Art

A new exhibit at Charlotte Street Foundation highlights the power of design in one of Kansas City’s most successful labor organizations, and how graphic arts has helped shape the struggle for economic justice among low-wage workers in Kansas City.

More than a decade after escape rooms first arrived in Kansas City, your options for life-size puzzle solving have never been greater — or more challenging. Check out this guide to escape rooms to try around the region, and some tips for better solving.

Artist-run spaces, galleries and Kansas City's biggest museums all have electrifying collections of local works to start the new year. But don't wait around to catch them — many of these exhibitions are slated to close soon.

Linda Lighton’s ceramic sculptures speak to some of the thorniest social issues of our time, like sex, feminism and gun control. A new retrospective at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park explores her work.

Since 1956, Leila Cohoon had amassed the world’s largest collection of hair art and jewelry — intricate works made of human hair. Her museum in Independence, Missouri, was the only one of its kind. But when Cohoon died last year, the future of this Kansas City institution — and the unusual tradition it preserved — was suddenly an open question. Suzanne Hogan speaks to KCUR’s Julie Denesha to find the answer.

Leila's Hair Museum, the most unusual attraction in Independence, Missouri, closed in September. Thanks to the founder’s granddaughter, the massive collection of wreaths made out of human hair is finding new homes at museums across the country.

Walkin’ & Rollin’ Costumes started in 2015 to make children’s Halloween dreams a reality. The nonprofit has made 200 free custom costumes to fit wheelchairs and walkers.

The first three of 30 paintings sold in Los Angeles for a record-shattering $662,000. The rest will go up for auction in various cities throughout 2026. Ross painted many of them live on his PBS show.

El artista español Luis Quintanilla huyó de la Guerra Civil Española para escapar de la persecución, pero la mayor parte de su obra fue destruida. Hoy en día, uno de los dos únicos murales que quedan, se encuentra en un rincón de la Universidad de Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Recién restaurada, la extraña y fascinante obra maestra de Quintanilla es un testimonio de los inmigrantes y del peligro del autoritarismo.

Museums usually keep art behind glass or tucked in storage, but one Lawrence museum lets people get closer. We'll take a trip to “Open Fridays” at the Spencer Museum.

Artist Luis Quintanilla fled the Spanish Civil War to escape persecution, but most of his work was destroyed. Today, one of his two remaining murals sits in an otherwise ordinary corner of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Newly restored, Quintanilla’s bizarre and enthralling masterpiece stands as a testament to immigrants and the danger of authoritarianism.

Kansas City, Kansas, artist Harold Smith’s new series of paintings puts a personal spin on iconic works from art history by adding in his friends and neighbors. You can see these "Around the Way Folk, Saints in Uncommon Places" now at the Mulvane Art Museum in Topeka.