Arts & Culture

Some artists shy away from using AI. Kansas City photographer and digital artist David Morris embraces it. Hear how a local creative harnesses AI to bring his vision to life, and where you can see it. Plus: A Kansas City bookselling icon is retiring after years of tracking down Black books and vinyl. Now, a new generation is stepping up to preserve her legacy.

Artificial intelligence had a hand in a new art installation at a Kansas City Streetcar stop. David Morris’ abstract digital collage is called “Music is Community," and it’s part of this year’s “Art in the Loop” program.

At 84 years old, Willa Robinson is retiring and closing Willa’s Books and Vinyl, the store where she’s spent years selling works by Black artists. She’s placing the beloved space in the hands of The Kansas City Defender, which will preserve her vast archive.

Local artists can have a hand in creating public art to accompany a planned skate park between River Market and the West Bottoms. Riders in the area hope the site becomes a hub for the local skateboarding community.

Kansas City's options for dazzling, and free, fireworks shows on July 4 include the Stars and Stripes Picnic at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. But you'll find even more festivities throughout the metro, and across the whole holiday weekend.

Months after area arts and culture nonprofits saw a loss of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, Gov. Mike Kehoe has vetoed millions more in state support.

Professional artist and sign maker Dave Eames says diligent journaling has helped him download and remember important moments, cringeworthy mishaps and the mundanity of life. His work has garnered millions of views online.

The Kansas Historical Society’s archaeological field school this year gave volunteers a chance to dig into the state's territorial history at the site of an 1850s-era mansion near Lecompton.

The founder of the Black Archives of Mid-America brought Juneteenth to Kansas City in 1980. This year's celebrations include parades, festivals and historical storytelling in Kansas and Missouri.

Melissa Ferrer Civil found community, and a path toward better mental health, through poetry. Now, she’s spreading the good word.

For years, tech companies have secretly used pirated e-book libraries to train their generative artificial intelligence models. "It horrifies me," says Kansas author Bryn Greenwood, whose books were among those stolen.

When President Trump made deep cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities earlier this year, grants were cancelled and programs across the country were suspended. In Kansas City, one oral history project for Vietnam War veterans had to be scaled back.