2022 Programming Highlights

Six talks and discussions by artists from across the U.S. were presented at the museum and archived on the museum’s website.

Supported by the Jack and Karen Holland Visiting Artist Fund

Curator, Docent, and Special Guest-led Tours activated exhibitions and artwork on view.

Supported in part by the Jack and Karen Holland Visiting Artist Fund

Participants were guided through meditation, qigong, breathing instruction, and sound healing sessions in the galleries.

Supported by the Jack and Karen Holland Visiting Artist Fund

This docent-led program is dedicated to the emerging field of Art and Medicine and the capacity of visual art to improve medical care. This year, the program engaged first-year medical students at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Two themed trivia nights challenged teams to expand on ideas related to exhibitions in a fun and casual atmosphere.

Supported by the Jack and Karen Holland Visiting Artist Fund

Two participatory engaged the exhibitions Natalie Frank: Unbound and The Regional from a literary perspective.

In September 2022, the National Docent Symposium (NDS) took place in Kansas City. Kemper Museum docents hosted more than sixty of their peers from across North America who attended the museum’s NDS luncheon and tour as well as an NDS arts engagement workshop.

As in-person tours resumed, the Kemper Museum Docent Program was reimagined to become more accessible to both volunteers and to visitors. Equipped with a new structure and virtual and in-person programs developed over the past two years, the museum recruited seventeen new volunteer docents for three new roles that encourage visitors to engage with contemporary art and ideas and help to create a sense of belonging for people from all backgrounds.

The Kemper Museum Docent Program is supported by the Family of Mary Beth Smith.

Silent concert features multiple musicians, including vocals, electronically wired to a sound system that allows you to hear the full production from anywhere in the museum only while wearing special, wireless headphones.

After more than two years of virtual school programs, the first in-person school field trips were welcomed back to the galleries since March 2020.

Participants were invited to sing songs, read books, and make art with a Kemper Museum educator and a Kansas City librarian. Engaging 40 children aged 3–6 each month, the program was held either virtually with free art kits mailed to participant’s homes each or in person at the museum.

A free art day-camp for children ages 6–12 with several sessions throughout the year offers opportunities for children to learn about and make art while learning about the artwork and ideas on view at the museum.

Teen Arts Council is a teen-driven leadership program for high school students who are interested in contemporary art and community engagement.

2022–23 Teen Arts Council Members: L Abbott, Rishabh Barve, Hadiyah Bayan, William Brown, Andrew Cho, Eliora Glickman, Davis Hoffman, Bella Hernandez Lusk, Lidia McReynolds, Aurora Nicol, Ysabella Olsen, Sally Panis, Julia Schnittker, Riley Strait, Eilish Ye

A new series of monthly guided life drawing sessions engaged exhibitions on view and more than 25 local creative partners. At each session, a different local artist introduced participants to their practice and led them through a series of drawing exercises, most often featuring local dancers and musicians as the models.

Kemper Museum’s largest annual public program returned to the museum and celebrated the opening of the 2022 Atrium Project, Pepe Mar: Rising Sun.

Kemper Museum was honored to bring Smith to Kansas City as part of a collaboration with Juneteenth KC and three area museums: The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art presented a new performance by Shinique Smith titled Breathing Room: Evocation; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art hosted an artist talk by Smith; and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art presented the exhibition Shinique Smith: STARGAZERS.

Women to Watch Demo Day Visitors enjoyed artist demos by local artists included in Women to Watch – A New World.

NewEar Concerts Kemper Museum partnered with the local contemporary music ensemble New Ear on three public performances as part of their 30 for 30 anniversary performances.

Engagement spaces broadened understanding of the exhibitions, Natalie Frank: Unbound and Five Years and Counting: Expanding the Permanent Collection through interactive activities for all ages.

In partnership with Arts Asylum KC and the City of Fountains Sisters, Kemper Museum presented two popular Drag Queen Story Time performances: one focused on fairy tales in conjunction with the exhibition, Natalie Frank: Unbound, and a wintertime performance with a toy drive benefiting Amethyst House.

Themed scavenger hunts were created and updated throughout the year with clues to find works on view and prompts to engage with the works.