A People's History of Kansas City LIVE! Moving the needle: the art of the tattoo
Get to know the Kansas woman credited as America’s first female commercial tattoo artist and how tattoos expanded from indigenous communities to circus side shows, to the spotlit walls of an art gallery.
This live edition of KCUR’s award-winning podcast A People’s History of Kansas City is set within the exhibition "This is Permanent" featuring 17 area artists celebrating tattoos as an art form.
Join host Mackenzie Martin, reporter Julie Denesha, and tattoo artists Ron Dolacek and Laryn Langford as they pull back the curtain on the life and influence of the marvelous Maud Wagner, who paved the way for other female tattoo artists, and explore how local artists are engaging with tattoos in fresh ways.
When: Thursday, September 24, 2026 | One night, two showtimes to choose from!
- Happy Hour Show: Doors 5:30 p.m. | Program 6-7 p.m.
- Late Show: Doors 7:30 p.m. | Program 8-9 p.m.
Where: InterUrban ArtHouse | 8001 Newton, Overland Park, KS
Tickets: $10 for KCUR and IUAH members | $15 non-members
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About the episode: A break-in at a Kansas farmhouse unearthed a trove of artifacts from Maud Wagner, one of the country’s first known female commercial tattoo artists. Wagner was born in Emporia in 1877 and ran off to join the circus until a fateful meeting pushed her to pursue carnival stardom, inked from head to toe. Listen and subscribe to A People’s History of Kansas City.
About the InterUrban Arthouse exhibition: "This Is Permanent" recognizes the importance and skill of tattoo artists and the tattoo as an art form. Cultures worldwide and throughout history have used tattoos and skin adornment for self expression, personal and cultural identity, rights of passage, belonging, beauty, rebellion, and to mark so many other aspects of the human experience. How does the work of tattoo artists translate onto the gallery wall?