layered, dynamic compositions that serve as playgrounds and moments of curiosity.

Lekule has been awarded residencies at the Black Mountain College Active Archive Residency (NC), Tofte Lake Center (MN), and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (NE), among others. Her work has been exhibited at the Burkholder Project Gallery, Tugboat Gallery, and the LUX Center for the Arts.

The Radial Arts Center invites you to the opening reception of "In Case I’m Not Here Tomorrow" — a solo exhibition by Vanessa Lekule.

Artist Statement:

In Case I’m Not Here Tomorrow is not a farewell. It’s an urgent call to the present.

What if everything I believe is worth saying is already in the work? My thoughts on beauty, control, joy, chaos, and mourning—all illustrated through color, surface, and form. Could the compositions I leave behind be a lasting legacy? Could the marks outlive the conversations I’ve had, the colors bring joy where I may have brought pain?

I often think about the inescapable truth that one day I will leave this world. What of me will remain? What have I done with twenty-eight years on this plane?

Maybe these paintings don’t offer answers—perhaps they hold contradictions. Forgiveness, empathy, love, anger—all at once. Using oil, pastel, collage, and pencil, I layer opposing elements—structure and chaos, softness against harshness—into compositions that speak without needing to explain.

This is a visual journal of now: of what is being felt, seen, and experienced in real time. In Case I'm Not Here Tomorrow.

Artist Bio: Vanessa Lekule (b. Tanzania) is a mixed-media visual artist based in Lincoln, Nebraska. She earned her BFA in Studio Art with an emphasis in painting from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she received the Shelly Arnold Waggoner Memorial Scholarship and the Jean R. Faulkner Memorial Art Exhibition Award.

Independent of narrative and representation, her paintings assert their own autonomy by exploring visually opposing elements — order against chaos, hard edges bordering soft shapes, depth layered over flatness, and expressive marks against subdued spaces. Through bold color, playful abstraction, and the incorporation of materials like oil, collage, pastel, and colored pencil, she creates layered, dynamic compositions that serve as playgrounds and moments of curiosity.

Lekule has been awarded residencies at the Black Mountain College Active Archive Residency (NC), Tofte Lake Center (MN), and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts (NE), among others. Her work has been exhibited at the Burkholder Project Gallery, Tugboat Gallery, and the LUX Center for the Arts.

Please join us for the closing reception of Sam Hulsebus’ solo exhibition “Ode to Infrared.”

The exhibition “Ode to Infrared” is a nod to Hulsebus’ ongoing Infrared Nights series, exploring the invisible world beyond the visible spectrum, shaping our perceptions but remaining elusive. These paintings reinterpret foundational myths and collective memories through a visceral, dreamlike lens, dismantling linear narratives and layering time, space, and emotion.

Drawing from art history, mythology, and personal experience, the series reconstructs allegories of power, struggle, revelation, and collapse. Figures, architecture, and landscapes emerge and dissolve in cycles of destruction and renewal, with vertical compositions echoing ascension. These motifs explore themes of surveillance, obscured realities, and the human endeavor's existential weight.

At the heart of this series lies an engagement with materiality and process. Each work serves as a constructed space merging past and future into a heightened present. Using techniques such as pentimento, this same narrative storytelling is executed through multiple layers of under paintings. Layered abstraction intertwine with figurative mark-marking, embedded writing, often buried or fragmented, mirror history's rewrite, concealment, and rediscovery. This interplay invites viewers to search and decipher meaning within the image's ruins.

Artist Bio: Sam Hulsebus is a visual artist from Omaha, Nebraska, whose work explores the intersection of history, materiality, and perception. Originally trained in architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he brings a structural sensitivity to his compositions, constructing space as something that exists simultaneously inside and outside of time—blending past, present, and future into layered, singular moments. His paintings reimagine historical narratives, mythological allegories, and philosophical inquiries, often depicting the human condition as cyclical, fractured, and in constant flux.

In his ongoing Infrared Nights series, Hulsebus revisits pivotal moments in human history, infusing them with contemporary tensions and abstract emotional currents. The series uses light, distortion, and veiled symbolism to question how history is constructed, perceived, and rewritten. His work blends figurative and abstract mark-making, allowing forms to emerge and dissolve—existing in a state of both actuality and potentiality.

Writing plays a key role in his process, serving as both a conceptual foundation and a physical presence in his paintings. Text may be embedded, obscured, or layered within the paint, reflecting the impermanence and continual reinterpretation of narratives. His approach echoes the improvisational nature of jazz, prioritizing rhythm and fragmentation over fixed representation.

Hulsebus’s work asks: How do we construct meaning? How does the past echo in the present? How do the materials of our world shape the metaphysical? By weaving together art history, mythology, and modern philosophy, he creates work that invites viewers to navigate shifting landscapes of memory, perception, and identity.

The Radial Arts Center is excited to announce the opening reception of Sam Hulsebus’ solo exhibition “Ode to Infrared.”

The exhibition “Ode to Infrared” is a nod to Hulsebus’ ongoing Infrared Series — exploring the invisible world beyond the visible spectrum, shaping our perceptions but remaining elusive. These paintings reinterpret foundational myths and collective memories through a visceral, dreamlike lens, dismantling linear narratives and layering time, space, and emotion.

Drawing from art history, mythology, and personal experience, the series reconstructs allegories of power, struggle, revelation, and collapse. Figures, architecture, and landscapes emerge and dissolve in cycles of destruction and renewal, with vertical compositions echoing ascension. These motifs explore themes of surveillance, obscured realities, and the human endeavor's existential weight.

At the heart of this series lies an engagement with materiality and process. Each work serves as a constructed space merging past and future into a heightened present. Using techniques such as pentimento, this same narrative storytelling is executed through multiple layers of under paintings. Layered abstraction intertwine with figurative mark-marking, embedded writing, often buried or fragmented, mirror history's rewrite, concealment, and rediscovery. This interplay invites viewers to search and decipher meaning within the image's ruins.

The Radial Arts Center is excited to announce the opening of Sam Hulsebus’ solo exhibition “Ode to Infrared.”

The exhibition “Ode to Infrared” is a nod to Hulsebus’ ongoing Infrared Nights series, exploring the invisible world beyond the visible spectrum, shaping our perceptions but remaining elusive. These paintings reinterpret foundational myths and collective memories through a visceral, dreamlike lens, dismantling linear narratives and layering time, space, and emotion.

Drawing from art history, mythology, and personal experience, the series reconstructs allegories of power, struggle, revelation, and collapse. Figures, architecture, and landscapes emerge and dissolve in cycles of destruction and renewal, with vertical compositions echoing ascension. These motifs explore themes of surveillance, obscured realities, and the human endeavor's existential weight.

At the heart of this series lies an engagement with materiality and process. Each work serves as a constructed space merging past and future into a heightened present. Using techniques such as pentimento, this same narrative storytelling is executed through multiple layers of under paintings. Layered abstraction intertwine with figurative mark-marking, embedded writing, often buried or fragmented, mirror history's rewrite, concealment, and rediscovery. This interplay invites viewers to search and decipher meaning within the image's ruins.

Join us Friday, June 27th for the closing reception of RADIANT- an exhibition celebrating community and color!

This group show, co-curated by Laura Johnson and Sarah Craw features multi-media original artwork from various artists who have captured the spirit of joy, celebration, and inclusion. June’s exhibition is being held in honor of PRIDE month

Participating Artists:
Jasmyn Wichert
Bart Vargas
John-Paul Gurnett
Joi Katskee
Sam Hulsebus
Trevor Eichenberger
Collette Hanusek
Imtiaz Ahmad
Trent Grooms
Ashley McCullough
Stephen Kavanaugh
Evan Stoler
Jeff Sedrel
Courtney Kenny Porto
Chelsey Foulk
Lita De La Guardia
Aaron Scobie
Alyssa Schmitt
Angela Sue Kent
Ken Diaz
Peter Yuenger
Shawntae Brown
Sarah Parys
Brandon Harlo
Carlie Waganer
Ashley DeVrieze
Michael Zimmerman
Cathy Ballard
Sarah Craw
Aspen Laboy
Laura Johnson

Cover photo: Artwork by John-Paul Gurnett

Be a part of a celebration of art and artists during the Radial Arts Center's Annual Art Expo & Benefit and the Omaha Post-it Show! It's a unique opportunity to meet local and regional artists and become a part of our community of art patrons. Your participation will directly support these artists and help raise funds for the vital programs of the Radial Arts Center.

CLOSING RECEPTION //
Friday, May 23, 2025. 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Radial Arts Center, 5915 Maple St, Omaha, NE

This event is organized by the Radial Arts Center, a non-profit organization committed to developing and growing socially engaged practice within the cultural sector, supporting the professional sustainability of artists, and making more room for the Arts in the Benson Creative District.

Be a part of a celebration of art and artists during the Radial Arts Center’s Annual Art Expo & Benefit and the Omaha Post-it Show! This event is organized by the Radial Arts Center, a non-profit organization committed to developing and growing socially engaged practice within the cultural sector, promoting the professional sustainability of artists, and making more room for the Arts in the Benson Creative District.

OPENING RECEPTION //
Benson First Friday, May 2, 2024, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Radial Arts Center, 5915 Maple St, Omaha, NE

You’re invited to join us for an evening alongside over 200 local and regional artists, becoming a part of our community of art patrons. Your participation will directly support these artists and help raise funds for the vital programs of the Radial Arts Center.

DETAILS // The Omaha Post-it Show
What is a Post-It Note show?! It’s a unique art exhibition featuring original works of art created on sticky notes! These 3’’ x 3’’ works of art range from quirky illustrations to eccentric paintings and even three-dimensional collages. The best part? Each Post-it Note artwork is priced at just $25, making it affordable for everyone to own a piece of art from these talented local artists.

The exhibition is free and open to all, and we look forward to welcoming you!

You’re invited to our FIRST post-it note art making workshops! Visit the Radial Arts Center to create original artwork on post-it notes for the Omaha Post-it Show alongside other local artists and community members!

This is a two-part workshop series led by artist Sarah Craw at the Radial Arts Center on the following dates:
• Thursday, April 17, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
• Thursday, April 24, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

MATERIALS PROVIDED:
Post-it notes, pens, markers, colored pencils, and cutting tools will be provided at the workshops

PLEASE BRING:
BYO beverages and art supplies!

This is a FREE workshop open to the public. Post-it Art created during the workshop can be included in the Omaha Post-it Show for sale throughout the month of May, with proceeds benefiting the Radial Arts Center.

Additional questions? Email us at
omahapostitshow@gmail.com

You’re invited to our FIRST post-it note art making workshops! Visit the Radial Arts Center to create original artwork on post-it notes for the Omaha Post-it Show alongside other local artists and community members!

This is a two-part workshop series led by artist Sarah Craw at the Radial Arts Center on the following dates:
• Thursday, April 17, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
• Thursday, April 24, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

MATERIALS PROVIDED:
Post-it notes, pens, markers, colored pencils, and cutting tools will be provided at the workshops

PLEASE BRING:
BYO beverages and art supplies!

This is a FREE workshop open to the public. Post-it Art created during the workshop can be included in the Omaha Post-it Show for sale throughout the month of May, with proceeds benefiting the Radial Arts Center.

Additional questions? Email us at
omahapostitshow@gmail.com

The Radial Arts Center is excited to present “The Sky is Always There For Us,” a solo exhibition showcasing original artwork by Sarah Craw.

The sky offers comfort, solidarity, and endless possibility, providing solace in moments of joy, despair, hope, or loss. For Sarah, the warmth of the sun has always been a source of comfort, and this exhibition reflects her journey over the past decade, capturing moments when the sky brought hope, clarity, and confirmation. Through photographs, journal entries, poems, and paintings, she shares personal experiences that continue to bring her joy and meaning. The exhibition celebrates the sky’s fleeting displays, from the soft pastels of dawn to the fiery intensity of sunset, contrasting heavily saturated areas with the simplicity of negative space and muted colors, capturing a range of moods from glowing clouds to stormy grays.

Sarah’s abstract work, like nature itself, allows the mind to explore multiple interpretations. She invites the materials to speak through texture and form, letting the water and canvas guide the process to something beyond her control. Her intent is to inspire creativity in others, leaving space for imagination to fill the quiet spaces in her art. Sarah was raised in McCook, Nebraska and currently lives in Omaha, working as a freelance artist. She is a leader in the arts community and is the Executive Director of the Radial Arts Center in Benson where she runs WordPlay Gallery.

Don’t miss the closing reception of “Serendipitous Harmony: Embracing Love, Inspiration and Mental Wellness,” a mixed media group show curated by Lita De La Guardia!

This exhibition invites artists to explore the unexpected and harmonious moments that influence our mental wellness, love, and sources of inspiration. This theme encourages artists to delve into the serendipitous encounters and experiences that shape our emotional landscapes and creative journeys. Through diverse artistic mediums, I hope to create a space where viewers can reflect on the interconnectedness of love, inspiration, and mental wellness, and how these elements contribute to a balanced and fulfilling life.

Schedule your gallery appointment to visit to Radial Arts Center’s Art Expo & Benefit and the Omaha Post-it Show, On view through May 23rd! These exhibitions are organized by the Radial Arts Center, a non-profit organization committed to developing and growing socially engaged practice within the cultural sector, promoting the professional sustainability of artists, and making more room for the Arts in the Benson Creative District.

You’re invited to experience this collection of artworks by over 200 local and regional artists and to become a part of our community of art patrons. Your participation will directly support these artists and help raise funds for the vital programs of the Radial Arts Center.

DETAILS // The Omaha Post-it Show
What is a Post-It Note show?! It’s a unique art exhibition featuring original works of art created on sticky notes! These 3’’ x 3’’ works of art range from quirky illustrations to eccentric paintings and even three-dimensional collages. The best part? Each Post-it Note artwork is priced at just $25, making it affordable for everyone to own a piece of art from these talented local artists.

The exhibition is free and open to all, and we look forward to welcoming you!

The Radial Arts Center presents The Sky is Always There For Us, a solo exhibition showcasing original artwork by Sarah Craw. The sky offers comfort, solidarity, and endless possibility, providing solace in moments of joy, despair, hope, or loss. For Sarah, the warmth of the sun has always been a source of comfort, and this exhibition reflects her journey over the past decade, capturing moments when the sky brought hope, clarity, and confirmation. Through photographs, journal entries, poems, and paintings, she shares personal experiences that continue to bring her joy and meaning. The exhibition celebrates the sky’s fleeting displays, from the soft pastels of dawn to the fiery intensity of sunset, contrasting heavily saturated areas with the simplicity of negative space and muted colors, capturing a range of moods from glowing clouds to stormy grays.

Sarah’s abstract work, like nature itself, allows the mind to explore multiple interpretations. She invites the materials to speak through texture and form, letting the water and canvas guide the process to something beyond her control. Her intent is to inspire creativity in others, leaving space for imagination to fill the quiet spaces in her art. 

Join us during Benson First Friday for the opening reception of “Serendipitous Harmony: Embracing Love, Inspiration and Mental Wellness,” a mixed media group show curated by Lita De La Guardia.

This exhibition invites artists to explore the unexpected and harmonious moments that influence our mental wellness, love, and sources of inspiration. This theme encourages artists to delve into the serendipitous encounters and experiences that shape our emotional landscapes and creative journeys. Through diverse artistic mediums, I hope to create a space where viewers can reflect on the interconnectedness of love, inspiration, and mental wellness, and how these elements contribute to a balanced and fulfilling life.

Lita De La Guardia is a first-generation Cuban/Sicilian artist, muralist, and entrepreneur based in Omaha. She is the founder of Bella Vita Canvas L.L.C., her studio where she not only offers her “Creative Calm” therapeutic art classes but also hosts community artist cooperative events and her curated exhibitions. Bella Vita Canvas also serves as a hub for initiatives like The Omaha Little Italy Artist Guild, where Lita collaborates with other artists to engage and create for the community. Lita’s murals, part of her World Mural Project, can be seen throughout Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas City, and internationally.

Be a part of a celebration of art and artists during the Radial Arts Center's Annual Art Expo & Benefit and the Omaha Post-it Show! This event is organized by the Radial Arts Center, a non-profit organization committed to developing and growing socially engaged practice within the cultural sector, promoting the professional sustainability of artists, and making more room for the Arts in the Benson Creative District.

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