Laura Spencer
Arts ReporterKansas City is known for its style of jazz, influenced by the blues, as the home of Walt Disney’s first animation studio and the headquarters of Hallmark Cards. As one of KCUR’s arts reporters, I want people here to know a wide range of arts and culture stories from across the metropolitan area.I take listeners behind the scenes and introduce them to emerging artists and organizations, as well as keep up with established institutions.
Send me an email at lauras@kcur.org or follow me on Twitter @lauraspencer.
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Folk Alliance International's annual conference is back in Kansas City for the first of three years. Things will be a bit different due to COVID-19, but the public can still participate.
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Founder and president Vivien Jennings, and her husband, Roger Doeren, chief operations officer, are in their 70s – and ready to retire.
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Harmony Project KC started at Kansas City’s Northeast Community Center seven years ago, with 33 low-income students getting free instruments and music lessons every week. Now more than 260 kids are in the program — and a few are gearing up to graduate.
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Artist Wilbur Niewald taught at the Kansas City Art Institute for more than 40 years. These days he’s probably best-known as a plein-air artist — in all kinds of weather.
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When artist Amie Jacobsen finishes one of her latest projects, visitors to Meadowbrook Park in Prairie Village, Kansas, will be greeted by a massive sunflower made of glass and steel that will glow during the day and be lit at night.
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After a two-year gap during COVID, residents at Aberdeen Village are taking art classes again — and some are competing in an annual art contest.
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For decades, Harold Smith has created colorful paintings and multimedia works in his Kansas City, Kansas, living room. These days, he has a big new space and his artwork is in museums and on national television.
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Unlike the CowParade from 20 years ago, Kansas City is the only place in the world to see these big hearts.
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A Black-owned theatre company, KC Melting Pot is the resident company of Just Off Broadway Theatre in Penn Valley Park and has presented well-timed work since launching in 2013.
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The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art’s atrium project features Kansas City's salsa community and is dedicated to commissioned works by Hispanic and Latinx artists.