Ree Kaneko

Ree Kaneko (née Schonlau) (born February 1, 1946) is an American artist, arts administrator, and arts consultant from Omaha, Nebraska.

Early life Kaneko, born in Omaha, Nebraska, grew up in a working-class neighborhood near the Old Market in a neighborhood called Little Italy. Growing up, Kaneko wanted to become an artist. At the time, Omaha was not regarded as a center for visual arts.

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts In 1986, the Alternative Worksite, an Artist-in-Industry program, became Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. The Bemis is a nonprofit arts organization that includes galleries and a competitive residency program for artists. The Bemis was a collaboration between Kaneko, her sculptor husband Jun Kaneko, ceramic artist Tony Hepburn, and visual arts curator and professor Lorne Faluk. Kaneko founded Bemis and served as its executive director until 2001, when she and husband Jun Kaneko dedicated their efforts to founding a new center for creativity in downtown Omaha, called KANEKO.

KANEKO In 1998, the Kanekos opened a non-profit organization called KANEKO: Open Space for Your Mind, to support and promote creativity. An old downtown Omaha Plymouth dealership was purchased and renovated to use as art storage space as well as a nonprofit center for creative studies. KANEKO now encompasses three turn-of-the-century warehouses in the Old Market District of Omaha.

Awards and honors 1991: Kaneko received UNO's Distinguished Alumna Award 2012: Kaneko and her husband were honored by the Omaha Business Hall of Fame 2020: Kaneko and her husband received a Lifetime Achievement Award by Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAAs)

Personal life Kaneko is married to sculptor Jun Kaneko. Both daughters work at the Kaneko Studio.

Works or publications Schonlau, Ree. Earthcooks. Omaha, Neb: Craftsmen Gallery, 1982. Includes photo documentation of a functional pottery cookware exhibit, photos of the artists, and favorite recipes of the artists held at the Craftsmen's Gallery, Omaha, Nebraska. Introduction by Ree Schonlau Hepburn, Tony, 1942-, Jun Kaneko, Faye, 1950- Munroe, Ree Schonlau, and Lorne Falk. Convergent Territories: The Gallery As Artist's Studio : Tony Hepburn, Jun Kaneko, Faye Munroe : Walter Phillips Gallery, the Banff School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta, October 19-November 7, 1982. Banff, Alta: Walter Phillips Gallery, 1982. Catalogue of an exhibition; essays, Ree Schonlau and Lorne Falk. Kaneko, Jun. Ceramics by Jun Kaneko. Omaha, NE: Ree Schonlau Gallery, 1983. 20 ceramic constructions made by Jun Kaneko between 1971 and 1983; list includes title, size, date of construction for each work. Schonlau, Ree, and Patrick Siler. Chicago Vicinity Clay VI: A Juried Exhibition Open to Artists Residing Within 280 Miles of Chicago. Chicago, Ill: Lill Street Gallery, 1987. Catalog of an exhibition held at Lill Street Gallery, June 26-Aug. 23, 1987 and at the State of Illinois Art Gallery, July 20-Sep. 11, 1987. Jurors, Ree Schonlau, Patrick Siler. Schonlau, Ree, and Steve Joy. Working Space: Selections from the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts : [Exhibition] May 2-June 28, 1998. Omaha, Neb: Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, 1998. Catalog of an exhibition held at the Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Iowa; Text (p. 2) by Ree Schonlau and Steve Joy. Schlanger, Jeff, and Ree Schonlau Kaneko. Jeff Schlanger: [Exhibition] March 17-April 23, 2005. New York, N.Y.: CUE Art Foundation, 2005. Exhibition catalog; curated by Ree Schonlau Kaneko.