‘Really beloved’ sculpture inspires this addition to museum mini golf opening soon
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is breaking out the golf clubs.
The museum is opening up its mini-golf Art Course Friday in the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park. Each of its nine holes represents a work of art in the museum’s collection.
With the seasonal opening of the art course comes the debut of a new hole: “Branch Out,” a 55-foot-high stainless steel dendroid — that’s something made to look like a tree — and it’s inspired by Roxy Paine’s “Ferment” just to the south.
Casey Claps, the Nelson’s director of earned income, said the museum loves to introduce new holes when it can as a way to keep telling the stories of its collection.
Claps said the twisting of Paine’s sculpture represents the neurological and vascular systems inside of our bodies, but it looks like a silver tree from afar.
“It’s a work that you can see without entering the museum, you can see it driving down Emanuel Cleaver Boulevard, so it’s got a lot of visibility,” Claps said. “It’s really beloved, even though it’s only a decade old in our collection.”
The new hole is replacing the second hole, which was inspired by Luis Tomasello’s artwork of geometric shapes.
Claps said they received enough funding from donors to bring the new hole to life.
Tickets to the Art Course
Tickets for the Art Course mini golf can be purchased via nelson-atkins.org or at the museum’s information desk. If you need help, call 816-751-1278.
Prices are $18, $14 for members, $12 for kids 4-12 and free for kids 3 and under.
Through May 14, the golf course is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
From May 19 to Aug. 21, the course will be open every day the museum is open. It will return to the weekend-only hours from Aug. 25 to Oct. 15.
This story was originally published March 9, 2023 at 11:35 AM.
