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KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

7 must-see Kansas City art exhibits to kick off your 2026

Kansas City’s winter has been relatively mild so far, giving the perfect excuse to get out of the warmth of our home and check out some wonderful exhibitions featuring local and regional artists.After all, what better way to start your 2026 than immersing yourself in the wonderful talent of our arts scene?Before winter ends, check out these seven art exhibitions around Kansas City.“Speeding” is the latest group exhibition at one of Kansas City’s independent artist-run spaces, 100,000,000 (“one h...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

These are Kansas City's newest barbecue restaurants and food trucks you have to try

Kansas City saw the opening of its first Museum of BBQ this year — but the city’s barbecue scene is far from a museum. It’s constantly growing, evolving and changing, much like the cuisine itself.While we all know the familiar long-time players in the BBQ scene (like Joe’s and Gates), many new restaurants have also joined the smoking game.If you are in for some new spots for smoked meat, here are some picks that opened recently.Opened in August 2025, American Way Smokehouse in Independence is li...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

At these 6 Kansas City craft shops, you can handmake holiday gifts — or keep them for yourself

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.If you’re dedicated to giving your loved ones the most unique holiday present this year, you could start with one of the many holiday artist markets happening around Kansas City.But you must admit: Nothing beats a handmade gift infused with your love. For those who feel comfortable DIYing, here are six places in Kansas City to make a one-of-a-kind gift.Embrace y...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

Check out these 6 Kansas City maker’s markets, fairs and festivals this holiday season

Shopping at a large box store for holiday presents might be easier, but buying directly from local artists, makers, and small businesses will give you a sense of accomplishment unlike any other.Kansas City businesses need your support, so this year, head to your talented neighbors and spend your dollars where they matter the most.Here are six holiday maker’s markets around the Kansas City region where you can buy thoughtful presents for every loved one in your life.Looking to support some local...
Chicago Reader •

‘No tragedy is irrelevant’ - Chicago Reader

Spanning both floors of the Cochrane-Woods Art Center at the University of Chicago, “Air Crash Report” begins with a papier-mache sculpture suspended in the lobby. Mimicking burnt and shattered crate fragments, the installation is made with printed reports, documentation, and online speculations around the deadliest plane crash in China’s aviation history.

On March 21, 2022, MU5735 plunged into a hillside in southwestern Guangxi approximately an hour after taking off, killing all 132 people on...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

5 art exhibits in Kansas City you should catch this fall

Kansas City’s art scene is poised for a bountiful harvest this autumn with an impressive lineup of visual art exhibitions — many of which focus on the earth, land, motherhood and the elements.We are in for a season of reconnection and self-reflection, so if you need to slow down from a busy summer, check out our guide to must-see art exhibits and spend a day quietly connecting with your creative side.“Sensual, imaginative, and sublime” are the words that come to mind immediately after viewing th...
Chicago Reader •

To hold and to be held - Chicago Reader

What is a container? What does it contain?

Curated by Christina Nafziger, “Sacred Containers: Capsules, Conduits, and Other Stories,” on view at Chicago Artists Coalition, juxtaposes shapes, forms, and metaphors. The exhibition visualizes divine vessels that hold the very fiber that makes up civilization and identity, documenting memories, histories, traditions, and transformations.

Visitors are immediately greeted by works by Cecilia Beaven, whose multimedia practice forms an original mytholo...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

Our favorite Kansas City skate parks for all skill levels

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.Kansas City has a robust skateboarding community, and it’s easy to see why. Skating is thrilling, and a great way to meet new friends.Intimidated about starting? You don’t have to be. There are plenty of skateboard clinics for newcomers around town, including ones organized by GOSKATE, KC Longboard Community and Varsity Skate.Whether you're a skateboarding newbi...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

Kansas City's art scene will delight you this summer. Here are 5 exhibits to check out

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.Summer is always the peak art season in Kansas City, featuring everything from farmers markets and vendor fairs to art and music festivals.If you’d rather stay in the comfort of an air-conditioned room, our city’s galleries have lots to offer, too. We’ve selected five exhibits on display this summer from artists based in and near the Kansas City metro.The Kansas...
Art Critter •

Life Otherwise — Art Critter

Phaínōterra is modeled after Earth’s neighbor, Venus, whose atmosphere contains phosphate gas. Phosphine, a highly reactive element, does not persist naturally. Therefore, the discovery of phosphate gas and amino acids in the planet’s atmosphere serves as convincing testimony that there might be alien life present on our neighboring planet.Lab studies have shown that while carbon-based lifeforms, as found on Earth, cannot survive in such an environment, sulfur-based lifeforms are a possibility....
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

Kansas City's food truck scene is heating up. Try these 6 Asian and AANHPI kitchens

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.Authentic pho on wheels? Korean BBQ served on a bun? Yes, please!In the past few years, Kansas City has seen a surge of food trucks opened by Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) chefs and foodies, serving up innovative dishes, classic street food and more.With summer farmer’s markets, vendor events, and art fairs happening all over the...
Chicago Reader •

There is no God in the temple - Chicago Reader

A handwoven chausar board sits on a pedestal, with 3D-printed sacred statues placed on top. Two rectangular dice lay next to each other in one corner of the pedestal with words engraved on each side. These phrases form the title of this piece: It’s Mine, No It’s Mine, Now It’s Yours, No It’s Ours, Now It’s Missing! 

In “Living Without the Gods,” Chicago-based Indian artist Shaurya Kumar examines the brutal removal of spiritual artifacts under colonial occupation, the emotional displacement resu...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

A guide to Kansas City's many farmers markets: When and where to find local produce

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.Great news for people who love cooking, eating, or just shopping on a weekend morning: Kansas City’s many farmers markets are reopening for the season.You probably know of the big one at City Market, which has stalls open year round. But across the metro area are other markets where you’ll find true treasure troves of local farms, artists and artisans — grab a l...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

Kansas City bookstores: 6 small but mighty independent shops you should know about

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.Do you love reading by the window as a storm roars on the outside? Or sipping some tea under the sun outside of a coffee shop, losing yourself in a beautiful story or touching prose?The Kansas City region has some great independent bookstores for the bookworm who is ready for their next chapter. You may already know some of the biggest and oldest, like Prospero'...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

Kansas City's art scene is in full bloom this spring. Here are 6 exhibits you need to see

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.Birds return. Plants sprout. As spring brings us refreshed beginnings, we can look forward to new perspectives and open dialogues from Kansas City’s local artists.If you are hoping to fill this season with meaningful artworks, here are six must-see exhibitions happening around town.“Water You Cannot Hold” features two Kansas City-based artists: abstract painter...
UP MAGAZINE •

Fulton Market’s “Tablescapes” Brings Chicago’s Best Street Artists to Your Dining Experience

What is one of the most significant differences between street and fine art? For one, street art isn’t sitting behind protective glass, guarded by fine white lines on the floor, forbidding the audience from getting up, close, and intimate.
Originating as a grassroots effort to amplify marginalized voices during the 60s and 70s in New York City, street art aims to disrupt and rebel against the status quo, whether it’s that of economic status or that of what defines art in general. If fine art rem...
UP MAGAZINE •

Street Artists for Mental Health: SpraySeeMO

If you’ve been out and about in Kansas City over the past few weeks, you must have noticed some exciting activities around the town, specifically, new massive street murals being created. For example, those working in the Crossroads had the opportunity to witness JEKS’ piece slowly develop from sketched contour lines to the colorful and powerful imagery of a skeleton holding a flower bouquet.

Ghost Beard + Gondek Collab (2021) at Mano’s Wine.
And that’s only the tip of the iceberg of the 15+ pl...
ATELIER •

Why I've Been Talking So Much About The Chicago Reader

I’ve spent a good amount of time and energy in January and February to fundraise for The Chicago Reader. The day the news about The Reader might close down came out, I sunk to my bathroom floor, curled into a ball, and cried. I cried the day after. I cried again when I saw nobody responded to my fundraiser I posted on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I hugged the giant green dinosaur sitting on the chaise lounge in my living room and mumbled: “I’m so frustrated.“I started writing about arts an...
KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR •

Some of Kansas City's best barbecue is found at these Korean and Japanese restaurants

This story was first published in KCUR's Adventure newsletter. You can sign up to receive stories like this in your inbox every Tuesday.Kansas City is proud of its barbecue, and rightly so. Whether you’re team Joe’s or team Arthur Bryant’s, put the differences aside — because we are venturing into BBQ from the other side of the world.That’s because Kansas City also has a scene for Korean and Japanese barbecue, where you may not find burnt ends but you will get all the things we love from KC BBQ:...
Sixty Inches From Center •

Grounding, Advocating, and Experimenting with Craft: What I Learned From "AGENCY: Craft in Chicago from the 1970s–80s and Beyond" - Sixty Inches From Center

When I spoke with Curator Adrienne Kochman of AGENCY: Craft in Chicago from the 1970s–80s and Beyond at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, she half-jokingly, half-genuinely told me that this exhibition came from frustration. I knew exactly what she meant. During that time, craft was seen as somewhat of a secondary citizen in the contemporary art world. Even the phrase “arts and crafts” suggests that craft is placed on a lower level, inferring that craft is not the same as “art.” Self-taught...
ATELIER •

Why I don't think "The Substance" Lived Up to the Hype

“It’s me! It’s Liz! It’s Sue!“ The mutated blob of flesh, wrapped in a blue sequin night-gown for the New Year’s Eve celebration, grasps onto the microphone and pleads to the crowd. A tit hangs here. A face pokes out there. It wears Lou’s beautiful photograph like as a helpless and useless disguise of its true grotesque.I sat in the dark theater with my silent anger, watching the creature extending her arms as if to hold someone, yet only to be pushed around over and over again. “Monster!” The a...
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