Artspeak Radio

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Miller Bogart, curator/gallery owner Gallery Bogart and artists Garry Noland and Lily Madden.

Drawing inspiration from the legendary collecting ethos of Herb and Dorothy Vogel, who amassed a world-class collection within the confines of a 450-square-foot Manhattan apartment, this exhibition challenges the assumption that monumentality equates to significance.

The presentation features apartment-sized works by nine distinct emerging and mid-career voices: Napoleón Aguilera, Amanda Banker, Madeline Brice, Hector Dorantes, Monica Figueroa, Juan Diego Gaucin, Lily Madden, Gibran Mendoza, and Garry Noland.

A Note for Collectors: Unlike a static exhibition, The Second Installment is designed to take a living form. Works are available for immediate acquisition and release, allowing the installation to evolve in real-time throughout the run. As pieces are collected and depart, the gallery environment will shift to reflect the fluidity of a true domestic space.

Gallery Bogart 1400 Union Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64101

Exhibition Dates now through January 31, 2026

GARRY NOLAND-My studio practice is multi-disciplinary. The one constant is an openness to rough patches, glitches or mistakes. The presence of edges or boundaries between mistakes establishes immediate contextual and formal relationships. Those abutments mime our interaction with art and with each other.

What goes with what? What happens on either side of the line? What’s good and who decides? Sometimes I am the boss of the material but just as often the material, by virtue of a chance arrangement, for example, will tell me what needs to be done.

These particular works are made of found and reclaimed materials from alleys, side street,thrifts and dumps. The base materials are combined with new materials. The resulting combination sets up the inevitable dialogue between the new/old: purposeful/accidental and play/toil.

Art puns and mimes the systems and appearances we experience in both the non-human and human parts of nature. The oft-quoted role of the free press is "to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted". Art's first cousin role then is to find the mundane in the grand and the grand in the mundane.

Currently in :

Miller Bogart’s show One Bedroom Apartment at Gallery Bogart

Cross/Dissolve at Dragon Crab Turtle a group show curated by Mark Allen in St. Louis

Opening Jan 17: Two-Person show at Nick Ryan Gallery in Boulder, CO.

IG: @garrynol

Website: https://garrynolandart.com/home.html

Instagram: @garrynol Artist-run space: @HolsumGallery

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, December 24, 2025, 9am - 10am CST, www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes family members on air to share music, stories, and nonsense. Join us for a wonderful hour of joy and havoc!

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Jenny Mendez and Betsabeé Romero.

JENNY MENDEZ, Cultural Arts Director Mattie Rhodes Arts Center and Gallery

was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. Growing up in a neighborhood filled with family and friends on Kansas City’s West Side. As a young girl Jenny enjoyed hearing stories from her grandmother, these stories were such an inspiration to Jenny in her love of her culture and heritage. Jenny attended the Kansas City Art Institute majoring in painting, she also studied both printmaking and photography. She was involved in community mural projects as a high school student and into college. She has always given back to her community. She has been employed with the Mattie Rhodes Center for the past twenty- five years and is responsible for all arts programming for the agency as the Cultural Arts Director.

Through her work she is able to educate the community on the Latino culture through art. Being able to inspire children through art is what she is most passionate about – giving children and young artists a place to learn, create, express themselves, imagine, and grow in the arts. She has served and participated on many boards and committees through the years advocating for the arts and community. Her most valued appointment was to the board of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC). Most recently in March of 2020 as part of Women’s History Month she was awarded the Nuestra Latina Award for the Arts by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Her work in the community is valued and shows her commitment to being a voice for the Latinx artists, students and individuals. Showing her expertise in the creative process and authenticity to arts and culture through her work and partnerships with the Kansas City Museum and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. She is very committed to continue to be a voice for the Latinx and arts communities at large.

Mattie Rhodes Art and Cultural Center is located at 1701 Jarboe, KCMO

www.mattierhodes.org

BETSABEÉ ROMERO- Knitting Ties, Project Description:

The installation features the creation of two sculptural soccer goals with nets crafted from metal lattices. These lattices will showcase characters that represent both soccer and the pre-Hispanic ball game, creating a bridge between contemporary sports and ancient cultural traditions. The metallic lattices will be interwoven with threads of various fibers, with the characters cut along the length and width of each goal's net. All elements will be handcrafted by migrants and local artisans, emphasizing community collaboration and cultural exchange.

Elements of the Sculptural Objective:

Metallic Lattices-metal cutouts are interconnected in a lattice configuration, forming modular structures that provide a sculptural foundation for artistic interventions.

Community Networks-Fabrics crafted by volunteers and artisans interweave with lattices, forming distinctive patterns that narrate the stories of their communities.

Athletic Emblems-Symbolic figures associated with soccer are integrated into the sculptural design, linking artistic expression with the passion for football.

Betsabeé Romero; Education: Bachelor's Degree in Communication with a specialization in Participatory Communication, Universidad Iberoamericana (1984) Master's Degree in Visual Arts, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (1986) Diploma from l'École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (1989) Art History Studies at l'École du Louvre (1988-1989) Doctoral studies in Art History, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, no degree completed (1990-1993)

Exhibitions:

Romero has held over 100 solo exhibitions across five continents, with notable shows at the British Museum (2015), Grand Palais (2019), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (2022), York Avenue in Washington (2018), Place Vieille Bourse in Lille, France (2019), Nevada Museum of Art (2014), Neuberger Museum (2011), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (2012), Canberra University Museum (2002), La Recoleta, Buenos Aires (2019), Mexico Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020 (2021), and Place du Louvre (2021). In 2024, her exhibition "Huellas para Recordar" featured five monumental sculptures on Park Avenue (81st, 82nd, and 83rd Streets) by invitation of NYC Parks & Recreation.

Also in 2024, "The Endless Spiral" was featured at the Venice Biennale Official Collateral Event at Galeria Belacqua LaMassa, St. Mark's Square, by invitation of MOLAA.

In Mexico, highlights include the Mega Ofrenda at Mexico City's Zócalo (2016), Museo Frida Kahlo (2019, 2013), Museo Anahuacalli (2015), Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso (2014), Museo Amparo, Puebla (2008), MARCO, Monterrey (2009), and Museo Carrillo Gil (1999).

Collections:

Her work is part of major collections including the British Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Houston, Phoenix Art Museum, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Daros Collection

(Switzerland), Nelson-Atkins Museum, Nevada Museum of Art, World Bank Collection, LACMA California, FEMSA, Irish Museum of Modern Art, El Museo del Barrio, Museo de Arte Moderno de

México, MUAC, and Michigan State University.

Biennials: Monterrey Biennial, Tamayo Biennial, inSite (Tijuana-San Diego), La Courneuve Biennial, Puerto Rico Graphics Triennial, Polygráfica Philadelphia, Ljubljana Graphics Biennial, Havana Biennial, Porto Alegre Biennial, Cairo Biennial, Sur Buenos Aires Biennial, Bogotá, and United Arab Emirates.

Official selection for collateral projects at the 2024 Venice Biennale with the solo exhibition "Endless Spiral" with MOLAA Museum at the Bellaacqua La Massa Foundation in St. Mark's Square.

Awards: Prix Oric'Art, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 1988 Grand Acquisition Prize in Installation, Second Monterrey Biennial, Museo de Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, 1994 First Prize, Cairo Biennial, 2006

Millésimé Prize in Visual Arts, 2018 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, France, 2020 First Prize in Pavilion Design

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes founder/artistic director Whim Productions Kevin King and actor Devin Burns, and Vulpes Bastille artists.

Whim Productions’ World Premiere of "My Kid’s Christmas Program" is Chaotic Holiday Fun

Whim Productions, KC's LGBTQ+ theater company, is putting on a holiday program! But in My Kid’s Christmas Program, written by Kevin King, the tinsel’s tangled, the pageant’s off the rails, and Miss Peach’s Academy has lost its auditorium.

You’re invited to the annual holiday pageant for Miss Peach’s Academy. Forced to relocate to Whim Space after a series of mishaps, the “kids” (played by adults) are ready to belt and blunder their way through a holiday pageant like no other. It’s the holiday program you remember... just with more sass, irreverence, and emotional baggage. A delightfully twisted immersive experience for the grown-ups who survived grade-school pageants.

There are only five performances of this fourth-wall-breaking, silly, and unserious production, and no two are exactly alike. Catch the holiday spirit while you can!

Content Advisory: Suggested for ages 16+.

Ticket Information:

• Full-price tickets start at $30. Pay What You Whim pricing is available on select dates.

• Tickets are available now at whimproductions.org.

Run Time: ~90 minutes

Venue: Whim Space, 415 Prospect, Kansas City, MO 64124

Dates and Times:

Thurs. December 11, 7:30 pm (Preview)

Fri. December 12, 7:30 pm

Sat. December 13, 7:30 pm

Sun. December 14, 3:00 pm

Mon. December 15, 7:30 pm

Cast includes:

Abigail Brisbane

Devin Burns

Michael Golliher

Pete Kuhn

Brad Mathewson

Tiffany Michelle

Gabriel Noah

Orpheyuss

Sandy Osborn

Kyle Tichenor

Jerry Tracy

Diana Watts

Creative includes:

Playwright & Director - Kevin King

Choreography - Meghann Deveroux

Scenic Design - Austin Cecil

Lighting Design - Austin VanWinkle

Whim Productions, founded in 2011, creates challenging and evocative queer theater. We focus on providing opportunities for LGBTQ+ theater artists to tell their own stories and share the diversity of queer experiences with Kansas City audiences.

VULPES BASTILLE is an artist-run space in Kansas City’s East Crossroads that houses twelve studios and hosts monthly exhibitions selected through an open call. Located in a 100-year-old renovated dancehall, Vulpes Bastille offers an expansive platform for the community to create and display work, with an emphasis on experimental projects, emerging voices, and students. Vulpes Bastille has remained a fortress for Kansas City’s creative community since 2012.

This month, Vulpes Bastille proudly presents two new exhibitions Please Don't Touch the Art and At Least You Can't Be Sad If There Are Balloons.

Please Don’t Touch the Art, featuring more than 50 staff members of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art organized by Nora Snyder. Please Don’t Touch the Art is a group exhibition featuring more than fifty employees of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

From security guards and custodians to administrative assistants and art handlers, the staff of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art keeps the museum running smoothly for the benefit of the people of Kansas City.

But what the public doesn’t get to see is that members of the museum staff often harbor artistic talents of their own. Naturally, the museum draws a community of caretakers who love art and devote their lives to it in more than one sense.

Organized by artist and museum employee Nora Snyder, Please Don’t Touch the Art showcases the diverse and extraordinary talents of the NAMA staff.

Currently on view

Closing Reception: Monday, December 22, 6 - 9 pm

At Least You Can’t Be Sad If There Are Balloons, a solo exhibition of 17 self-portrait paintings by Corey Green.

In my work, I use balloons as a powerful symbol of the pressure and trials that have shaped my life—experiences that have stretched me to my limits and at times, deflated me.

Balloons, filled with air, reflect moments of tension and build-up, but they also speak to the inevitable deflation that follows. For me, the image of a balloon is both a metaphor for resilience and vulnerability: the pressure of life pushing me to expand, only to be followed by the emptiness and raw exposure that comes when that pressure subsides or bursts.

My work is an invitation to reflect on these moments of transformation—how pressure, release, and deflation are not signs of weakness, but steps in a continual process of transformation and survival.

Currently on view

Closing Reception: Wednesday, December 17, 6:30 - 8:30 pm

(on view until Monday, December 22)

Both shows will be on view through December 22, with gallery hours from Sundays 1-4 pm. You can also email us to schedule an appointment.

On Wednesday, December 17 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm, we invite you to Corey Green’s half-birthday party and the closing reception for At least you can’t be sad if there are balloons.

The artists will host a closing reception for Please Don’t Touch the Art on Monday, December 22 from 6-9 pm.

Also this month, on Saturday, December 13 from 7-8 pm, we’re co-hosting a Poetry Reading with Bear Review featuring Clayton Adam Clark and Ruth Williams.

Vulpes Bastille is located at 1737 Locust St. KCMO www.vulpesbastille.com

Gallery Hours: First Fridays 6-9 PM

Sundays 1-4 PM

By Appointment

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes entrepreneur/musician William Saunders and artist Kwanza Humphrey.

WILLIAM SAUNDERS – Inside the Creative MindA deep dive into the creative process to illuminate the hidden architecture of creativity — how artists see, feel, imagine, and realize their inner worlds. By bridging the rational and the intuitive, we aim to inspire fellow creators and curious audiences to appreciate the deeper forces behind visual and musical expression.

Artist, musician, producer, record label executive and supporter of the Arts, William Saunders publishes original music content from label artists and hosts the original podcast and video series, "Inside the Creative Mind" which interviews visual and musical artists to learn about how they create their artform, from inception through fruition. #creativemind #creativity #newmusic #kansascity

Official Websitetinymessengermedia.com

Founderwilliamsaunders.online

KWANZAA HUMPHREY – Kwanza Humphrey is a prolific artist who creates emotionally evocative portraiture in oil on canvas and mixed media on paper. His impulse to express himself through images extends back to early childhood drawings and the simple practice of releasing frustration and inspiration through pictures. Kwanza has been bringing his visions to life for over 40 years.

Kwanza is an award-winning artist who has been included in exhibitions across the United

States. Including being one of the small group of artists selected for inclusion in the new

terminal at the Kansas City International Airport. Kwanza’s masterful and disciplined work, often

characterized as impressionist realism, resides in the permanent collection of the Nerman

Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as extensive private collections.

Artist Statement –

I began drawing at a very early age. Drawing was a medium I could get lost in, with my

imagination and thoughts. Painting for me is a natural extension of that process. While it is a

completely different medium, the emotion I bring to it is the same.

I start with a pencil or charcoal drawing on paper as a guide. Sometimes it’s just one drawing.

Other times it’s several, but it’s always in black and white. I reserve color for painting. I like the

spontaneity it can bring to the canvas. I use color and deliberate brushstrokes to create

character, conversation or a feeling. I rarely mix colors when I paint. I like to use the raw color

and have them mix optically. When I paint, I capture an emotion and feeling that you wouldn’t

normally see. Painting is an emotional experience for me, where I often have a conversation

with myself and shape a feeling. Other times I just let go and let my subconscious take over

where color and brush are the medium I use to communicate.

I gravitate to the human form and face. I enjoy people and scratching below the surface to show

the essence of humanity. We all present a mask to the world to protect ourselves from the

unknown. I’m looking to get past that façade and show the human connection we all share. I

paint so that you look at something and see the emotion in it. We all bring something personal

to the table. Your experience will allow you to see something no one else does, or you may have

a similar connection with your fellow viewers. My goal is for my work to resonate with you in

some way. I hope on some level it does.

-Kwanza

Kansas City’s role as a host site for FIFA World Cup 26 inspired a new exhibition at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The fifth exhibition in the museum’s KC Art Now initiative, Personal Best features six local artist-athletes at the top of their game. The exhibition focuses on commonalities found at the intersection of this dual identity such as physicality, dedication, and determination, revealed through work in a variety of media and a range of styles. Personal Best currently on view through August 9, 2026.

As with the four previous iterations of the KC Art Now initiative, the Personal Best project team collaborated closely with the artists to ensure that their voices are foregrounded and authentically represented. Each artist authored labels for their work in the exhibition and are featured in a video compilation interview discussing their dual identities as artist-athletes and what “personal best” means to them in both areas. This video will be featured in the exhibition.  

Painter Kwanza Humphrey’s ancestral home is on the African continent, and through his work he reaches back in time to create a bridge with those who have inspired him and to whom he feels a deep connection. This includes the makers and wearers of the African masks he incorporates into his trio of paintings for Personal Best—including some from the Nelson-Atkins permanent collection, one of which will be on view in conjunction with his paintings.  A former football player for Missouri Western State University, Humphrey continues to play when he isn’t painting in his studio at Interurban Art House.

“Football is a physical release, and painting is more of an emotional release.,” said Humphrey. “It’s an opportunity to observe everything around me, take it in, and come up with my own reflection on the world around me and deliver that onto my canvas.”

Kansas City’s role as a host site for FIFA World Cup 26 inspired a new exhibition at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The fifth exhibition in the museum’s KC Art Now initiative, Personal Best features six local artist-athletes at the top of their game. The exhibition focuses on commonalities found at the intersection of this dual identity such as physicality, dedication, and determination, revealed through work in a variety of media and a range of styles. Personal Best on view now through August 9, 2026.

The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Friday through Monday; 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Thursday; closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org.

Inextricably Connected

Among lush greens and shifting light, they gather in a forest that feels both ancient and present.

Two wear masks, forms shaped by memory, tradition, and something older than language. Worn

not to conceal, but to reach toward what’s been lost, or what might still be remembered.

This is not a moment of ceremony, but of seeking. Each a thread in a larger weave: of earth, of

time, of each other.

The forest does not separate them from the world—it draws them closer to its rhythm. A quiet

reminder that the roots beneath us are shared, and always have been.

Check out these links for Kwanza Humphrey!

Nelson Show

Studio Mag article

Blog entry

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, November 26 2025, 9am - 10am CST, www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes John Todd, colleague/educator/musician to the program.

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, November 19, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes artists KE Griffin, Anna Marten, DeAnna Skedel, and gallerist/curator Lee Smalter.

KAREN E. GRIFFIN (KE) Kansas City native is an award-winning visual, teaching, and performing artist creates vibrant abstract works explore themes of identity and urban landscapes. Influenced by her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit and formative experiences with her seventh-grade art teacher, art classes the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City and Hallmark Cards Inc. Griffin’s art reflects a unique perspective shaped by her Kansas City, Missouri and Marlin, Texas roots. She is a Certified National and International Storyteller due to life encounters regarding her grandmother picking cotton and her mother measuring cotton in the garment district in Kansas City.

Karen E. Griffins artistic contributions to the Kansas City area have earned her significant recognition, including being named the Missouri Arts Council Honoree 2025 Individual Artist presenting the State of Missouri and the City of Kansas City. The Jackson County, Missouri, Office of the County Legislature further honored her with Proclamation Resolution NO. 21819. Artist-in-Residence, Englewood Arts Center 2023- 2025, Independence, Missouri. Her educational and historical collections, exhibited across the metro area and other states, were highlighted in the Examiner, Wichita, Kansas The Shout, Kansas City Studio Magazine, The Call Paper and The Kansas Ci Globe. In addition to her art, Griffin dedicates time to reading, enjoying conversations with her grandchildren, and supporting the homeless community.

Karen E. Griffin (KE) creates striking two-dimensional portraits that aim to empower viewers to embrace their unique identities as well as African based abstractions depicting cultural and community narratives. She fuses high fashion with vibrant storytelling of African American heritage. Inspired by her connection to the diaspora, Karen uses African prints to meticulously render each image, capturing the intricate details of the fabric and the bold energy of the patterns. Her work celebrates the the rich tapestry of African American culture through the exploration of prints, patterns,

and symbols. By incorporating these elements, she aims to create pieces that resonate deeply with the African American community and offer a connection to our ancestral heritage. “While we may never fully comprehend the lives of our ancestors, we carry their legacy within us through art, fashion, music and storytelling.” Her art serves as a visual expression of this enduring connection.

See website for upcoming events 

https://www.artbykegriffin.com Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ IG:artbykegriffin 

ANNA MARTEN- After ten years as a production illustrator who hand painted signs and murals for a grocery store, I left to reimagine creative processes outside the context of

corporate structure. The professional setting introduced me to a wide range of technical skills, from hand-lettering to woodworking, but it was also a world that penalized asking too many questions. My professional practice now reacquaints myself with permission to generate inquiry rather than sell

something. As an avid daydreamer, my work tends to examine the boundary between memory, fantasy, and reality. I’ve been described as a “playful” creator, but we all learn early in life that play is the only way to grow. Are we not playing our way through new experiences even in adulthood? I want to reconcile fantasy with everyday. I want to remind adults that we’re in charge of allowing ourselves surprise and delight.

Find Me Here...

● Open Studios at Bunker Center

First Fridays 6pm

● PACE Magazine Publication

August Issue 2025

Instagram: @kc_muralist

Bluesky: @kc-muralist

Cara: @kcmuralist

DEANNA SKEDEL - DeAnna M. Skedel

https://www.instagram.com/deannaskedel/

LEE SMALTER, Curator/gallery founder/owner The Smalter Gallery located at 1802 W. 39th St. KCMO

Our Community Vision

The Smalter Gallery is a community space that fosters human connection through art.

The gallery door opens to all, from casual visitors to avid collectors. A visit to our gallery is an experience of exploration and discovery, free of pretentiousness, pressure, or gatekeeping. Here you will find a welcoming and inclusive environment where art is accessible to patrons of all economic circumstances. Through vibrant discussion with fellow guests, fascinating cultural events, and the joy of falling in love with a new artist’s work, each visit to the Smalter Gallery is an opportunity to forge your own destiny via the power of artistic expression.

Our Artistic Mission

The Smalter Gallery aims to create a space in which our artists feel guided, valued, and cared for. We are a second home for both emerging and experienced artists, driven by a desire to support creators so they may realize their greatest artistic ambitions. Never imposing ourselves upon an artist’s creative vision, we will act as a safe and ever-present foundation upon which artists of all backgrounds can evolve and thrive.

Simply put: The Smalter Gallery nurtures creativity and trusts artists.

The Smalter Gallery

1802 W. 39th St., 816-200-2554, smalterart.com

Currently on exhibit; Vespera - A Solo Exhibition by Brittany Noriega

The Smalter Gallery is located at 1802 West 39th Street Kansas City, MO, 64111.

From the artist:

Vespera means “evening star” or “of the evening.” It is a threshold; when day exhales into night, shadows stretch long, and the air grows heavy with quiet. Resilience here isn’t loud; it is patient, watchful, and steady.

For the past two years I’ve been studying thresholds, in my artwork, in my research, and my own life. What does it mean to step into darkness prepared instead of afraid? The drawings that emerged became guardians: figures that endure, quietly holding space.

We all pass through seasons of transition, grief, and change. These moments aren’t ornamental; they are essential. Vespera reminds us that resilience often hums low in the marrow, where endings fold into beginnings, asking us simply to notice, to wait, to watch.

The opening reception, including an opportunity to meet the artist, will be held at Smalter Gallery on November 7th from 5pm - 8pm.

Lee Smalter, who grew up in Connecticut, felt compelled to own and operate an art gallery. She answered an advertisement for a space in Kansas City’s West 39th Street neighborhood next to Prospero’s Books. Extensive renovation in 2018-2019 led to the gallery’s debut before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite citywide uncertainty and isolation at the time, the public embraced Smalter’s gallery, situated in the dense residential and small business community. Since inception, the gallery has served as a space dedicated to displaying work by emerging and established artists. By design, Smalter established a space that’s non-elitist and inviting for both artists and the public, especially passersby who may not be avid arts patrons.

Contact Info:

• Website: smalterart.com

• Instagram: smalterart

• Facebook: The Smalter Gallery

Smalter Gallery hours

Thursday, Friday, Saturday | 1pm - 7pm

Tuesday & Wednesday | By Appointment Only

Sunday & Monday | Closed

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes artists Lori Buntin and Jamil Lee.

LORI BUNTIN (she/her/hers) is a multi-media artist, drawing from urban spaces and rural landscapes, social issues, and philosophy to guide her artistic output. Observing color, light, and form is what informs the subjects and compositions of her paintings. Pondering social and environmental issues, along with her frequent walkabouts in the urban core, collecting found objects, inform her mixed media work. These treks also reveal many of the subjects and compositions that end up in her paintings.

Lori has worked in various realms of the fine and commercial art world. A custom picture framer since college days, practicing professionally to the present. She has produced many commissioned paintings, mixed media awards, worked as a muralists's assistant, managed a production crew in the hospitality industry, and created and fabricated multiple two- and three- dimensional works for interior public and private spaces. She has taught introductory drawing and painting at the college level, as well as in her private studio over the years. Her paintings and other artworks are in homes and collections across the country.

Currently, Lori is focusing solely on her studio work in her space at the Livestock Exchange Building in Kansas City's West Bottoms.

Instagram :  @loribuntinstudio

Regarding Open Studios - 

Friday, November 14  -  5pm-9pm

Saturday November 15 -  11am-3pm

Livestock Exchange Building

1600 Genessee Street -  in the West Bottoms

There will be over 60 artists participating in this event, representing several different disciplines. Live music will be featured on the 1st floor Friday evening. El Cafe Cubano coffee and food truck will be there on Saturday only with coffee and goodies.  

Parking is available on the west side of the Livestock Exchange Building.  Enter through the middle double doors and a greeter will provide you with a roster.  Also - The front door on Genessee street will be unlocked which someone using a wheelchair or walker could access without steps.

The event is free to the public.

Facebook :   https://www.facebook.com/stockyardsstudios

Instagram :  @stockyards_studios

JAMIL LEE- My name is Jamil Lee and I am the founder of the International African American Art Museum of Kansas City. The museum was founded in late 2023. Since our start we have strived to be a great museum that has intimate settings allowing our guest and patrons to meet the artist though engaging shows and artist talks. With the intent of bringing African American art to the forefront. All while raising the next generation of African American artists to do significant things in the Kansas City area.

We have already started some amazing indeavors here in the Kansas

City area with our partners such as the ImPulse Gallery that is owned by the Black Economic Union and Nikki Gibson State Farm in developing pop-up miniature exhibits that last for three 30 days. We have helped over 30 plus artists gain exposure to corporate entities and the general public they would not have other wise known about. We have also been able to independently teach youth through our Spark program. Supporting Positive Artistic Resilient Kids. Through our program we have been able to help young artists in foundational art study and at the end of the program we give the kids their first art show. This allows the children to gain confidence and allows the process of learning how to conduct yourself properly and professionally as an artist.

Although we thoroughly enjoy doing pop-ups we will never stop doing what brought us to the table. We do however see the need to be more unique and creative in our endeavors. We don’t want to be just regulated to doing shows on the weekend and we do want people to visit us while still maintaining a pop-up presence.

We are currently looking for fiscal partners in the realm of donations and sponsorships to help us gain access to a space that we can call home. We are also looking for those same partnerships to help us in our mobilized art museum. We will be converting a 17 foot box truck into our mobile art museum so we can better serve our community by popping up anywhere in Kansas City and the surrounding areas. We also want a additional smaller box truck to be our mobile STEM lab for kids called the SPARK LAB These three new endeavors will also allow us to grow deeper connections in the arts and business communities respectfully. We are currently looking for donations and funding we are looking for a total of fifty thousand dollars to begin our process of strategic planning financial planning and renting our own space this will allow us to grow deeper within our community teach and raise young artists and cultivate emerging and mid-career African American and Hispanic artists to greater new heights.

I have been an artist and designer for over 20 years. Doing shows not only in the Kansas City area but around the country Washington DC summer of 2023 was the last show that I did outside of the Kansas City area. Now that you know a little bit about me and what we do I as the founder of IAAAMKC would hope to have your continued support. We can’t do any of this without your support.

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes Xiao Faria daCunha & Chaneryna Thac with Third Pine Collective and Lindsay Kinney Associate Director with No Divide KC.

XIAO FARIA daCUNHA & CHANERYNA THAC- Third Pine Collective, Kansas City’s first-of-its-kind AANHPI labor-sharing artist collective, announces its official launch on September 24, 2025. Spearheaded by Kansas City-based artist, curator, and independent art writer Xiao Faria daCunha, KCAI alum and multi-media artist Chaneryna Thach, and local creative enthusiasts Alicia, Tomomi, and Emi Suenaga, Third Pine Collective aims to elevate AANHPI visual artists and small businesses in different career stages by significantly expanding their reach, capacity, and potential through labor-sharing between members.

“It is still very challenging for AANHPI artists, especially working-class and self-taught artists, to navigate through the art scene where Asian folks remain under-represented and disconnected. By coming together as a collective, we can amplify our voices and gain more visibility without draining our capacity. At Third Pine, we want to make sure members have this connective space to collaborate, brainstorm, imagine, experiment, and communicate, so we can all grow together,” said Tomomi Suenaga Summers, Chief Strategy Officer of Third Pine Collective.

Formerly Third Pine Gallery, the project transformed from a floating gallery concept created by the Suenaga Family in early 2025, which debuted during the “Art of Being AANHPI” festival at Zhou B Art Center in Kansas City on May 31, 2025. Almost four months later, the concept re-emerges as a platform to amplify AANHPI creative voices in Kansas City and beyond via a mutual aid and resource-sharing structure.

“I was part of the Third Pine booth back in May, and I immediately felt this concept could have so much potential if it ran as a collective instead of another gallery/curatorial concept. I’ve always enjoyed my experience being involved in labor-sharing collectives in Chicago. Most artists you encounter are going to be working-class artists, many of whom, without formal training on how to approach galleries, apply for art fairs, etc. And we all have our hands full with jobs, family duties, or just life in general. The labor-sharing structure frees everyone from having to do everything themselves. Instead, you have this massive team where each member only handles a small piece in the larger process. Nobody is burned out, and we all benefit from our collective efforts,” said Xiao Faria daCunha, Executive Director of Third Pine Collective.

Third Pine Collective is actively seeking community, business, gallery, and organizational partners to collaborate with on programming and core initiatives. The collective is also seeking funding from private and public sources to ensure quality services to its members and the public it engages with.

“We are not a non-profit at this point. Instead, it’s just a bunch of like-minded people coming together, helping each other. We aim to make AANHPI voices heard not only in the art world, but in civic engagement, community development, space-building, policymaking, using our art and creativity as the vessel,” said Chaneryna Thach, Director of Member Relations and Program Support at Third Pine Collective.

Third Pine Collective is Kansas City’s one and only AANHPI labor-sharing artist collective, aiming to amplify Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices in the arts and through art. The collective’s core programming includes member exhibitions, cultural sessions, AANHPI book clubs, film screenings, and seasonal vendor fairs.

www.thirdpinecollective.com

LINDSAY KINNEY Associate Director No Divide KC’s Alternative Timelines Annual Gala promises an unforgettable evening of celebration and inspiration. Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 8, 2025, when Kansas City’s artists, leaders, and supporters gather for this incredible event!

Guests will enjoy a stylish night of live entertainment and creative expression. All proceeds support No Divide KC’s mission to use the arts as a vehicle for social awareness and community building, making this a night of gratitude and thanks.

At No Divide KC, we harness the power of the arts to foster social awareness, community participation, and connection. Our events are collaborative endeavors with Kansas City-based artists and organizations, spotlighting the narratives of underserved and misrepresented communities. From poetry readings and concerts to workshops and festivals.

Lindsay Kinney is a queer advocate for social justice and basic human needs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and has spent most of her professional career in social work. She is passionate about the arts, especially live music, and most of her favorite people are artists. She is a natural connector, builder of community relationships and understands the power of collaboration. Lindsay loves all things outdoors and enjoys spending time amongst the trees hiking or on the water kayaking. She has lived in the Kansas City area for over 35 years and truly loves this city and how beautifully it continues to evolve. She believes in the good of humanity and knows that we are stronger together. 

Artspeak Radio Halloween & Dia de los Muertos with Teresa Dirks

Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 9am - 10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez welcomes artist/activist/educator Teresa Dirks to celebrate our favorite time of the year, Halloween and Dia de los Muertos!

We'll share stories, music, and conversation for this special edition of Artspeak Radio.