Culture Club

FRI 8/6
In Hombres y Mujeres: Machismo y Feminismo at the Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery (919 West 17th Street), Kansas City artists, along with visitors from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Spain, explore such subjects as strength and weakness, heritage and tradition, and cultural and sexual identity. Juan Carlos Breceda's "Resting" is a patchwork of pink, orange and gray paint that renders a robust, androgynous figure in a style reminiscent of Matisse. Marla Cirino's "Plegaria" draws the eye back and forth across the canvas with its depiction of a figure's facial expression in various stages of what looks to be prayerful excitement. Sue Moreno, Adolfo Martinez and Jose Faus, among others, also contribute work. The show is meant to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and to educate the public about the importance of Latino arts in the West Side community and the greater metropolitan area, says William Hill, the gallery's exhibits coordinator.

The Kansas City band Andean Express provides a musical backdrop of quena flute, bombo drum, guitarron and mandolina for the exhibit's opening, from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. Admission to Friday's reception is $3 (or $5 for two tickets) and includes food and drinks. For information, call 816-221-2349. -- Nicholas Malewski

Fire It Up
It's a reunion -- but everyone's invited.

FRI 8/6
Summer is the season for much-dreaded reunions. However, the Cube at Beco (1922 Baltimore) hosts an entirely painless one -- enjoyable, even -- from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. She's Hot Like Cone 10 includes works by 16 Kansas City Art Institute ceramics alums. Some of the pieces are functional and sculptural works from the artists' field of study, but there are also submissions unrelated to the artists' degrees, such as a tapestry-sized digital print. As for the bizarro title, it's sort of a tongue-in-cheek, sexy, inside joke for ceramists -- cone 10 is the temperature at which stoneware and porcelain are fired. So that means she's really, really hot. The exhibit is on display until August 28; call Kim Hallisey at 816-914-7894 for more information. -- Annie Fischer