Join Art in the Loop, KC Streetcar, Downtown Council and the Kansas City Public Library as we kick off the 2022 Art in the Loop Project:  Sustainable, on Wednesday, June 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library – Central Library, 14 West 10th Street, located on the KC Streetcar line. 

This will be an evening of art and music as we introduce the 2022 visual artists and performance series selections. 

The event will feature original poetry by Vanessa Aricco, who will perform from her new collection entitled “On the Cusp of Air and Water” as well as live music by Amado Espinoza and his “Junkyard Orchestra”.  

Click here to RSVP. The event is free and open to the public.

 The Art in the Loop Foundation is pleased to announce the 2022 Art in the Loop artists and art installations.

This year marks the ninth year for the Art in the Loop Project and includes artwork based on photography, painting, digitized illustrations and paintings, and more. The Art in the Loop Project is a curated outdoor exhibition of temporary artworks presented in partnership with the KC Streetcar Authority.  Artists responded to the 2022 theme of “Sustainable” and addressed questions about how one defines sustainability, what are the intersections between art and sustainability and what a sustainable Downtown Kansas City looks like.  

The following artists’ works will be displayed at streetcar stops and on one streetcar vehicle from June until November 2022. You can find images of each installation online at www.artintheloop.com. 

Artist and Art Installations:

• Devin Edwards, Darrius’s Garden, on KC Streetcar 806
• DINKC Galicia, Generations, at the Power & Light Southbound Streetcar Stop
• David Wayne Reed, Mother, at the Kauffman Center Southbound Streetcar Stop 
• Jennifer Lapka with A.P. Visual, The Dieynaba Dress, at the Metro Center Northbound Streetcar Stop 
• Raffaela Malazarte, Mahalaga, at the Library Northbound Streetcar Stop  
• Dave Loewenstein, You Are Here, at the Union Station Streetcar Stop
• Sol Anzorena, Take Care of Who Cares For You, at the River Market West Streetcar Stop 

The Art in the Loop Foundation will hold a Kick-Off event for the 2022 Art in the Loop Project: Sustainable, on Wednesday, June 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library Central Branch. This will be an evening of art and music as we introduce the 2022 visual artists and performance artists. The event will start at 5:30 p.m. with a reception followed by a program at 6 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Attendees can RSVP for the event here: https://2022-kickoff.eventbrite.com. 

Artists are selected for the annual program through an online application process open to artists in the Kansas City metropolitan area. A selection panel consisting of local artists, curators, educators, and community members reviewed over 40 applications and selected 7 artist teams.

The 2022 Art in the Loop Project is provided artistic guidance by Kyle Mullins, who is serving in his second year as art director for Art in the Loop. Mullins is a dance artist living and creating in Kansas City, MO. He is the artistic director of his company Cerca Trova, where he creates works of dance theater, and producer of Making Moves, a monthly dance performance series he founded in 2019. He also works as an Artists Services Program Coordinator at Mid-America Arts Alliance. He is a former Charlotte Street Foundation Studio Resident. Mullins danced in NYC for ten years before relocating home to Kansas City. He holds an MFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The 2022 Art in the Loop Project is made possible through the generous support of the KC Streetcar Authority, Stinson LLP, and other corporate partners. This project is funded in part by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund, as well as by awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC, and the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank Trustee.

Project partners include the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement Districts, KC Streetcar, and the Kansas City Art Institute.

For more information about the project and the artists, visit www.artintheloop.com, www.facebook.com/artintheloop, or twitter.com/ArtintheLoop.

Art in the Loop is pleased to share that the Kansas City Artists Coalition has named director Ann Holliday as the Art Is Essential Honorary Auction Chair. The auction is the KCAC’s annual fundraiser, showcasing the work of hundreds of local artists. Join the live auction and event on Saturday, February 26, by purchasing tickets (Click here for Auction tickets!) and participate in the silent auction.  The auction is chaired by Donna Mandelbaum and Estuardo Garcia.

KCAC interviewed Holliday recently. Check out the video below to learn more about Art in the Loop and the KC Artists Coalition:

The Art in the Loop Foundation (AILF) is seeking visual artists to engage the community through an exhibition of public artwork along the KC Streetcar route in Downtown Kansas City from May 31 through November 31, 2022. This is our 9th annual summer public art program. Through a competitive, open-call process, AILF selects local artists to create temporary, site-specific work along and near the KC Streetcar route in Downtown Kansas City. Your artwork will be viewed by thousands of KC Streetcar riders and Downtowners daily! Selected artists will receive funds and project support to bring their artwork alive for a 6-month outdoor program.

For the 2022 Art in the Loop Project, we are looking for artists to respond to these questions and to explore their vision of sustainability. Proposed projects should reflect these questions and ideas in ways that engage and stimulate Kansas City audiences through public art installations.

This year artists may submit proposals in three categories, KC Streetcar Wrap, KC Streetcar Stop (Inside the Frame, 2-D) and KC Streetcar Stop (Outside the Frame for 3-D, installations, or social practice artwork). Read the full call for artists at https://www.artintheloop.com/opportunities/

The application requires a written description of your proposal, visual concept, and a short narrative about your goals for public engagement. Stipends will range from $600-$2,500 depending on the category. The deadline for submissions is Monday, Mach 7, 11:59 CST. Applications must be made online via the application portal.

For information about eligibility, selection process, evaluation criteria, and important dates, review the application guidelines. Applicants are also encouraged to learn about artist projects from previous years. Annual catalogs from past years’ programs can be found here.

Performance artists and musicians, stay tuned for our second call for artists in which we will have opportunities for performances along the KC Streetcar route and more.

Questions may be directed to Art in the Loop Art Director, Kyle Mullins, kylewmullins@gmail.com, or Program Director, Ann Holliday, ann@downtownkc.org.

Art in the Loop Mission:
The mission of the Art in the Loop Foundation (AILF) is to contribute to the visual identity, enrichment, and revitalization of Downtown Kansas City, create new opportunities for artistic development, and expand public interaction with new art of excellence. AILF values an equitable, diverse, and inclusive art community.

2021 ART IN THE LOOP CLOSING RECEPTION
Thursday, November 4, 2021, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
lightwell
1100 Main Street

Join with friends and colleagues as we celebrate the 2021 Art in the Loop Project: Resilient. The curated outdoor exhibition, staged in partnership with KC Streetcar, concludes with an in-person reception, illustrated review, and reflection on the year’s artwork and performances.

Art in the Loop organizers and participants will look back on the artistic works and performances featured from June to October. Guest speaker David Wayne Reed will share thoughts on the future of public art in Kansas City. Reed is an actor, writer, director, and producer from Kansas City, Missouri. He currently serves on the Municipal Arts Commission of Kansas City, Missouri and serves on the Executive Committee of the 1% for Public Art program at the new Kansas City International Airport.

The evening will begin with a presentation highlighting this year’s art installations and performances, including first-hand accounts from selected artists. The evening celebration will include a performance by The Wires, Laurel Morgan Parks (violin), and Sascha Groschang (cello). Their music is inspired by imagery found in the natural world, folk styles, and modern string techniques.

Art in the Loop is designed to make cultural experiences available to downtown residents, visitors, workers, and anyone who finds their way in downtown Kansas City. This art exhibition and performance series was financially supported by the KCMO-Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund, Missouri Arts Council, ArtsKC, the KC Streetcar Authority, the Downtown Council of Kansas City, Downtown Community Improvement District and many generous corporate sponsors including Stinson, Academy Bank, Copaken Brooks, JE Dunn Construction, HNTB, McCownGordon Construction, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, Henderson Engineers, and UMB, as well as the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Commerce Bank Trustee, the Gem Cultural & Education Institute and the Kansas City Art Institute.

This evening reception will be in-person and face masks are required. The best way to get to the Art in the Loop closing reception is by KC Streetcar. Just hop on and ride to the Metro Center streetcar stop at 12th & Main. The entrance to lightwell is on the north side of the building near Jason’s Deli. If driving, parking is available in the garage beneath the building and is accessible from 11th Street.

 

Local artist Sheron Smith’s artwork “Together We Rise!” is now installed on the ARTwall, the 36 foot by 70 foot exhibition space on the south side of the Town Pavilion Garage in Downtown Kansas City!

Together We Rise! is inspired by all of the diverse people who are coming together around issues such as racial justice, climate control, equality for women, gay rights, gun control, and health. It is so beautiful to see people of every race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and age rallying together in support of these critical issues. The people remain resilient as they face many obstacles during the process of advancing their goals.

Together We Rise! captures the energy, passion, and emotion of these times. The background is alive with the energy of vivid swirling colors. Within the background, crowds of people are marching, and brandishing signs. The edges of the painting are dark and torn, and the strips running top to bottom also look dark and torn. This represents the dark elements that are threatening to tear our country apart. Our society is being attacked and torn apart by racism, injustice, conspiracy theories, violence, and climate destruction, as well as the threat of authoritarianism.

The foreground of Together We Rise! shows diverse people marching together. The people in the painting are a reflection of society. They represent age diversity, gender diversity, physical diversity, religious diversity, and racial diversity. The people in the foreground are holding hands because they stand in support of each other, united against the forces that threaten our society and the world.

Location

ARTwall, a super-size, billboard structure for displaying art located on the northeast corner of 13th & Grand. The ARTwall was installed by Outfront Media.

Bio

Sheron Smith is a multi-talented artist who does not limit herself to one subject or discipline. Varying subjects, cityscapes, abstracts, and sculpture are all part of her portfolio. Sheron is an educator, and self-taught, lifelong creator of art.

website: sheronsmith.com

---

The 2021 Art in the Loop Project is made possible through the generous financial support of the KC Streetcar Authority; the Missouri Arts Council; Arts KC; as well as corporate sponsors including Stinson, Academy Bank, Copaken Brooks, HNTB, JE Dunn Construction, McCownGordon Construction and many others. This project is also supported in part by the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund.

Project partners include the Downtown Council, Downtown Community Improvement Districts, KC Streetcar, and the Kansas City Art Institute.

For more information about the project and the artists, visit www.artintheloop.com, www.facebook.com/artintheloop, or twitter.com/ArtintheLoop.

# # #

Contacts:

Art in the Loop
Ann Holliday, Program Director, ann@downtownkc.org, (c) 816-718-1355
Kyle Mullins, Art Director, kylewmullins@gmail.com

KC Streetcar
Donna Mandelbaum, Communications Director, dmandelbaum@kcstreetcar.org, 816-877-3219