SEE KANSAS 

On exhibition throughout the month of September is “See Kansas,” artwork by artists from across the state spotlighting favorite Kansas sites with a fresh, new style.

The exhibit opens Thursday, September 7, and closes Thursday, September 28.

Nine pieces of art make up the “See Kansas” exhibition.  Channeling the beloved national parks posters of the 1930s and ‘40s, nine Kansas artists re-envisioned some of the state’s most iconic outdoor spaces by creating unique images of these landscapes. 

The Kansas artists mimic a style that started in 1935 by artists who were employed by the Federal Art Project through the Works Progress Administration.  The federal project’s goal was to promote America’s national parks and areas of natural beauty using a distinctive style. The simple, yet elegant approach to illustrating the natural world became a majestic visual vocabulary stirring wonder and wanderlust.

The nine artworks of the “See Kansas” project include:

Castle Rock – Stephanie Lane Gage, Lawrence

Flint Hills: Konza Prairie – Mary Gordon McFall, Manhattan

Kansas River National Water Trail – Lisa Grossman, Lawrence

Keeper of the Plains – Ric Dunwoody, Wichita

Monument Rocks – Mary R. Gage, Lawrence

Nicodemus National Historic Site – Jordan Brooks, Topeka

Rock City National Natural Landmark – Michelle Leivan, Topeka

Santa Fe Trail: Pawnee Rock – Lana Grove, Lawrence

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – Lori Stanziola, Overland Park

The exhibit was created by members of Parks and Green Spaces, an organization that collaborates with local artists to celebrate outdoor public spaces in Kansas. 

“The Parks and Green Spaces art project sprang from a passion for outdoor spaces, an appreciation for local artists, a love of the early national parks posters and a hope that viewers will be inspired to wonder, wander and engage,” said Mary Gage, the organization’s founder and director.

“The art communicates how outdoor spaces can ignite powerful visual art,” she said. “The artists invite Kansans to see familiar spaces with fresh eyes. They are encouraged to visit, embrace, experience, and in turn, be inspired.”