Art is especially sweet at ArtsKC Live in the Power & Light District
Haley Sellmeyer didn’t really need an introduction to the arts. The second-grader in the Gardner Edgerton School District already has her own website to sell her paintings.
Still, she was game to try a new medium — Halloween candy — to create a different kind of art Saturday at the Kansas City Power & Light District.
The candy art table, staffed by volunteers for the ArtsKC Regional Arts Council, stood with about 20 booths where grant recipients of the ArtsKC Fund showcased their organizations. Examples included Dare to Dabble, Perform Out KC and the KC Chalk & Walk Festival.
The first-time event, dubbed ArtsKC Live and sponsored by KCP&L, was designed by the council to expose more potential patrons and volunteers to the diversity of arts in the Kansas City area.
Meanwhile, 12 performance organizations, ranging from StoneLion Puppet Theatre to the Kansas City Ballet, cycled in 20- to 30-minute intervals across three stages in the heart of the Power & Light District as dozens of people stopped to watch and listen.
Mike Anderson, president of the Downtown Olathe Arts Festival held in June, helped in a tent in the 1400 block of Walnut, hoping to publicize his group’s annual juried art show. It features work by children and people with disabilities.
“Anything we can do to get the word out about (a nonprofit) for the arts is good,” Anderson said.
The arts council this year moved to 106 Southwest Blvd. in the Crossroads Arts District and has been working to expand its outreach. One change involved expanding its annual Art@Work fundraising campaign to year-round instead of a limited campaign.
The council also has sponsored a contest in which employees of participating companies entered visual and performance pieces in an annual competition. That program ended this year.
The ArtsKC Live event was part of the council’s effort to “make sure the arts are accessible to everyone,” said Kansas City poet Glenn North, who served as the afternoon’s master of ceremonies. “It’s so important that art reaches everybody.”
To reach Diane Stafford, call 816-234-4359 or send email to stafford@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published November 1, 2014 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Art is especially sweet at ArtsKC Live in the Power & Light District."