A Visit to the UrbanKore
The UrbanKore Art Exposition is an event created by former artist in residence Harold Smith to empower and celebrate the work of local artists from the urban core of Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. Taking place at the Quindaro Community Center, Smith brought together a group of artists to showcase their work in an art fair–style exhibition. With my first step into the space, I could feel just how important this event was to the artists, and I was grateful that I could be a part of this experience. Featuring art that ranged from abstract paintings to wildlife photography, the exhibition showcased a vibrant expression of community. Many of the artists have been creating for less than 4 years, and some didn’t even know they could make art until recently. It was a beautiful reminder that sometimes, all it takes is one person’s belief in you to make a difference.
I asked Harold Smith about how the idea started.
Q: How did this show come together?
A: I thought about how there are a lot of artists in the urban core who are underrepresented and don’t get to show often. All these artists are self-taught and don’t have those connections that come from going through an art program. I wanted to empower these artists by putting together an event where they can be seen and their work can be shown. It's in a historic neighborhood, and if you go down the street, you'll find the Quindaro ruins, which are a historic national site. That's where slaves crossed over on the Underground Railroad into freedom, and there are still the foundations of the settlements they made. The Quindaro Underground Museum is down the street, and there is also a statue of John Brown. That statue is on the site of the former Western University, which was the first college for black students west of the Mississippi. To show that the site gets attention, somebody cut the hand off the statue a few years ago. A lot of artists are from this area, and it's just an opportunity to get their work a chance to be seen and bring the community and have fun, and hopefully revitalize this area. The property values here are far lower than in Missouri, and for all these artists looking for studios, consider the Northeast part of Kansas City, Kansas.