With Library buildings open, one of the experiences patrons can once again enjoy in person is viewing exhibits in our galleries and spaces. Check out the current lineup on display and come visit and explore these celebrations of community art, culture, and history.  

Colorful murals and other public art have become a distinguishing feature of the richly diverse Northeast area of Kansas City. Some 40-45 paintings now adorn businesses, schools and abandoned buildings that once were eyesores. They pop out in local parks. Along city streets. In tucked-away alleys.  More than 30 of...

As construction of a new $1.5 billion, single-terminal Kansas City International Airport moves toward completion in March 2023, a new Library exhibit charts the rich history of air travel in the city and surrounding area. ‘Nearest by Air to Everywhere’: A Tour of Kansas City’s Aviation History...

Gabriella Polony Mountain was passionate, expressive, indelible. And so was the art  created by the namesake of the Rocky and Gabriella Mountain Gallery at the downtown Central Library over a remarkable, 102-year life. Polony Mountain died Monday, May 18, 2020.  

This week marks 43 years since Ralph Steadman visited a muggy Kansas City to cover the 1976 Republican National Convention for Rolling Stone magazine. Twelve of Steadman’s inimitable drawings ultimately were published alongside John Dean’s first-person story, “Rituals of the Herd.” Six of t...

The ink-splattered exhibit Ralph Steadman: A Retrospective, on display at the Central Library through Sept. 8, 2019, has been popular among art lovers throughout the region. During the exhibit’s more than thre...

Artist Ralph Steadman is known for his creative collaboration with writer Hunter S. Thompson, matching outrageous illustrations to Thompson’s gonzo writing. Beyond that partnership, Steadman’s career spans over 60 years; this summer, the Library is among a few U.S. sites hosting a touring retrospective...