Kansas
Kansas City's art scene is full of fascinating exhibits this fall. Here's are 6 to check out
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Kansas City’s kicking off its autumn in style. When you’ve finished sampling the apple cider at the metro’s many fall festivals and autumn events, consider heading to some great arts galleries and museums.
Kansas City’s art scene is filled with intriguing exhibitions this season, besides the annual Halloween-themed shows and markets.
Whether you are reminiscing about nature’s abundance or feeling a little nostalgic and sentimental, these six art exhibits will satisfy your creative craving in this poetic season.
“Middle Daughter” by Jo Archuleta
“Middle Daughter,” a solo exhibition by New Mexico-born, Kansas City-based Jo Archuleta at Gallery Bogart in the West Bottoms, opens the first Saturday of October.
Archuleta’s paintings and works on paper are full of spooky season elements at first glance: pink-skinned demon girls, a black cat, ominously burning sunset. But something deeply troublesome is tucked behind the bright colors.
In “Mutt,” a weeping girl in her underwear bends over and places her hands with pointy nails on a small, crusty dog. The animal is Archuleta’s self-identifying symbol, representing her awkward and uncomfortable experiences in girlhood.
One may see the character as either holding the dog down or cradling the animal with compassion, implying a complicated battle between self-awareness and self-sabotage.
In these atmospheric paintings, Archuleta illustrates her experience of finding self-worth and contentment in her own company in a society that constantly objectifies women.
- When: Oct. 5 through Nov. 30.
- Opening reception: Saturday, Oct. 5, 5-8 p.m.
- Where: Gallery Bogart, 1400 Union Ave, Kansas City, MO 64101
“Reverberation: Faith in Motion” by Emily Cramer
Those who find peace in the woods or along the creek should stop by Four Chapter Gallery in the Crossroads Arts District for a solo exhibition by Kansas City-based oil painter Emily Cramer, “Reverberation: Faith in Motion.”
Some pieces come in pairs, with one capturing a distorted reflection in ripples, and the other restoring the tranquil scene in calmer water. They sit side-by-side, with peaceful sceneries next to shattered shapes and colors. The paintings build a bridge between stability and chaos, reality and abstraction, motion and stillness.
Cramer uses these images to represent how faith and spirituality constantly radiate outward in the world, but the idea that humans are interconnected and vibrate with each other is applicable even beyond the painter’s Christian belief. No matter one’s faith, or lack thereof, it’s easy to appreciate the mesmerizing sanctuary created by Cramer’s paintings.
- When: Now through Oct. 27.
- Where: Four Chapter Gallery, 208 W 19 St, Kansas City, MO 64108
“Exhibit 36” at Holsum Gallery
Holsum Gallery, one of Kansas City’s essential artist-run spaces, presents another deeply emotional collection of work. “Exhibit 36” features three Kansas City-based artists specializing in various drawing methods: Jaasiel Duarte Terrazas, Christoper Lowrance, and Marilyn Mahoney.
Drawing can be gentle, such as Lowrance’s graphite and chalk portraits. In “Lowered Gaze I & II,” Lowrance sketches with graphite to capture soft light on his subjects, like a man and a woman looking down with their eyes half closed. These meditative images invite the audience to pause and be still with their thoughts.
Drawing is also used in the industrial sector, like in blueprints and structural renderings. Jaasiel Duarte Terrazas, a local architect, artist, and art educator, will showcase drawings created with his drafting skills and sculptures that turn his sketched concept into tangible structures.
- When: Sept. 23 through Nov. 11.
- Opening reception: Friday, Sept. 27, 6-9 p.m.
- Where: Holsum Gallery, 1200 W 12th St, Kansas City, MO 64101
“Communing with Poppies” by Hannah Banciella
“Communing with Poppies,” an immersive, site-specific installation created by Cuban American artist Hannah Banciella, is coming to the Kansas City Artists Coalition in Midtown.
The exhibit will turn the Main Gallery into a dream state with larger-than-life charcoal drawings telling the stories of two distinct personalities based on the artist herself, standing for powerfulness and powerlessness.
The independent and curious one is seen in casual but elegant attire, whereas the beat-down, depressed one is stuck in her black nightgown. Sometimes they live separately, but other times the two personalities interact in twisted ways.
In one piece, the powerless lays in the mud and is covered by weeds. She reaches out to the sky but appears trapped by vines and thorns. Another shows the powerless one staked to a chair with two daggers, her hands and feet chopped off.
Next to her stands the powerful one, holding a teapot and looking a little too gathered in the presence of a grotesque corpse. Is she lamenting the death of her other self, or… is she the murderer?
- When: Oct. 4 through Oct. 25
- Where: Kansas City Artists Coalition, 3200 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64109
“Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology” at Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
E G Schempf
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Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
The harvest season naturally makes people think about the intricate relationship between humanity and ecology. In the interdisciplinary exhibition “Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology,” at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, the audience will journey with participating artists to investigate the climate crisis as a humanitarian catastrophe while fostering a deeper consciousness of the interconnection between our civilization and our planet.
Curated by Sharmila Wood and produced by Independent Curators International in New York, “Actions for the Earth” is a traveling exhibition featuring 18 intergenerational artists whose work emphasizes action, instruction, reciprocity, and exchange and are designed to serve as restorative strategies for our tattered earth. Wood is a Western Australia-based independent curator exploring the intersection of social change, history, and ecology in design and art.
The Nerman also added some personal touch to the exhibition: “Memory of Nature,” a nomadic restoration initiative created in 2013 by Indonesian performance artist Arahmaiani that features an empty plant bed, has been filled with native prairie plants hand-selected by the Nerman staff. It won’t live at the museum forever, though: The garden will be planted at Johnson County Community College next spring.
- When: Now through Dec. 4.
- Where: Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS 66210
“Infinite Regress: Mystical Abstraction from the Permanent Collection and Beyond” at Kemper Museum
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Curated by Kevin Moore, interim curator at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, “Infinite Regress” is a cross-era exploration into mankind’s endless search for a symbiotic state between nature and technology.
The exhibit displays artwork from The Kemper’s permanent collection, including paintings by mystical abstraction icons Joseph Stella, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Marsden Hartley.
The title, “Infinite Regress,” is borrowed from Eamon Ore-Giron’s serial painting developed upon slight variations, noting that art’s advancement is an ongoing process of recycling and upcycling ideas from predecessors throughout history. Following the same logic, the exhibition pairs contemporary artists exhibiting at the museum for the first time, such as Ore-Giron, Chelsea Culprit, Shannon Bool, Theodora Allen, and Panos Tsagaris.
Whether looking for classic paintings such as O’Keefe’s abstract flowers or Stella’s illustrative oil paintings or hoping to discover something innovative like Bool’s figurative sculpture combining human form and modern architecture, “Infinite Regress” guarantees a transcendental experience built upon the wildest imaginations.
- When: Sept. 20 thru Feb. 23rd
- Where: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111
HUTCHINSON — Throughout their formative years, they grew up playing side-by-side, on rival teams or simply admired each other’s success from afar.
Now that their high school football careers are over, Salina Central’s Cooper Reves and Jesus Delgado, Salina South’s Jaxon Myers and Brody Chambers from Southeast of Saline, share the honor of playing for the West team in this weekend’s Kansas Shrine Bowl.
Perhaps just as important in their minds, they get to represent Salina for either the first or the last time wearing identical uniforms.
Jesus Delgado
“Us Salina guys are kind of sticking together, I like to say,” Delgado, an all-state linebacker on Central’s 2025 Class 5A state championship team, said Tuesday during the West training camp Tuesday at Hutchinson Community.
On Thursday, the East and West teams convened in Emporia, site of the 53rd annual Shrine Bowl, set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Emporia State’s Welch Stadium. But not before four days of intense practice at their respective camps in Hutch and Ottawa.
For the Salina contingent, the free time between workouts and meetings was an opportunity to connect, reconnect and reminisce.
Jaxon Myers
“We’re all from near each other, so we kind of know each other, or we’ve heard of each other,” said Myers, a standout wide receiver at South. “We’ve got some pretty good dudes in Salina.
“It’s not just us, but there’s a lot more that could have been here.”
While Reves, an all-state running back, and Delgado helped lead Central to a 12-1 record and its first state title since 2005, Myers was part of a struggling South team that suddenly caught fire in the playoffs after a 1-7 regular season. Road victories in the first two rounds led to the Cougars’ first postseason showdown with their crosstown rivals since 2004.
“That was one of the craziest football games I’ve been a part of in my entire life, just from the fan bases to everything building up to it,” Delgado said of Central’s 49-24 victory after trailing 17-14 at halftime. “But as of right now, it’s really just trying to soak everything in, going to college, and we’re all going on to different opportunities.”
“Some people are playing ball, some people are doing other things, but we’re really all just trying to get to know each other, build some connections and embrace it.”
While Myers’ memories of the playoff game aren’t as fond as those of his rivals, he said it spoke to the mutual respect the teams shared amid all the hoopla.
“It was fun, but not fun at the same time,” said Myers, who did catch a touchdown pass in the game. “You want to win those types of games and you want to keep the Cinderella story going, but they’re a tough team and they won state, so it’s not much you can do about that.”
“You’ve got to eat it from time to time, but this is a part of the game, and it’s all respect. We all respect each other.”
Myers, a Class 5A all-state selection by KSHSAA Covered, caught 45 passes for 871 yards and 10 touchdowns in just nine games for South as a senior. He will play at Garden City Community College this fall.
“Jaxon’s been killing it,” Reves said of Myers’ early West camp practices.
Cooper Reves
Reves, a KSHSAA Covered Top 11 selection and first team 5A pick, knows a little about killing it. As a senior, he rushed for 2,814 yards and 32 touchdowns, including 243 with four scores in the Mustangs’ 51-34 state championship victory over Basehor-Linwood.
Reves also caught 28 passes for 256 yards and another touchdown to finish with 3,070 total yards for the season.
Reves is not the only KSHSAA Covered Top 11 pick representing Salina. Chambers, a 6-foot-1, 285-pound lineman, helped Southeast of Saline to a Class 2A runner-up finish, one game shy of a second straight state championship. While also starting on the offensive line, he had 85 tackles, including 17 for loss, for the 12-1 Trojans.
And then there’s Delgado, the heart of Central’s defense, a first team 5A all-state selection, who had 145 tackles, 21.5 for loss, a sack and an interception in the Mustangs’ championship run.
Among the Salina players, there are several unique connections.
Cooper Reves and Jesus Delgado: One last game together
Delgado, who has signed with Butler Community College in El Dorado, will play his final game alongside Reves, who is headed to Northern Iowa on a wrestling scholarship after winning two state titles at Central.
“Having that state championship, there’s not really much like it,” Reves said. “I feel like me and Jesus were leaders, and we kind of felt like we’d take that role on this year.”
“Just having someone like that next to you the whole way and being able to bring each other up and be there for each other has been great.”
Good memories, indeed, Delgado agreed.
“Early on, when we got (to camp), we were kind of chatting about what it’s going to be like in a different environment,” he said. “We’ve been looking back on old memories, videos and things like that with the guys.
Jesus Delgado and Jaxon Myers: Teammates for just one game
For Delgado and Myers, their history as rivals also represents the future. After teaming up in the Shrine Bowl, they are headed back to rival camps in the Jayhawk Conference.
“He’s like, ‘Some things just never change.’ But right now, for one week, we’ll just let it slide,” Delgado said with a smile. “What some of the guys are doing is putting some of the other team’s decals on their helmets. It might be the only time I agree to put some of the other guys’ decals on.”
Myers, for his part, isn’t too worried about future rivalries.
“It’s fun not having to go against them just because of how good they are and seeing how hard they work,” he said. “It’s a lot different, but it’s fun watching them play.”
Appreciating success at different levels
While South and Central were doing their thing, including the historic playoff clash, they were not too busy to appreciate what Chambers, all-state running back Grady Gebhardt and Southeast of Saline were accomplishing just 15 miles away near Gypsum.
“They’ve been successful, and I think Brody’s been a big part of that,” Reves said. “He’s a good dude and amazing athlete.”
Chambers has something else in common with Reves as a two-time state wrestling champion, and he played both football and baseball with Delgado growing up.
Like his South and Central counterparts, Chambers kept an eye on their postseason successes.
Brody Chambers
“It was definitely fun to watch Central’s run to the state championship and winning it,” said Chambers, who will continue his football career at Grand View University, a high-level NAIA school. “We kind of came up short, unfortunately, but it was really cool that we had two Salina teams I the state championship.”
“We didn’t watch any of the games because we were still focused on us, but I did see a whole bunch of Facebook stuff about (the South-Central playoff game), and we were excited for them. We root for each other since we’re not in the same division.”
Proud to represent Salina in Shrine Bowl
When the final whistle blows at the Shrine Bowl on Saturday, Delgado, Reves, Myers and Chambers all will go their separate ways.
But not before proudly representing their hometown.
“It’s awesome to say that we have four guys from Salina be on this team when there’s only 40 guys from around the state,” Reves said. “So, that’s 10% of the team just from Salina.
“It says we have the right people doing the right things, and I think that’s pretty special.”
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Colorado-based chicken restaurant Birdcall is expanding into Kansas.
The company announced Friday its plans to expand into Kansas and five other Midwestern states over the next five years. Birdcall plans to add six to eight fast-casual restaurants in Wichita and Topeka.
“The Midwest represents a tremendous opportunity for Birdcall,” CEO Mark Lohmann said. “From our award-winning chicken sandwiches and other handcrafted menu offerings to our commitment to innovation and community, we believe Birdcall offers an experience that resonates with today’s guests and is a natural fit for the region.”
Other locations announced are:
- Indiana – 10 to 15 restaurants across Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville and Fort Wayne
- Missouri – Up to 18 restaurants across St. Louis, Columbia, and Kansas City
- Nebraska – Seven to 10 restaurants across Omaha and Lincoln
- Ohio – Up to 20 restaurants across Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo
- Wisconsin – 10 to 15 restaurants across Milwaukee, Madison and Appleton
Birdcall’s menu features a variety of chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers and nuggets, salads, tater tots, fries, and more. The restaurant also makes its own in-house sauces and serves up draft beer and house-made margaritas, with happy hour specials.
The company said each restaurant will use self-service kiosks and occupy about 2,300 square feet, with indoor and outdoor seating that can serve up to 150 people.
Birdcall currently operates 17 restaurants across Colorado, Arizona and Texas.
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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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A video shared by a viewer, shows a resident speaking at the Osawatomie, Kansas City Council meeting being escorted out by police on Thursday evening.
The video shows a man holding a “Hell No Alcove” sign, while commenting about a blighted property, which according to public records is owned by Pacific Apartments, LLC, operating out of the same address as Alcove Development in Lawrence, Kansas.
KSHB 41
Alcove Development is behind the effort to build a $1 billion, 283-acre data center development in Osawatomie’s northland property.
The video, shared by a viewer, goes on the show two law enforcement officers approaching the individual, who is Lee Brewer, at the podium, after he begins to yell, while the crowd joins in behind him. Lee Brewer reached out to KSHB 41 late Thursday night, identifying himself as the person who was escorted out.
Osawatomie, Kansas Police Chief Dave Stutteville is seen in the video also approaching the man.
Fabian Rosales/KSHB
KSHB 41 Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa reached out to the Police Chief, City Manager, and Mayor Nick Hampson for comment late on Thursday night and is waiting on a response.
Residents in contact with Gamboa attending the meeting shared the meeting was still in session after 9:30 p.m.
Thursday night’s meeting was the city and Alcove Development’s attempt at sharing potential benefits of a data center for the community.
Gamboa has long covered the data center project in Osawatomie, Kansas — and neighbors to the project have voiced their opposition to the proposed development.
Brian Luton/KSHB
This is the first time Alcove Development has approached the public, but not the first time it has worked with the city of Osawatomie.
In late 2025, Alcove Development approached the city with the project and weeks later, a pre-development agreement was signed giving Alcove exclusive rights to the development for three years.
But city council meeting records from 2023 show, the city of Osawatomie entered into a pre-development agreement with Alcove Development to redevelop a property known as Old Swenson School.
Alcove Development had six months to asses the condition of the property and determine a course of action for redevelopment, and the overall agreement would last 18 months, according to public records.
Will Shaw/KSHB
The pre-development agreements states, Alcove would consider asking for tax breaks on the project, including utilizing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
At the time, the property had sat in disrepair since 2016, according to the records, and was frequently found in violation of city code.
If the re-development were to fall through, the city would be on the hook to purchase the property from the developer for $25,000, with unclear total costs for infrastructure improvements.
KSHB 41
KSHB 41 will follow up on the status on this project at a later date.
Earlier this week, Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa, sat down with Donna Ingram who doesn’t live far from the data center site.
Ingram expressed her concerns about the amount of infrastructure that would be built to operate a data center, and how it might overtake the land around her home.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
She expressed concerns because the City of Osawtomie changed the public comment guidelines of a promise town hall with the developer.
“Watching this process play out is disheartening,” Ingram said in an interview on Monday. “A town hall was promised that didn’t come to fruition… I don’t believe it’s the definition. This is a city council meeting. We’re the ones that are gonna live next to it. We’re the ones that live in the path of the infrastructure.”
The city told KSHB 41 on Monday in a statement, they changed the format to prioritize the voices of city taxpayers, as county taxpayers have dominated the public comment periods over the past couple of months.
Brian Luton/KSHB
Mayor Nick Hampson also told Gamboa in an earlier interview he was hoping to have a productive “town hall” — instead, the first meeting with the public and the developer of the project was during a formal and regularly scheduled city council meeting.
The city also required residents to submit questions ahead of time, and the city would filter questions to the developer, while limiting public comment to three minutes.
“We have been and will continue to hear from the residents that are in the county and closest to this project,” Hampson told KSHB 41 in an email on Monday.
Miami County, Kansas
Residents shared a record to KSHB 41, submitted to the city for a formal investigation into 1009 Pacific Avenue in Osawatomie, which is owned by a company operating out of Alcove Development’s address.
The dilapidated property is the a former school house, that sits with broken windows, and other parts of the building breaking down.
The Miami County Republic reporting on Thursday, the city launched an investigation into the building.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
Residents cite the buildings deteriorating condition and potential danger to the public, and lack of property maintenance.
Lee Brewer issued a comment regarding the incident at Thursday night’s meeting, stating he was escorted out after the Mayor closed public comment, and he was not on the list.
Brewer told KSHB 41, he has a time -stamped email of pre-submitted questions ahead of the meeting. KSHB 41 asked Brewer to review the email, and is waiting for an answer.
I am severely disappointed in our Mayor and the city council. They told us we were required to send in an email with our questions and our address to prove we were citizens of the town by Wednesday the 24th at noon. I have my email which is timestamped at 10:26 a.m. Wednesday the 24th. They shut me down and first told me I didn’t put the email in and then once I was kicked out of there I was told by people coming out that they were told I turned in my email too late. I’m not a math teacher but last time I looked at my clock 10:26 a.m. falls just over an hour and a half before noon. I mean correct me if I’m wrong. I thought because the mayor and I were having decent conversations on Facebook Messenger, whereas I would ask him questions and he would answer to the best of his ability. And I would thank him I thought we were pretty cordial. So to basically call me a liar in front of the entire town on video recording, take away my freedom of speech My first amendment right, and have me removed from a public building was completely wrong I am very disappointed in our city council and mayor. When I approached the podium all I was trying to do was point out that resolution number 1169 in Osawatomie Kansas refers to Alcove development LLC being the owner of the old Swenson School at 1009 Pacific. As I pointed out in these earlier messages to you Alcove has left this building dilapidated in ruins and a danger to our community. Our great city council and mayor seem to have other plans for me being able to speak though.
Lee Brew, via Facebook to KSHB 41 News
KSHB 41 reached out to Alcove Development late on Thursday night, and is waiting on a response.
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