Art Appreciation in Kansas City

Kansas City is home to many remarkable art galleries, with three of her finest open to the public for free! The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, one of the largest galleries in the United States, maintains a permanent collection representing art from throughout history and around the world. Visitors enjoy the galleries and, on sunny days, picnic or stroll the landscaped museum grounds and sculpture garden.

For modern art enthusiasts, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art exhibit permanent and temporary galleries with special events and workshops for families.

One of the more unique art museums in the area is the Puppetry Arts Institute, where visitors learn about puppets from around the world and Hazelle Hedges Rollins, founder of a Kansas City-based puppet company in 1932. The museum shows monthly puppet performances. After shows, kids may sign up to make their own hand puppet.

Create family keepsakes at Paint, Glaze and Fire, Ceramics Cafe and more paint-your-own pottery shops. Patrons select and paint their own ceramic masterpieces—anything from piggy banks to plates, mugs to picture frames and many holiday pieces as well. You can learn skills from painting to pottery, stained glass to sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute.

BYOB paint-your-own-canvas shops are one of the newest trends across the city, each offering diverse calendars with a variety of masterpieces you can create by following simple step-by-step instructions. One of our favorites, Thirsty Palette in Leawood, offers adult and kid projects. Customers sign up for a class, bring their own beverage and spend an evening creating a personal work of art to take home and display. Read our guide to “Canvas Shops” for listings on KCParent.com.