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These Kansas City creatives believe art can help combat gun violence

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A man seated at a table inside a radio studio reads from a sheet of paper he's holding while two other men sit a microphones listening.
Carlos Moreno
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KCUR 89.3
Glenn North, poet laureate of the18th & Vine Jazz District, reads a poem during Up To Date on Thursday, Aug. 10, while Philo Northrup, left, and Michael Toombs listen.

Artists have long used their work to advocate for a better world, and these Kansas City creatives think that solutions to one of today’s biggest issues — gun violence — can be found through art.

Kansas City artists and activists are gathering Thursday night at the 21c Museum Hotel for a panel on gun violence and the role artists can play to address the issue.

“[Art] can create opportunities for people to come together and to spend time together and to learn more about each other. It can be a process that goes beyond the outcome,” artist and activist Michael Tombs told KCUR's Up To Date.

Toombs is one of several artists participating in tonight's panel discussion "Art & Advocacy: A Discussion on the Culture of Gun Violence.”

The panel will be moderated by the Kansas City Artists’ Coalition and is in correspondence with artist Philo Northrup’s solo exhibition “Report to Homeroom," which is up at the Snap Space Gallery this August.

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When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
Claudia Brancart is an Up To Date producer for KCUR 89.3. She graduated from Pitzer College in Los Angeles where she majored in World Literature and Studio Art. You can reach her at claudiab@kcur.org.
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