By Ann Holliday, Vice President – Strategic Initiatives for the Downtown Council and Executive Director of the Art in the Loop Foundation
What happens when you take art out of the gallery and put it where people live, work, walk, ride, and gather?
Downtown Kansas City comes alive.
For 13 years, Art in the Loop has been doing just that—bringing the creativity of local artists into the everyday experience of Downtown Kansas City. Each year from May through October, temporary visual artwork and live performances transform spaces along and near the KC Streetcar route and throughout Downtown into places of discovery, conversation, and connection.
Art in the Loop began with a simple idea: local artists deserve opportunities to share their work, and everyone deserves opportunities to experience art.
That idea continues to shape the project today.
Bringing Art Into Everyday Life
Art in the Loop is different from a traditional gallery exhibition. There are no walls separating the artwork from the community. A painting might catch your eye while you’re walking down the street. A digital illustration might turn an otherwise ordinary space into something unexpected. You might encounter dancers performing downtown, hear experimental jazz or hip hop, or stop to listen to a spoken-word artist.
These encounters are part of what makes public art so powerful. You don’t necessarily have to plan to see it. Sometimes, the art finds you.
For artists, Art in the Loop provides a chance to bring their work to new audiences and experience what it means to create art for public spaces. Each year, artists are selected through a competitive call and a community-based selection process.
But selecting artists is only the beginning.
Supporting Artists From Idea to Installation
Behind every Art in the Loop project is a team working to help artists bring their ideas to life.
Art in the Loop provides professional administration, curation, marketing, graphic design, storytelling, installation, documentation, and logistical coordination. The team works with artists, property owners, the KC Streetcar, the Downtown Council, and other partners to make each project possible.
Artists receive much more than a place to display or perform their work.
They receive a dedicated portfolio page on the Art in the Loop website, public relations and social media support, marketing materials, project signage, curatorial guidance, documentation, and opportunities to talk about their work directly with the community.
Artists are introduced at the annual Kick-Off Event at the Kansas City Public Library Central Library. They participate in the Artwalk, where they can discuss their work with the public, and they return at the end of the season for the Closing Reception, where each artist has an opportunity to share a short reflection on their experience.
The season is also documented through photography and video when available and culminates in a printed catalog that captures the artists, performances, projects, and stories of the year.
For emerging and established artists alike, these opportunities can become an important part of building a professional portfolio and connecting with new audiences.
Making Downtown a Place of Discovery
The impact of Art in the Loop extends beyond the artists.
It is about place.
Public art changes the way we experience our surroundings. It can make us pause on a sidewalk, look up from our phones, take a different route, or spend a little more time in a public space.
It can turn a familiar block into a place worth exploring.
And it can create connections between people who might otherwise simply pass one another on the street.
For Downtown Kansas City, these moments matter. Art in the Loop helps activate public spaces and brings creativity into the places where people already are—connecting residents, workers, visitors, convention attendees, students, and others with Kansas City’s extraordinary creative community.
In doing so, the project contributes to a Downtown that is not simply a place to go, but a place to experience.
Thirteen Years—and Still Creating
Now in its 13th year, Art in the Loop has become an annual opportunity for Kansas City artists to share their voices and for the public to experience the city through a different lens.
Every season brings something new.
New artists. New ideas. New performances. New places. New conversations.
And then, just as the season began, it comes to a close.
Join Us for the 2026 Closing Reception
We invite the community to join us as we celebrate the artists and partners who made the 2026 Art in the Loop season possible.
The 2026 Art in the Loop Closing Reception will take place Thursday, October 29, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library Central Library.
Come meet the artists, experience live performances, hear artists share their stories, and celebrate another season of bringing art into the Loop.
The Closing Reception is more than the end of an exhibition. It is a celebration of the people behind the work—the artists who imagined it, the team who helped make it happen, the partners who opened their spaces, the sponsors and supporters who invested in the project, and the community that stopped to look, listen, experience, and engage.
Thank You
A project like Art in the Loop doesn’t happen because of one person. It happens because a community believes that art belongs in the everyday life of a city.
I am so grateful to the team members who make Art in the Loop happen each year
Art Directors Khyneesha Edwards and Jade Osborne for their artistic leadership, James “Sarge” Carter for his content creation and performance production, and to the many partners, sponsors, volunteers, property owners, and supporters who help bring the project to life.
I also extend my appreciation to the Art in the Loop Foundation Board of Directors for their leadership and commitment:
- Randy Williams, Board President
- Donna Mandelbaum, Vice President
- Robin Trafton, Vice President
- William Dietrich, Secretary
- Sara Welch, Treasurer
- Lydia Allen
- Stephanie Burkett
- Adrienne Walker Hoard
- Kreshuan McKinney
And, above all, thank you to the artists.
Thank you for sharing your work with Kansas City. Thank you for taking creative risks, telling stories, asking questions, and giving us new ways to see the places we think we already know.
For 13 years, Art in the Loop has helped artists meet the city—and helped the city discover its artists.
The art is here. The artists are here. The city is here.
Come be part of the experience.
Art Walk & Ride with KC Streetcar
