Art seems to come naturally in the Sunflower State, where golden wheat fields and colorful Flint Hills sunsets provide the creative inspiration. Browse an array of arts and crafts as you travel through Kansas and you might find yourself chatting with the artists.
Walk through the purple door at Sav-Art, A Simple Gallery and you never know quite what you might find. One artist's work you will discover is Laura Nugent, who is a nationally exhibited and published painter and lives and works in the Kansas City area.
Located in a historic 1887 high Victorian mansion Strawberry Hill Museum & Cultural Center preserves the diverse ethnic cultures that immigrants from Eastern Europe brought tot the city in the early 1900s and hosts various exhibits of original art, music and dance from many cultures. You will see some of the home's original pieces of furniture, stained glass windows, and chandeliers of Bavarian crystal with gold inlay from Czechoslovakia.
Kansas City to Overland Park – 23 miles (21 km) west on I-70 & south on I-635 and US-69
Overland Park
With more than 41,000-square-feet, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art has a range of exhibition spaces, including galleries for temporary exhibitions, the Oppenheimer permanent collection, the works of Kansas City-based artists and new media. This is the largest contemporary art museum in the region and the only such museum in Kansas! Before leaving grab a bite for lunch at Cafe Tempo.
Although the Overland Park Convention Center typically is a center of trade shows and conventions, you can also find exquisite art throughout the facility. You will find the signature piece called "Growth" hanging in a 70-foot-tall glass tower. The brilliantly colored 35-foot hanging glass sculpture made by Lawrence glassblower Vernon Brejcha includes 178 pieces of glass and weighs about 1,500 pounds. "Growth" looks alive, like its still-moving glass that will always flow at an imperceptible pace.
Visit the Historic Downtown in Overland Park. You'll find antiques, art galleries, and unique shops located throughout the area.
Rated by The Wall Street Journal as "the best dinner theatre in the country," at New Dinner Theatre you'll enjoy Broadway-style musicals and comedies starring award-winning actors from stage, TV and film including Jamie Farr, Marion Ross and John Davidson to name a few. You will be treated to 5-star American cuisine before the lights are dimmed and the curtain goes up.
Overland Park to Lawrence - 38 miles / 61 km west on K-10
Lawrence
As one of the nation's finest university art museums, and the most comprehensive in Kansas the Spencer Museum of Art features 11 galleries, including four that accommodate special exhibitions from the collection and from other institutions. You'll see a permanent collection of more than 25,000 objects representing much of the span of world art history.
Enjoy lunch at Teller's, an award winning, full-service Italian restaurant located inn an old style bank building. Teller's has the Lawrence ambiance market cornered with its towering ceilings, hanging milk glass lighting, and elegant artwork, which features work by Tim Forcade, an artist, painter, photographer and designer.
Lawrence to Topeka – 28 miles / 44 km west on I-70
Topeka
As Topeka's oldest commercial gallery, stop by Beauchamp Gallery, which features original paintings, sculpture and ceramics, such as Linda Baranski, a Mosaic Artist, Printmaker and Abstract Expressionist painter.
Artist Collection & Custom Framing Gallery provides a large selection of signed photos and prints by local artists including Wayne Rhodus, whose original nature photography features scenic landscape vistas, native flora and vineyard images.
Voted by Niche magazine as one of the Top 100 galleries in the United States, the Phoenix Gallery Topeka represents over 150 of the finest artists in the Midwest, including Debra Clemente, whose oil paintings entertain the eye. Whether you're looking for pottery, jewelry, blown glass or unique handcrafted gift items you will be sure to delight and please your senses.
Topeka to Manhattan - 56 miles / 90 km west on I-70 & north on K-177
Manhattan
The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art houses the Kansas State University permanent art collection, which originated in 1928. This collection has grown to nearly 6,000 works of art emphasizing Kansas and Midwestern artists.
Surround your senses of sight, sound and flavor with a visit to CoCo Bolos. Fill your ears with spicy music and your eyes with colorful original artwork while sampling a wide array of fine cuisine. Specialties include hand-cut steaks and entrees such as Thai Pan BBQ Pork and Stacked Enchiladas.
At the Strecker-Nelson Gallery, you'll find over 40 local and regional artists creating traditional and contemporary paintings, ceramics, limited edition lithograph, etching and intaglio prints, sculpture, and fiber art. Many of the artists document the beautiful locales of the Flint Hills, the plains and its unique people. A number of contemporary artists, such as Ann Piper, are also represented exploring personal experience and hte aesthetic concerns of media, color, composition and surface.
Manhattan to Abilene - 44 miles / 70 km west on K-18 & I-70
Abilene
Visit the Bow Studio and Gallery for a fresh perspective of Kansas. Inga and Bob Bow have been producing artwork in clay since 1965 and have a working studio specializing in their decorative handmade terra cotta art tiles, plates, sculpture and pastel collages using local Kansas clays. See how the handmade tiles are made from processing the local clay to the finished product.
Located in the restored 1885 Victorian family home of Thomas Kirby, you can choose from a diverse lunch menu at the Kirby House Restaurant. Choose from a variety of fresh homemade foods, a wonderful selection of desserts and specialty coffees.
As Kansas' only totally Native American fine art center, gallery, and gift shop, the American Indian Art Center, showcases over 100 Native American artisans from 30 tribes in this region. Artwork from the Indian Arts and Crafts Association's Artist of the Year is featured as well as area wood carvings, paintings, beadwork, pottery, music, books and jewelry.
Abilene to Lindsborg - 50 miles / 80 km west on I-70, south on I-135 & west on K-4
Lindsborg
Discover the work of photographer Jim Richardson at Small World Gallery. Richardson has photographed more than 20 stories for National Geographic, including a feature on the Flint Hills, which is now a traveling exhibit.
Visit the newest gallery in Lindsborg, Studio Lindsborg. The new gallery offers more space to enjoy the works of Don Weddle, Lee Becker, Gene Holdsworth, Phyllis Newson, and Ron Michael. Be sure to visit with Lee and Gene, who are the working artists in residence.
Stop by the Hemslöjd and see why this store is one of the country's largest Scandinavian gift shops. Hemslojd is Swedish for "handcrafted" and you can usually find a wood-worker or folk-painter at work. Their specialty is the personalized house-sign in the shape of the beloved Swedish Dala Horse.
End your day with a taste of Sweden at the Swedish Crown & Vasa. This restaurant has an extensive menu with a uniquely Scandinavian atmosphere.
Lindsborg to Hoisington - 62 miles / 100 km west on K-4
Hoisington
Cruise Main Street and view the 62 individually designed Cheyenne Bottoms Bird & Wildlife Metal Art Banners. The light poles feature different birds or wildlife that can be seen at Cheyenne Bottoms, which was created by Bruce & Brent Bitter of B&B Metal Arts.
Hoisington to Great Bend - 10 miles / 17 km south on US-281
Great Bend
At the Stone Street Arts Gallery, see how Chet Cale uses his chainsaw and recycles wood that once was a part of a tree into a piece of art. Chet also has completed works in stone, bronze, clay, wood, cast stone, and plaster, but call before you go since he's not always there. If you happen to miss him, you can see his work on the mural located Kansas Avenue and Lakin Street.
Great Bend to Hays - 67 miles / 107 km west on K-96 & north on US-183
Hays
Chestnut Street District is a great place to dine, shop, and enjoy entertainment opportunities. Stop by the downtown storefront owned by the Hays Art Council and watch how Bruce Burkholder, paints within a painting. Then head over to Gella's Diner & Liquid Bread Brewing Company and enjoy regionally inspired comfort food and handcrafted beer in a restored architecture building.
Hays to Scott City - 132 miles / 212 km west on I-70 & south on US-83
Scott City
Keystone Gallery is a combination of art gallery, fossil museum and gift shop. View the 24' by 6' painted mural of prehistoric life in the Kansas Cretaceous sea that Chuck Bonner created to enhance the museum's fossil collection.
You'll feel like a rock star entering a movie premiere as you move toward the entrance of the Majestic. This restored 1930s theatre is now a beautifully decorated restaurant that also has occasional entertainment.
