Exhibitions
Art is always happening at the Library - come see what's new!
We’re proud to showcase artwork that inspires, educates and brings our community together. Ten of our Library locations feature dedicated gallery spaces where visual artists from across the Kansas City metro area exhibit their work. These displays are enjoyed by visitors of all ages—and they help make our Libraries even more vibrant and welcoming.
We’re fortunate to partner with InterUrban ArtHouse, which curates exhibitions at all Library branches except the Central Resource Library. InterUrban ArtHouse also partners with the Library to offer art-centered events including hands-on workshops, performances, classes, and more.
Explore our current exhibitions:
- Preview the featured artwork
- Get to know the artists and their creative perspectives
- Find out where and when each exhibit is on display
Zhou B Art Center of Kansas City Group Show
Central Resource Library, Jan. 12-Feb. 28
At the Zhou B Art Center, creativity knows no bounds. The Center serves as a vibrant hub where artistic expression flourishes, showcasing a diverse range of artists and exhibitions tailored for individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Nestled in the culturally significant 18th and Vine jazz district, the Center finds its home in the reclaimed Crispus Attucks School, a space honored for its historical legacy.
Join us for the Reception, Feb. 6, 4-6 p.m. at Central Resource Library.
AHH Presents: “Be The Change”
Central Resource Library, March 14 - May 3
“Be The Change” is a powerful exhibition by Artists Helping the Homeless (AHH) that explores the journey from hardship to healing through the eyes and hands of those who have lived it. Featuring artwork by individuals once unhoused and the artists who support them, the show transforms personal struggle into shared strength. Through paintings, photography, sculpture and digital media, AHH residents reveal the human stories behind homelessness — stories of creativity, courage and community. The exhibition includes “The Car Launch,” a performance and video installation symbolizing renewal and the shift from crisis to stability. Presented by AHH, a social service organization serving seven counties in Kansas and Missouri, the exhibition reflects its mission: to meet people where they are and help them move forward through compassion and creativity.
Glenn Lavezzi
Blue Valley Library Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"I believe that art connects and binds people together through a universal sense of what the eye finds pleasing. I try to capture a moment in time in a permanent medium. My whimsical work tries to capture the joy of childhood and all its wonder."
Denita Robinson
Cedar Roe Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"I am a mixed-media artist specializing in large-scale canvas works that blend a variation of textiles, acrylic and oil paint. My art is deeply rooted in personal experience, drawing inspiration from my upbringing in Kansas City and the vibrant summers I spent in Mississippi and Louisiana. Through color, texture and layered materials, I explore memory, culture and the emotional landscapes that shaped my identity, creating pieces that reflect both my Southern heritage and urban sensibilities."
Xiao Faria da Cunha
Corinth Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"My art is deeply rooted in inquisition and experimentation. I use colors, forms, composition, format, material and texture to visualize how Chinese diasporas reconstruct their identities in the United States by redefining their culture and traditions while finding comfort and groundedness through nostalgic cultural references. Situated at the intersection of visual art, literary art, environmentalism, mental health care, and gender and racial policy, my practice is archival and journalistic, combining research, oral history, lived experience and collective memory."
Aimee Hagedorn
Gardner Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"An abundance mindset allows me to connect the personal with communal, knowing there are endless sources of fabric remnants, textile scraps and oncecherished bits of cloth to be used. Through hand-stitching, layering and mending, I strive to provide a fresh purpose to otherwise fragmented pieces in the form of wearable art. These mini collections, in turn, reflect timely themes of both sustainability and creativity. It is my heart’s journey to reach others through this language of needle and thread."
Susan Clafin
Leawood Pioneer Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"I am a fiber artist that creates one-of-a-kind market bags and handbags from upcycled materials. The materials used include vintage textiles — quilt scraps, saris, kimonos, clothing and small quantities of “leftover” yarn. I draw inspiration for my creations from nature, travels and museum artwork. The colors and dimensional characteristics of the combined fibers create bold utilitarian pieces."
Nettie Zan
Lenexa City Center Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"My work grows from the tension between care and resistance, between thesacred and the ordinary. I make paintings, writings and social practice experiences that explore how communities heal when we stop outsourcing our belonging — when we compost authority and root back into the commons. Each project begins as a gesture of reclamation: of land, of voice, of tenderness. Through salvaged materials, collaborative rituals and everyday tools of survival, I trace the ways spiritual language, creativity and land-based practice intersect inside the body. What I’m trying to build isn’t a product — it’s a permission slip to remember that repair is collective, that beauty is a form of defiance and that every act of making can be a small, luminous divinity."
Sara Taylor-Hinds
Merriam Plaza Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"After a stay in the hospital many years ago, I rediscovered a deep love of art that encouraged me to express myself in ways I had never thought possible. I work primarily in textiles and fiber arts, embellishing my pieces with beads, charms and small elements that invite people to look closer."
Vania Soto
Oak Park Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"My art is a continuous reflection of transformation — of learning, unlearning and becoming. Through color, texture and symbolism, I explore themes of identity, ancestry and emotional evolution. I paint not just to capture beauty, but to understand the layers of connection that make us human — to honor where I come from, who I am now and who I’m still becoming. My creative process is both healing and devotional; it’s how I communicate, how I grow and how I love the world back."
Oliver Reid
Shawnee Library, Jan. 12 - Apr. 19
"I am an artist and disability rights advocate based in Kansas City. Through my work, I create physical expressions of hope, emotion and life, both for myself and those who encounter it. I draw inspiration from nature, from the love of what makes us human and from my life as a disabled person. For me, art is a communicative and life-saving device, ultimately helping me weave life together to form something whole; it is a way to keep moving forward."
