On Saturday, May 21st, Arts Alive will visit one of the most important museums in Kansas City. The Kansas City Museum was founded in 1910. It occupies the fifty room home of lumber baron, Robert A. Long.. The museum has been closed since 2007 while being completely renovated. The newly opened museum is dedicated to the rich history of Kansas City and shows our rich heritage through rooms full of stories of our founding leaders and their families.
The Museum is located in the northeast neighborhood and overlooks the Missouri River to its north. 3218 Gladstone is easy to find as you drive east of downtown along Independence Avenue and turn north at Benton Boulevard. We'll meet at 5:15pm just after the museum closes to the public. We'll have private tours with docents who will lead us through the three floors of exhibits. The displays are extensive. You may want to return to spend additional time learning about our city's history.
We'll leave between 6:30 and 7 and drive a short distance to the Agnes Arts Center, 1341 Agnes Ave. The Arts Center is housed in an old police training facility. It is now serving as studios for 15 artists, many of whom will be there to greet us and show us their current work. We'll also have a box supper for each person and an assortment of drinks.
We'll tour the studios and visit the Plug Gallery, which is also in the space. The Gallery is featuring artist Angelica Sandoval and her work entitled "Introspection". You may eat upon arrival or wander through the studios first then break for supper. You may recognize some of the artists like Philo Northrup, Jorge Garcia Almodovar, JT Daniels, Diana Heise, Elina Jurado, John Kline, Nate and Jamil Lee, Andre Melchor, Grant Miller, Emily Blair Quinn, Andrew Schell, Kate Suchan and Davin Watne. Davin is the director and also runs the UMKC Gallery on their campus.
If you haven't already had a full dose of the arts, while you're eating and enjoying the studios, a local band will be entertaining us. Scotch Hollow, an acoustic roots band, teams up down-home delta blues with good old-fashioned country twang and silky vocals. Just as the name implies, Scotch Hollow is as smooth as your favorite whiskey!
The entire event is only $45 so mark your calendar, invite a few friends and come enjoy another unique Arts Alive experience.
