The PeaceWorks KC Local Art Fair, in person, already has 76 artists—and counting! After 2 years without a face-to-face fair, PeaceWorks is holding its annual fundraiser on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24-25, at Theis Park. That’s south of the shuttlecocks at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, along Oak Street, south of Cleaver Boulevard in KC MO. The hours: 10am-6pm Saturday, Sept. 24, and 10am-5pm Sunday, Sept. 25.
Because of Covid-19, the group cancelled its fair last year, and held it online in 2020. But with art, you want to see, hold, feel what you’re getting. “The artists are so excited we’re back in person,” says Bennette Dibben of PeaceWorks, the art fair’s coordinator. “The artists know Theis Park, they know they’ll be in the shade, and they like being part of our peace and justice work!”
PeaceWorks Treasurer Dave Pack says, “In a normal year, the art fair provides almost half our annual income, with the other half being memberships and donations.” He highlights the community aspect of the fair. “There’s a sense of MLK’s ‘beloved community,’” says Pack.
That’s by design. The application states, “PeaceWorks KC is committed to inclusion—communities of color, persons of all genders, LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual, asexual, genderqueer), and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.”
Patrons at the fair can talk with artists about their paintings, sculpture, weaving, sewing, photography, sketching, glass art, woodwork. If it’s art, it’s likely these locals make it!
With the artists’ booths spaced 6 feet apart, and with the entire fair outside, the fair managers are taking Covid precautions. And the artists keep their offerings reasonable. The price is right. Great for birthday/holiday gifts.
Volunteers, click here to signup for a time slot. We need helpers such as cashiers, traffic guides, and heavy-lifting help for set-up and tear-down.
The photos with this article show art by two participants in the KKFI (90.1 FM) program The Tenth Voice—LGBTQIA—on Aug. 27. For more on that “Trans Talk” show, including the podcast, open https://kkfi.org/program-episodes/the-tenth-voice-saturday-august-27th-2022-trans-talk-local-artists-and-the-peaceworks-kc-art-fair/.
One of the artists interviewed is Kirsten Robb, whose website is rootcat.bigcartel.com. The other artist interviewed is Theo Wren, whose site is etsy.com/shop/FairywrenCuriosity.
Final note: You may recall the name UNplaza Art Fair. In 2020, the PeaceWorks Board changed the name to accent both our organization and our local artists, so the fair is now the PeaceWorks KC Local Art Fair.
© 2022, PeaceWorks Kansas City, Jane Stoever, Theo Wren, Kirsten Robb, Dave Pack, Bennette Dibben Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 International License.
