This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.
There is no argument: Fall is the absolute best season for art lovers in Kansas City. It almost feels like creativity follows the cycle of nature, and decides to bear rich fruit at harvest time.
It was hard to choose which exhibitions to include in our roundup of the best exhibits around Kansas City this time. You may even notice some spaces have two exhibitions running simultaneously, so be sure to check both of them out!
“Body Forth” at Four Chapter Gallery
Not enough people know that a gallery exists inside the Christ Community Church downtown campus. The gallery makes a meaningful effort to bridge the gap between the secular and the religious, curating a wide array of deeply spiritual exhibitions that explore universal themes highlighted in Christianity but also relatable to the general public.
In “Body Forth,” three local women artists — Annica Anderson (who also serves as Four Chapter’s gallery assistant), Ellie McGinty, and Pamela Willhite — ponder the concept of “embodiment” beyond its Christian definition of the Holy Spirit.
For example, McGinty’s piece, “Teach Us to Number Our Days,” was constructed over three years, from 2023-2026, during which the artist experienced trauma, loss, and struggle. Borrowing the form of a “gratitude journal,” McGinty documented what she felt grateful for on library index cards, occasionally incorporating foraged plants and other found objects in the day’s entry.
Meanwhile, Willhite’s “Humility and Generosity” features three pairs of clay figures suspended midair in a metal circle. Each pair of figures reached toward its counterpart, signaling the inherent desire to connect and embrace shared by humanity as a whole.
- Where: Four Chapter Gallery, 208 W. 19th St., Kansas City, MO 64108
- When: Now through Nov. 1, 2026
“Victor and Friends” at Belger Arts
Known by many as “The Babuddah,” longtime Kansas City Art Institute professor Victor Babu made significant contributions to ceramics and to educating younger generations.
A distinguished potter who taught at KCAI from 1968-2001, Babu was known for the elegance, decorativeness, and incredible precision in his work. In “Victor and Friends: Honoring the Legacy of Victor Babu,” visitors can observe the artist’s signature chargers (large round plates) up close and admire their delicate hues, mesmerizing patterns, and smooth, fluid shapes. A documentary about the artist’s life, directed by Marilyn Lysohir, will also be available to view.
Further, the exhibition also honors the artist’s dedication to education and mentorship by showing student pieces alongside his originals. Over two dozen former students created tea bowls using Babu’s own glazes, which have sat in storage since the artist’s death in 2019. Some of the works by friends and former students are available for purchase, and the proceeds will support The Victor Babu Memorial Tuition Award at the Kansas City Art Institute.
- Where: Belger Crane Yard Gallery, 2011 Tracy Ave, Kansas City, MO 64108
- When: Now through Jan. 2, 2027
“Murmurating Threads” at Vulpes Bastille
Threads and fiber carry sentimental meaning across Asian diasporas. Fiber art connects the domestic and the industrial, shifts from private objects to public functionality, and is often considered an intangible heritage in many Asian cultures.
Bringing 12 pan-Asian artists working in or with fiber from the Midwest and beyond, “Murmurating Threads” is the largest project to date by Kansas City’s first pan-Asian artist collective, Third Pine Collective.
Co-curated by Kansas City-based multidisciplinary artist and writer Xiao Faria daCunha (Author’s note: That’s me!) and St. Louis-based fiber artist and former Charlotte Street Foundation awardee Hùng Lê, the exhibition explores how fiber can be a vessel for carrying memories, reflecting on lived experiences, and constructing new identities.
For example, a hand-woven tapestry by Minnesota-based Fawzia Khan, a Nigerian-Pakistani American multidisciplinary visual artist, first resembles a sunset over the ocean. Titled “Gratitude,” the work is actually the soundwave form of an anonymous Native American prayer (which you can listen to by scanning the QR code next to the artwork) that translates to “give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” As the artist navigates multiple identities as an immigrant woman of color, a former OBGYN, and a mother, positive anticipation walks alongside her as she continues life’s journey.
“Blue House,” a solo exhibition by KCAI alumna Leslie McGuire, is on view in the Vulpes Bastille’s subgallery space.
- Where: Vulpes Bastille, 1737 Locust St, Kansas City, MO 64108
- When: Now through Oct. 23, 2026
“Resquache” at Bunker Center For the Arts
Many know Maria Maria Vasquez Boyd as the familiar voice behind KKFI’s ArtSpeak Radio, one of Kansas City’s few on-air arts and culture radio programs. But Boyd is also a prolific multi-disciplinary artist herself, creating works deeply rooted in identity, ancestry, and personal history.
“Resquache is a way of life, a perspective on living,” said Boyd in her statement about her solo exhibit. “The work I present here has a history of something becoming something from something else. New work, painted over from old work is new again. Revisited old work, once seen in a different space, now resides in a new space seen with fresh eyes.”
In “Resquache,” Boyd showcases a wide variety of creations using acrylic, oil, gouache, ink, and pens on paper and canvas, from mini blocks with birds and chimeras to medium-sized black-and-white illustrations, to giant paintings of empty chairs. Most works are playful and light-hearted, featuring cartoon-ish birds, owls, dogs, plants, and mythical creatures.
Walking through the exhibition felt like going through a children’s adventure book. You try to peel back the images and guess what was there first and what was added, deciphering secret messages carried by each creature, and wondering what additional meanings were tucked behind the layers of trees, cactuses, and painted patterns.
- Where: The Bunker Center for the Arts, 1014 E 19th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108
- When: Now through Nov. 29, 2026
“The Forest Whispers to Me” at The Waiting Room
If you’re looking to step away from reality and unwind somewhere safe and quiet, come to the solo exhibition by KCAI alum and current Charlotte Street Foundation resident artist Ellie Naege. Now on display at The Waiting Room, an artist-run space in the West Bottoms, “The Forest Whispers to Me” is built around a story where a little explorer is transported into a ceramic forest after stumbling into a fairy ring.
Naege transformed the gallery space into a mystical experience, with ceramic mushrooms hanging from a giant blue branch shaped like a moon. The explorer’s blue cape, decorated with ceramic feathers, hold all the untold adventures. The walls are lined with small porcelain sculptures where more little white mushrooms and features sprout from blue rings.
Yes, we know: You’re not supposed to walk into a fairy ring. But could you truly resist the temptation?
“A Sense of Belonging,” a two-person black-and-white photography exhibition featuring Soweto, South Africa-based Gugulethu Ndlalani and Kansas City-based Dolce Belcourt, is also open at The Waiting Room.
- Where: The Waiting Room, 1106 Santa Fe St. (basement), Kansas City, MO 64101
- When: Now through Nov. 13, 2026
“Hardscaping” at Esther Friedel Projects
Esther Friedel Projects is the latest addition to Kansas City’s artist-run gallery scene. The debut exhibition at the space, titled “Hardscape,” plays around the term’s dual meanings in construction and art.
The exhibition features Kansas City-based queer Puerto Rican artist and arts writer Jaede Bayala; multi-media artist, researcher, and educator Poppy DeltaDawn; KCAI associate professor and quilter Kim Eichler-Messmer; KCAI alumna and Thai American artist Susan Metrican; Lawrence-based ceramist and collage artist Leah Tacha; and Atlanta-based painter Anna Wehrwein.
Pieces in the exhibition play with structure, materials, shapes, frames, and compositions through means of abstraction, intervention, containment, and transformation, blurring the boundary between realistic representation and conceptualization.
For example, DeltaDawn’s “Hay Vessel I” is a hand-woven hay bowl, but instead of using processed plant fiber, the artist uses the hay in its raw form, seeds still attached, reinforced by thin red threads. The vessel itself contains humanity’s deep connection with the land we stand and build upon. But the absence of content within prompts the viewer to further consider what else is, or was supposed to be, held by the bowl.
“Don’t be Afraid of Dark,” a solo exhibition by Bay Area-based painter Karla Wozniak, is also on view.
- Where: Esther Friedel Projects, 1901 Park Drive, Kansas City, Kansas 66102
- When: Now through Dec. 5, 2026
