We all know that KC has a vibrant art scene — and we’re not just talking about the Nelson-Atkins or the KC Art Institute. One of our all-time favorite galleries? Kansas City itself.
The City of Fountains is home to a number of meaningful murals and street art pieces. Today, we’re sharing where to find pieces that really paint a picture of our city.
PS: This is by no means an exhaustive list (we literally have hundreds of murals) — think if it as a way to get started.
River Market
Lewis & Clark Expedition 1804, 115 W. 5th St., KCMO | By José Faus, Jesus Ortiz, and Alisha Gambino
Commissioned in 2004 as part of the bicentennial of the famous expedition, this mural depicts Sacagawea, who wasn’t present on the journey until North Dakota.
Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, 412 Delaware St., KCMO | By JT Daniels Art
JT’s style is always clear in the smiling faces and simple phrases, like “yep” and “sup.” We may be biased, but we think this mural is pretty sweet.
I ❤️ RIVER MARKET, 200 Walnut St., KCMO | By Dani Roma
This mural is made to be interactive, which means people are encouraged to pose like they’re holding the coffee mug, eating the giant pizza, and playing with the corgi.
Untitled, 310 Oak St., KCMO | By Arsek & Erase
This Bulgarian artist came all the way to KC for the 2019 SpraySeeMO (get it? KCMO?) festival. We see corn, barbecue, one ways, and I-35.
J-Wizz, Oak Street + Independence Avenue, KCMO | By Sike Style Industries
Known for creative color blocking and diagonal lines, Sike Style used this MoDOT-commissioned piece to honor a friend and downtown bicycle enthusiast (who indeed rides around with handlebar pom poms).
Business District
Jet Chip Wasp, 1330 Grand Blvd., KCMO | By JT Daniels Art
This mural, created for the Ronald McDonald House Charity for Red Friday, commemorates the play many recall turning the tides in favor of the Chiefs during Super Bowl LIV. (See JT’s signature face + “yep”?)
From The Earth, 1222 McGee St., KCMO | By Registered Artist, Phybr, Skela, and Yesi Makes Art
“Skela painted the leopard, Phybr painted the greenish colored portrait, and RA painted the natural toned portrait on the far end. All four of them mixed in their styles through the foliage and flowers to tie it all together,” organizer Ami Ayars told KCtoday.
East Crossroads
Be The Animal..., 1725 McGee St., KCMO | By Sabertooth Thomas
The name couldn’t be more fitting — for the brewery or the animal. Check out Sabertooth’s best tiger impression. PS — need some ink? He’s a tattoo artist too.
KC, I’m So In Love, 2010 McGee St., KCMO | By Designed By Ruthie
This mural is actually its second iteration. When the originally was unexpectedly painted over, Ruthie Ozonoff recreated it at this location and started its Instagram page to capture how the mural has spread love to KC.
Dimensions 1801, 1801 Oak St., KCMO | By Rif Raf Giraffe
Jason Harrington is a prolific KC-based artist and the founder + director of the SpraySeeMO street art festival. He and his wife, Ami Ayars Harrington, started the festival in 2017. They have since expanded it to Miami and LA.
Untitled, 1700 Locust St., KCMO | By Mosher Show
This Chicago-based artist does a lot of work with cartoons, reusing characters like a woman with a TV for a head and this shaggy-haired roller skater. The mural was completed in 2019.
The Truman, 601 E. Truman Rd., KCMO | By Zachary Laman
This mural was created as part of Solanoir — a city-wide artist celebration of the 2017 solar eclipse. Zac’s work tends to reflect his native home in Arkansas, mixing southern wildlife with portraits.
Corn mural, 1527 Cherry St., KCMO | By Eric Karbeling
The self-proclaimed “Squiggle Papi” features a lot of wild animals and plants in his work. It stands to reason that when the Honolulu artist came to KC in 2021, he chose the Midwest staple foliage — corn.
Untitled, 708 E 18th St., KCMO | By PHBYR
This KC-based muralist (pronounced like fiber) is known for hi colorful portraits and pop-esque tropical foliage.
West Crossroads
“Strong Women Lift Each Other Up,” 1919 Baltimore Ave., KCMO | By Global Prairie
This is the mantra of this KC-based organization, which seeks to develop, connect, and advance women working in college sports. It even got its own Parade of Hearts artwork.
Artist & Craftman Supply Wall, 229 Southwest Blvd., KCMO | By 123KLAN
Based in Montreal, Canada, this graffiti crew was founded by the French duo Scien and Mrs. Klor in 1992. Their style includes nods to hip-hop and is self-described as “violent vibrancy.”
Angry Zebra 2.0, 320 Southwest Blvd., KCMO | By Evolution + Sike Style Industries
When the original “Angry Zebra” was painted over in 2017, these two artists collaborated on a new piece — incorporating Sike Style’s signature design background with Evolution’s realistic animals.
Witchy Vibes, 1803 Baltimore Ave., KCMO | By Dustin Spagnola + Sabertooth Thomas
This Ashville artist (hey, AVLtoday) is big on figure drawing. That’s why, when he collaborated with Sabertooth Thomas (where have we seen him before? ), they based their piece on a model from each city. Click the link to see the full piece.
Can you find all the local references and landmarks in “Love Kansas City?”
Photo by @mikedayphotography
Love Kansas City, 421 Southwest Blvd., KCMO | By Scribe
Donald J. Ross included tributes to several local figures and icons, like Charlie Parker and the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Chiefs Kingdom, 1701 Main St., KCMO | By Sike Style Industries
This 1,600-sqft mural was painted in 2021 and focuses less on Patrick Mahomes while highlighting some of the other key players on the Chiefs (past and present).
Check out more SpraySeeMO creations with this map and augmented reality app.
