Art Westport
September 8-10, 2023
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The 43rd Art Westport event is happening September 8-10, 2023! The 43-year event is the largest visual art show that exclusively showcases juried, high-quality Kansas City-regional artists’ work and annually attracts more than 30,000 visitors.
Art Westport Hours
Friday, September 8 from 3pm-9pm
Saturday, September 9 from 10am-9pm
Sunday, September 10 from 11am-5pm
The show will take place rain or shine. Refunds will NOT be given for inclement weather.
If you are a local artist and wish to apply, the application period opens on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
Follow this link to access the event information and apply: https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=10181
2023 Winners
Best in Show: Jon Bidwell – Photography
1st Place: Jen Unekis – Painting
2nd Place: Kellie Bloxsom – Mixed Media
Honorable Mention: Emily Stumpff – Emerging Artist
2023 Sponsors
2023 Stage Sponsors
To find out how you can support Art Westport, email info@wrbl.org for sponsorship information.
2023 Participating Artists
Ceramics
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Rachel Akin
Sherri Hanna
Melanie Harvey
Alex Macias
Josh Martin
Keith Mays
Gretchyn Nothhouse
Sean Ponder
Michelle Rogne
Erica Schroeder
Melanie Sherman
Mark Thorson
Amy Troester
Shelby Vanbuskirk
Digital Art
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Andrew Grojean
John Knell
Drawing
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Jen Foster
Douglas Fulks
Amy Hilger
Heidi Pitre
Brad Ultican
Emerging Artist
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Allison Almloff
Pill Concepcion
Morgan Daniel
Lisa Ervin
Mary Fennel
Alysia Herbison
Patrick Kost
Olivia Michka
Emily Stumpff
Madison Vogelsmeier
Tyler Waldorf
Karman Williams
Fiber
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Andrew Johnson
Mary Lasseter
Diane Lawrence
Shawanna Meeks
Erin Sansoucy
Mary Sikorski
Jenny Svehlek
Glass
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Fred Imhoff
Robert Ore
Ursula Tizon
Jewelry
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Diana Abitz
Katherine Blauwiekel
Nicole Collins
Kelly Conner
Kristin Cooper
Brad Egger
Kari Heybrock
Sara Kharatyan
Clarissa Knighten
Cecilia Labora
David Lee
Joy Mead
Laurie Mellenbruch
Du’Wayne Moore
Tommi Ringel
Manda Wylde
Tony Young
Metal
Andrew Klein
Mixed Media
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Kellie Bloxsom
Allison Bowman
Aaron Coleman
Aimee Fresia
Susan Jackson
Dawn LaGrave
Allyson Lassiter
Megan Leong
Jenny Meyer-McCall
Vonda Miller
George Parker
Angie Pickman
Painting
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Mark Allen
Andrew Batcheller
Rob Bauer
Christianne Bohannon
Mary Brooks
Evan Brown
J Buford
John Carroll
Ashley Corbello
Pamela Covington
Peter Crane
Denny Dowdy
Ken Downs
Steven Dragan
Mark Freeman
Nicolas Gadbois
Lori George
Karen Golmer
Amy Gray
Jill Halksworth
Tessa Howard
Vanessa Lacy
Jianquia Luan
Maria Martin
Brent O’Connor
Ziyadath Radji
Jaden Roulette
Patrick Schlotterback
Jeffrey Schult
Heather Sulzen
Jen Unekis
Cody Wheelock
Gary Wilks
Emily Wittler
Roura Young
Ivey Zoellers
Photography
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Jon Bidwell
Josh Blackman
Ric Cummings
Luke Dodge
Barb Gruber
RC Heinze
Jean Hutchison
Mike Hysom
Lee Jost
Eric Klamm
Crystal Nederman
Bridget Patton
Michael Russell
Karl Shikles
Everett Smith
James Terry
Dan Yeokum
Printmaking
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Brandon Bailey
Janelle Crawford-Hine
Charley Forsyth
Matthew Willie Garcia
Caitlin Penny
Paul Punzo
Lori Stanziola
Travis Porter
Sculpture
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Jesse Barker
Annette Gordon
Wood
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Christopher Dowdy
Tracey Drake
Matthew Jarmer
Matthew Roman
Adrian Vogel
Official Jurors
The 2023 jurors are all distinguished members of the art community in Kansas City. It is their duty to ensure the continuing quality of Art Westport.
Marcus Cain
Marcus Cain is an artist, Manager of Operations & Communications, H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute; and a visual artist represented in Kansas City. Former positions include an independent curator, writer and director of alumni relations & development at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), executive director & curator of the Epsten Gallery (formerly the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art), owner/director of Hutch Mercantile and Satellite Exhibitions, editor-in-chief of Review: Visual Art Culture magazine, lecturer in painting and drawing in the painting department of KCAI, coordinator of the Corporate Partnership Exhibition Program at KCAI, and assistant gallery director for Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. As an artist, Cain is the recipient of a 2012 Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Award, he exhibits both locally and nationally.
Sherry Leedy
Sherry Leedy established Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art in 1985. As the first and longest running contemporary art gallery in the Crossroads Arts District, Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art was instrumental in the creation and revitalization of the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City. The Kansas City Historical Society acknowledged Leedy in 2001 as a recipient of their Preservation Award and Leedy received the Urban Hero Award from the Downtown Council of Kansas City in 2007.
Sherry Leedy holds a M.F.A. degree from the University of Kansas and a B.F.A. from KCAI. She continues her commitment to her own art at her studio in Kansas City. Leedy’s work is in the permanent collections of museums and galleries both locally and nationally
Linda Lighton
Linda Lighton is an artist and activist living and working in Kansas City, Missouri. She is a passionate advocate for the arts both regionally, nationally and internationally.
Lighton has had more than 60 solo shows and has participated in more than 170 group exhibitions at museums and galleries in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Linda Lighton’s work is in national and international collections in China, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey as well as The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO; Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS; Ariana Museum, Geneva, Switzerland; Fule International Ceramic Museum, Fuping, China, the Yingee Museum in Taiwan, and Icheon International Ceramic Museum, Icheon, Korea.
2008, she was chosen for the Missouri Arts Award, and in 2011 she received the Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts and Education from the Kansas City Art Institute, where she graduated with honors in 1989. In 2016, Lighton received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the National Council for the Education of the Ceramic Arts. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics.
Lisbeth Blair Lurey
Beth Lurey moved to Kansas City in 1974 from Des Moines, Iowa after completing her BFA in Art History at Drake University. While at Drake she worked at the Des Moines Art Center. Beth joined the staff at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Education Department and began working on her MFA at UMKC. Her 30+ years at the Nelson included running the Docent Program, assistant to Chief Conservator Forrest Bailey and assistant curator to George McKenna, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. She held this position for 10 years until Mr. McKenna’s passing when she became interim curator of the department from which she retired in December of 2016.
Beth is deeply rooted in the Kansas City Art Scene. Her work with Not for Profits on a project basis include Mid-America Arts Alliance, UMKC Gallery of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Her work in the commercial art world includes two years at the Morgan Gallery, curator of corporate collections for Mark Twain Banks, Faultless Starch Bon Ami and BMA to name a few. In the late 1990’s she took on creating the art collection for the Stowers Institute of Medical Research where she remains to this day as Curator of the Collection.
Sonié Joi Thompson-Ruffin
Sonié Joi Thompson-Ruffin is a renowned fabric artist, fabric designer, author, lecturer and independent curator. Her artwork has shown at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, David C. Driskell Art Center, Spencer Museum, Holter Museum of Art, New England Quilt Museum, Mulvane Museum, Leedy Volkous Art Center, KCAI Crossroads Gallery. She has conducted workshops on African American quilting and color combining at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Nelson Atkins Museum and a host of museums, quilt guilds and galleries across the United States. Sonié is a Charlotte Street Visual Arts Fellow, Art Omi Fellow, Kansas Master’s, and Alliance of Artists Community Scholarship recipient.
She served nine years as the curator for the American Jazz Museum’s Changing Gallery and currently serves on the Kansas City History Museum Foundation board and is the curatorial consultant for the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center. Sonié is a founding member of the African American Artists Collective, her artwork is held in the collections of galleries, museums, corporate, and private collections in the United States, Africa, and Europe.
Artist Signup & Booth Application
Like Westport itself, Art Westport has a unique vibe all its own. We’re proud to feature 100 percent local artists, specifically from the Kansas City metro area. (Artists wishing to apply must live within an 80-mile radius of the downtown Kansas City, Mo., post office.)
Don’t have experience exhibiting or selling artwork in commercial/community art shows? Apply to Art Westport’s Emerging Artist Program! Upon acceptance, emerging artists receive mentoring resources and a 50 percent discount on a quad space.
Application for the 2023 show opens on January 17, 2023 and closes on May 31, 2023. Click here to apply.
Local Non-Profits Booth Application
Local non-profits in the Kansas City arts community or Westport neighborhood – join us during Art Westport this year!
Click here to fill out an application
Volunteer Signup
Art Westport wouldn’t be the success it is without the help of so many extraordinary volunteers. To become an Art Westport volunteer, please complete the form below and we’ll contact you later this summer to confirm your spot.