Arts & Culture

The 70-foot-tall sign’s bright neon arrow and 11 letters have been restored and its 3,000 light bulbs have been replaced. So when will the metro get to enjoy the latest glow up for Kansas City’s most recognizable building-topper?

Multidisciplinary artist Kasim Hardaway reflects on the first year of “Take What You Need,” an interactive public art installation that pops up around Kansas City and invites people to pause and reflect on their lives.

Not every business saw a boost from visiting fans, but some leveraged a prime location, ingenuity in planning, or a personal connection to get a boost from the FIFA World Cup's stint in Kansas City.

A break-in at a Kansas farmhouse unearthed a trove of artifacts from Maud Wagner, one of the country’s first known female commercial tattoo artists. Wagner was born in Emporia and joined a sideshow act with her sister until a fateful meeting pushed her to pursue carnival stardom, inked from head to toe.

EZ Pedicabs will take you from the West Bottoms to 18th and Vine, or from CPKC Stadium to the Plaza — and anywhere in between. Owners want the company’s electric trishaws to become an essential part of getting around Kansas City, long after the World Cup.

To welcome Algerian visitors and make them feel at home in the charming college town, Lawrence restaurant owners offered more halal options, with some pulling pork from their menu. The Algerian team’s presence also gave an opportunity to spotlight Lawrence’s Middle Eastern restaurants.

Only 2% of pilots and aviation engineers are Black, data shows. Red Tail Academy is enrolling Black young adults in an effort to grow that number and to take advantage of the benefits of careers in the aviation industry.

The JuneteenthKC Heritage Festival takes place this year across two days in a newly-transformed Historic 18th and Vine district. It's also the first time festival organizers will welcome a World Cup audience.

Kansas City G.I.F.T, a nonprofit focused on growing Black entrepreneurship, will distribute a guide in June that features 30 Black-owned businesses. The hope is that the World Cup, predicted to bring in more prospective shoppers than Kansas City has ever seen at once, jumpstarts long-term growth.

The exhibit was organized with students at the University of Missouri Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy.

The first woman to chair the Kansas City Art Institute’s ceramics program retired this month. Cary Esser overhauled the department’s curriculum, modernized studio facilities and supported a generation of student artists.

Residents and visitors can get in the World Cup spirit with these six soccer-themed exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across the area.