Let’s assume you are one of the many denizens of the Metropolitan area who is at least moderately interested in art and you have a bit of time to relax. In those thrilling days of yesteryear, the place to go would have been focused on the Nelson Art Gallery. Now we have the Crossroads Art District, The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the burgeoning West Bottoms, etc. It seems like our art venues are much more divergent and dispersed, so where should you go?
Perhaps these still are the good old days. An amalgam of the Kansas City Art Institute, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and the Nelson Atkins Museum (known locally as the “Art Gallery”) are stirring up interest in an Art Walk that would take a wanderer along a path that might start in the Sculpture Garden of the Nelson, matriculate through the Block Building and into the main building where you can study all kinds of renowned collections and catch a bite to eat in Roselle Court, then exit through the main Art Gallery’s famous Kirkwood Hall, down the front steps, past The Thinker sculpture, and…
across the road in front of an old William Rockhill Nelson home and east across the street once more to the very attractive campus of the Kansas City Art Institute. There you might stick your nose in one of the buildings containing a display of works by budding artists who are making a big impact on the national art scene. The Art Institute, founded in 1885, is a four-year school with a mission to prepare gifted students “to transform the world creatively through art and design.” With a new five-year strategic plan and a substantial capital infusion, the Art Institute is likely to be making waves that will touch many shores in the near future. Its new dynamic leader, Tony Jones, is a great spokesperson for the school. From there you might take in the Oak Street Mansion, a Bed and Breakfast venue owned and operated by Roland and Marsha Sabetes and their talented son, John. The walls of the entire B&B are covered with an eclectic and extensive collection of art. Then…
west again to the Kemper Museum, which takes you into another dimension with its terrific collection of contemporary art and terrific restaurant, Café Sebastian. Although not fully mapped out yet, it shouldn’t take too long to traverse this course because it is less than two miles long, but if you really love art, you can easily spend days on the sojourn.
Add in a stroll through Volker or Southmoreland Park or through the Kauffman Foundation Gardens and you can show a visitor, or yourself, a great day and enjoy the city’s oldest Art District. You might also think about the more expansive and visionary Nelson Atkins study, which contemplates a Cultural Arts District encompassing UMKC, Brush Creek, the Kauffman Gardens and the J.C. Nichols Fountain.
