The world’s largest soccer tournament is coming to Kansas City this summer, and the whole metro is preparing.
In addition to food, drinks, and family-friendly activities waiting for World Cup visitors, Kansas City also has plenty to offer when it comes to art, history and culture.
Residents and newcomers can get in the spirit with these six soccer-themed and World Cup-inspired exhibitions at Kansas City museums, galleries and institutions.
“The Beautiful Game” at the National World War I Museum and Memorial
What role did soccer play during World War I? Learn the historic context of the beloved sport at “The Beautiful Game” at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City — which also happens to be the location of the local World Cup FIFA Fan Festival.
This extensive exhibition reveals the deep connections between soccer and the Great War, when many nations used soccer to recruit citizen armies. Soldiers even played soccer on the front lines to raise morale.
One photo, by photojournalist Michael St Maur Sheil, captures a deflated soccer ball on bare soil with the Double Crassiers in the background. On Sept. 25, 1915, the London Irish Rifles, 18th Battalion, London Regiment kicked a football ahead of themselves as they attacked the German army at the Battle of Loos.
- When: Through Sept. 14, 2026
- Where: The National World War I Museum and Memorial, 2 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64108
“The World in Kansas City” at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
To celebrate Kansas City welcoming soccer fans from around the world, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is showcasing the region’s existing international community.
In “The World in Kansas City,” more than 16 artists with diverse backgrounds — all of whom reside in the Kansas City metro — tap into their identity and cultural heritage for works about migration, belonging and social connection.
"It really is a celebration of this really wonderful place that has been welcoming so many artists, thinkers, dreamers, doers — again, from around the world for hundreds of years," curator Jessica Hong told KCUR’s Up To Date.
Chinese-born painter Hong Zhang’s “Offerings” is a diptych of ink-drawn smoke on Italian Alcantara fabric and two ceramic Chinese bowls holding bullet shells, incense sticks, and uncooked white rice.
- When: Through Aug. 9, 2026
- Where: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64111
“United We Play: Kicking It With The Trumans” at Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
Though not strictly soccer-related, “United We Play” at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum in Independence, grasps the essence of the FIFA World Cup, and any other major sports tournaments: to unite, connect and celebrate.
The exhibition features hundreds of artifacts, visual documentation, and stories related to the Trumans and Kansas City’s beloved homegrown teams, including longtimers such as the Royals and the Chiefs, and newer additions like the Current. (Then, dive even deeper into Kansas City’s sports history at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.)
A balanced mix of historic information and meaningful objects, this exhibition will surely entertain sports enthusiasts and history nerds.
- When: Through Dec. 31, 2026
- Where: Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum, 5151 Troost Ave., Ste. 300, Kansas City, Missouri 64110
“Homeland: The Osage in Missouri” at The Museum of Kansas City
Members of the Osage Nation largely reside in Oklahoma these days but called Missouri home for centuries, and the Lake of Ozarks region remains an important part of the Osage people’s ancestral homeland.
“Homeland,” curated at The Museum of Kansas City by Osage Nation citizen Jimmy Lee Beason II, traces the deep-rooted history of the Osage Nation in Missouri’s waterways and landscape.
This free exhibition dives into how the Osage people were affected by European colonization, and the adaptations they made in response. The museum’s accompanying exhibition, “Voices Now: Contemporary Native American Art,” was featured in KCUR’s spring art exhibit roundup.
- When: Through Feb. 21, 2027
- Where: The Museum of Kansas City, 3218 Gladstone Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri 64123
“Kickin' It” at Upper Level Gallery
Kansas City’s artist-run spaces are also joining the celebration. Upper Level Gallery, in the Crossroads, welcomes art lovers from around the world to “Kickin’ It” this June.
As the name suggests, the exhibition is soccer-themed and will feature more than 10 local and regional artists sharing their enthusiasm for the sport in different media, with most pieces made specifically for this exhibition.
Familiar names include spray artist Phybr, who relocated to Kansas City in 2022 and has several murals around town, and Chicago-born, Kansas City-based muralist Bed Fundy, one of the youngest participants of the exhibition, at 24.
Upper Level is known for showing mostly street art in the gallery, but has branched out downstairs with a new concept called “Lower Level Gallery.” Both are operated by clay artist Ami Ayars and muralist Jason Harrington (aka Rif Raf Giraffe), who are also the main organizers behind Kansas City’s homegrown mural festival, SpraySeeMO.
- When: June 5 through July 25, 2026
- Where: Upper Level Gallery, 504 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64108
“A People’s History of Kansas City Soccer” at the Kansas City Public Library
The Kansas City Public Library is putting on an exhibition of historic photographs and archival materials that tell the story of how Kansas City became a World Cup host and soccer hub.
It’s based on reporting by, and produced in collaboration with, the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City. The exhibit will cover the early immigrants who first brought soccer into Kansas City (and fought for field space), the first professional teams and leagues (like the Spurs and Comets), and the rising dominance of the women’s game.
Join KCUR for a kickoff event on Thursday, June 4, featuring a live podcast event to open the exhibit at Kirk Hall in the Central Library.
- When: June 4 through Oct. 4, 2026
- Opening event: Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m.-7 p.m.
- Where: Kansas City Public Library Central Branch, 14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, Missouri 64105
A World Cup Parade of Hearts
If you’re into scavenger hunts, check out Kansas City’s Parade of Hearts. Not only do these customized sculptures offer a rare opportunity to explore the work of 150 local artists, but they also take you through many of Kansas City’s unique neighborhoods.
Naturally, several hearts refer to the upcoming World Cup. “Goals in the Sky,” by Kansas City photographer and painter Carol Waller, depicts an athlete shooting at the net, their foot pointing skyward in front of a Kansas City streetscape and Van Gogh-inspired sunshine.
Use this interactive map to locate all the hearts, and see all the World Cup-related hearts here:
- “Goals In The Sky - A Kansas City Dreamscape” by Carol Waller, 4601 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas 66102
- “Kansas City Has Heart” by The Collective Heart, 2715 Rochester Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64120
- “Welcome to Teal Town – KC Baby” by Scott Seetin, 1460 E. Front St., Kansas City, Missouri 64120
- “The World’s Game in Our City” by Brandon Maxey, 1460 E. Front St., Kansas City, Missouri 64120
- “Soccer Unites” by Daniel Heredia, off Barnett Avenue, west of North 18th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66102
- “Soccer United” by Dennis M. Stanton, 1 Sporting Way, Kansas City, Kansas 66111
- “One World, One City” by Michelle Cormack, 14501 White Ave., Grandview, Missouri 64030
