What's New & What's Next in Kansas City's Museums
Never ones to remain stagnant, Kansas City’s cultural institutions have been keeping 2023 bright and busy. Here’s a look at what remains in the year.
What's New
Journey through 14 interactive and immersive STEM exhibits that trace Amelia Earhart's life, from growing up in Atchison, Kansas, to her groundbreaking achievement as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, at the new Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum.
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
Once subjected to the first use of Atomic bombs in 1945 – now standing in school yards, temple grounds and city squares – reflect on the living memorials of survivor trees or hibakujumoku. Experience the profound journey of Rooted among the Ashes: Hibakujumoku / A-bombed Trees, a photographic exhibit of the survivor trees from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On View Through Oct. 1, 2023.
After a six-month closure in early 2023, the Kansas City Museum in the historic Northeast area is reopened to the public. A four-year long renovation came to fruition in 2021, giving the 1910 mansion five new exhibit galleries that take visitors on a collection of stories that reflect the city’s evolution and spirit, ranging from Native American life and the Lewis & Clark Expedition to the role of neighborhoods and the introduction of KC jazz.
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
The Atrium Project, initiated in 2016, is an annual exhibition series that showcases commissioned projects by up-and-coming and established Hispanic and Latinx artists. New York-based artist Sarah Zapata's So the roots be known will be next on display, paying homage to Womontown, a group of primarily queer women who established a revolutionary community in the Longfellow (Dutch Hill) neighborhood of Kansas City in the late 1980s. On View Aug. 18, 2023 – July 28, 2024.
The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
Self-proclaimed as the largest toy manufacturer in the world in the early 20th century, learn of the evolution of The A. Schoenhut Company, who first manufactured toy pianos and later expanded their products to include The Humpty Dumpty Circus and the All-Wood Perfection Doll. On View Through Dec. 31, 2023.
National WWI Museum and Memorial
Bespoke Bodies: The Design & Craft of Prosthetics is an exhibition that delves into the history, present and future of prosthetic design. Alongside personal stories, the exhibition features a collection of contemporary and historical artifacts that demonstrate the advancements and influence of prosthetic design. On View Through April 7, 2024.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Found in Translation: Explorations by 8 Contemporary Artists features art by Asian artists in the Kansas City region whose work is influenced by their immigration experiences, offering diverse perspectives on identity, place, memory and relationships through various styles and media. It is the second exhibition in the Nelson-Atkins initiative KC Art Now. On View Through Aug. 20, 2023.
Brought to you by Marvel Entertainment and Semmel Exhibitions, Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing – The Exhibition tells the story of the web-slinger from his origins in 1962 to his modern-day adventures through original art, interactive displays, photo ops and more. On View Through Oct. 1, 2023.
What's Next
AUGUST
- Landscapes: Real and Imagined | Aug. 5, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
SEPTEMBER
- Julie Blackmon: A Life in Frame | Sept. 15, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
- Evelyn Hofer: Eyes on the City | Sept. 16, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- Cities are for People: Street Photography, 1945-1970 | Sept. 30, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
OCTOBER
- Monet and his Modern Legacy | Oct. 28, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- Sonam Dolma Brauen, My Father’s Death | Oct. 28, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art