Visual arts

Illustrator Kamilla Sims has created murals for the Wichita Public Library, Exploration Place and local businesses. A July 4th chalk work in Independence, Missouri, will be her largest yet.

A giant, brightly-colored tapestry designed to represent all of the countries in the World Cup is hanging in KC House, located in the former Forever 21 building on the Country Club Plaza. The space is intended for international executives, civic leaders and World Cup visitors.

The SpraySeeMO mural festival is marking the World Cup with seven large-scale painting projects in the West Bottoms, which is undergoing a more than $500 million redevelopment.

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.

The hollow heart-shaped design for this year’s Parade of Hearts was the perfect template for an art piece doubling as a community space. Artist Abby Gust Hutter created the sculpture “Read it Forward,” which she turned into a little free library outside of Rainy Day Books in Fairway.

An interactive exhibit in a Crossroads art gallery aims to astonish earthly and extraterrestrial visitors alike. Wichita, Kansas, artists and spouses Mike Miller and Meghan Miller have created inventive ways to make art from found and salvaged objects.

Don't miss these six art exhibitions at museums and galleries around the Kansas City metro, spanning Indigenous artists from the Midwest and aspiring students ready to embrace a wider world.

A mural depicting hamburger-like UFOs at the Cozy Inn in Salina, Kansas, is at the center of a dispute that could end up going before the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue: Is it a work of art protected by the First Amendment? Or is it an advertisement subject to the city’s sign code?

A new exhibit at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art through August 9 highlights the global roots of artists with ties to Kansas City, and the worldwide connections that have shaped the city's artistic community and culture.

The National Museum of Natural History commissioned Missouri artist Gary Staab for a commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Staab sculpted three bison on a heroic scale.

A creative studio in Kansas City is home to hundreds of years of printing technology. Organizers of Greenhouse Print Space host classes and clubs where professionals and hobbyists alike can create new art.

Heidi Pitre’s series merges literature, nostalgia, and history, featuring pen-and-ink drawings on about 160 vintage library checkout cards. Interest in the pieces has expanded, but her supply of old-school, ephemeral cards is dwindling.