A vibrant yellow poster featuring the text: "YOUR VOICE = Better Data & Better Support for KC Artists." Illustrated hands holding a brain, pencil, microphone, camera, and brush are scattered around the text. Logos for the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Mid-America Arts Alliance are at the bottom.

If #artists don’t tell their own story, someone (or no one) else will. 💬

The Status of Artists in #KansasCity 2026 survey is now open for artists 18+ living and/or working in the KC metro (MO + KS).

Take the survey: https://bit.ly/StatusOfArtistsKC_Social

An individual stands in an art studio, wearing a jumpsuit and gloves, surrounded by textile artwork depicting faces. The space features three large, blue-toned pieces hanging on the wall. The text reads: "INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTIST - HUNG LÊ" and "PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMANDA JULIA STEINBACK.

Artist INC applications in Kansas City and Topeka are now open! 📢

Our eight-session professional development seminar addresses the business needs of artists of all disciplines. Spots are limited and applications close June 10. www.artistinc.art/apply

We're so proud to announce the newest cohort of Catalyze grantees! Over the next year they'll combine mentoring and practice-based funding to take bold new steps in their creative practices. 🌟

www.maaa.org/news/catalyze-invests-25...

Need to refresh to your orgs' financial policies? 💸

Join Dr. Elaine Grogan Luttrull, CPA-PFS, AFC® on April 9 at 11:00 a.m. for Nonprofit Check-Up – Seven Financial Things for 2026!

It's free. It's virtual. www.maaa.org/event/future-pathways-no...

Colorful graphic with a bright pink background featuring playful yellow and black illustrations, such as a crown, smiley face, paper airplane, and megaphone. Central text reads: "Help shape the future of artist support in Kansas City." Logos at the bottom include "Status of Artists in Kansas City," "Mid-America Arts Alliance," and "UMKC.

#KansasCity artists! 🫵 This is for you.

A new survey is gathering data on the real living and working conditions of artists in the KC metro. 📈 Your voice helps shape funding, programs, and advocacy efforts.

Take 20 minutes to participate: https://bit.ly/StatusOfArtistsKC_Social

We see your hard work #artists and orgs!🪻You make the #Heartland so special.

Check out this list of grants, residencies, and workshops! www.maaa.org/news/artist-and-arts-org...

Hello Biplane, a #LawrenceKS, band led by Artist INC participant Braden Young and his partner, dropped new music recently! Listen to their new album, "How to Hold a Bug."

Bringing this story: Artist INC facilitator (and host at @kansaspublicradio.bsky.social) Nick Carswell.

Arts Day promotional graphic featuring the date April 30, 2026, and a call to action to register. Includes the logo for Oklahomans for the Arts and an outline of a capitol building. More information available at OKArts.org/Arts-Day.

Join Oklahomans for the Arts at Arts Day at the Capitol!

Register and meet with legislators to advocate for the arts. https://www.ok4arts.org/arts-and-culture-day

Washington DC in fall

NASAA is now accepting session proposals for NASAA Assembly 2026, taking place in Washington, D.C., October 9.

State and jurisdictional arts agency staff are invited to share their ideas. The deadline is April 15. nasaa-arts.org/meeting_docs/nasaa-assem...

a graphic of a red and blue soccer ball, text reads: Toolkit; how can artists Prepare for World Cup

#FIFAWorldCup is approaching fast! And its fans could fall in love with your art. ⚽ Check out these ways you can prepare when a large event comes to town. ⬆️

Full guide at www.maaa.org/news/how-artists-can-pre...

An older asian woman stands in a sewing workshop surrounded by shelves filled with colorful spools of thread. She is wearing a blue shirt with floral patterns, white pants, and a measuring tape around her neck.

A man stands in a workshop filled with woven baskets and tools, holding strands of material likely used for weaving. He is wearing a striped shirt and jeans. Various weaving supplies are visible in the background.

An dark skinned man sits at a sewing station with a colorful fabric draped over the table. A sewing machine and measuring tape are visible. He wears a patterned hat and has a tape measure around his neck. The setting appears to be a workspace for tailoring or sewing.

In "Working America", artist Sam Comen presents American immigrants and first-generation Americans at work in the small, skilled trades as icons of the American experience. https://eusa.org/exhibition/working-america/

📸 Sam Comen
"Tailor" 2018
"Furniture caner" 2018
"Tailor" 2020

a woman with medium brown skin taking notes in a journal next to her computer, text read: Future Pathways

If it has been a minute since you dusted off your financial policies and procedures, now's a great time to check in. 💸

Join a free workshop for artists with Dr. Elaine Grogran Luttrull on April 9!
Register: www.maaa.org/event/future-pathways-no...

Stop and smell the grants 🌹 residencies 🪻workshops 🌸 and more! www.maaa.org/news/artist-...

a woman playing upright bass

Take your music to places it's never been! Jazz Road: Tours offers $15K grants to develop tours into communities across the country. 🎷🎼

Submit a Letter of Interest by March 10 at www.southarts.org/grants-opportunities/jaz...

Justice for #Punch. May he find his cohort.

Creative Missouri logo

#Artists, arts organizations, #makers, and #creatives in MO — Creative Missouri 2026 is March 28!

Swing by Columbia, MO for mind-blowing presentations, electrifying performances, cool vendors, and more! 🎭

Tickets can be found at missouriartscouncil.org/creative-missouri-conven...

No red tape, just accessible information

Artist INC Express is coming soon to: Oklahoma Statewide — February 20–22 Joplin, MO/SE Kansas — March 21–22 Texarkana — April 11–12 Kansas City —April 11–12 Kansas Statewide — April 17–19 Memphis, TN — April 18–19 Nebraska Statewide —April 24–26 Hannibal, MO/Quincy, IL — April 25–26 Branson, MO/Eureka Springs, AR — May 16–17

Get un-stuck in your practice! ✂️
Our facilitators are here to share their expertise freely, not hide the difficulties of creative entrepreneurship. They'll keep it 💯 and help you reach the next level of your #arts business.

Register at https://www.maaa.org/series/artist-inc-express/

artists thrive summit logo in blue and red, mimicking the crown on Royals stadium and water in a fountain

Get ready for the Artists Thrive Summit! Kansas City's theme: Artist-Led Spaces 🧑‍🎨

When artists are in charge, organizations empower underrepresented voices, foster new ideas, and collabs — and KC does it well! 😎

Grab your ticket at https://www.artiststhrive.org/summit/kansascity

🚨 RESOURCE ALERT🚨

WAGENCY offers free membership to a collective of artists and tools. And for $5/month you can access their contract generator, skills calculator, and more! https://wageforwork.com/wagency/join-wagency

A young black boy wearing a cowboy hat is leading a brown horse by a rope in a grassy fenced area.

"The Long Ride Home" challenges assumptions about the cowboy identity.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Ron Tarver provides insightful photographs of Black people embodying Western culture. https://eusa.org/exhibition/the-long-ride-home/

📸 Ron Tarver "Small Boy, Big Horse."

hands carving wood, weaving, sewing, carving clay, and forging

Are you a #nonprofit #craft guild or collective? We want to hear from you!

Help shape our upcoming #grant program, Heartland Craft Guilds: Capacity Support Grants, via a roundtable session.

Register at www.maaa.org/series/heartland-craft-g...

A rabbit, with its back towards the viewer, looks thorugh a giant book with a hole in the center.

Exhibits USA's traveling exhibition "Finding Alice" explores the influence of this classic story on artists across generations with work by Abelardo Morell and others. https://eusa.org/exhibition/finding-alice/

📸 Abelardo Morell "Down the Rabbit Hole" Courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery.

Artist and Arts Organization Opportunities and Deadlines M-AAA's curated list of upcoming deadlines and opportunities for artists and arts organizations seeking to grow their practices and secure funding.

🩷 Roses are red, violets are blue, creativity thrives when it’s nurtured by you. www.maaa.org/news/artist-...

a modern woman with long red hair holding up a paper cutout of a suffragette.

New from Exhibits USA!

"A Yellow Rose Project" features the work of more than 100 contemporary artists responding to the centennial of the 19th Amendment, securing women's right to vote.

📸 Megan Jacobs, "Equality Then & Now;" archival inkjet print on paper; Courtesy of the artist.

writer typing in a bookstore

Needing support in your practice?

Artist INC is a wellspring of expertise from professional artists. And afterward, you have a new network of artists in your community!

See our upcoming sessions in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and more! https://www.maaa.org/series/artist-inc-express/

gallery full black dresses on headless mannequins against a pink background

For a century, one garment has remained an icon of style, sophistication, and cultural expression—the LBD. 🖤

Exhibits USA's "The Little Black Dress at 100" explores the enduring legacy of this style icon.

Take a look. Get inspired. https://eusa.org/exhibition/the-little-black-dress

Congrats to Anthony Sonnenberg (Arkansas), Nathan Young (Oklahoma), and Willi Carlisle (Missouri) on being named 2026 USArtist Fellows!

@unitedstatesartists.org honors artists with $50K in unrestricted funding and tailored services. www.unitedstatesartists.org/programs/usa-fellowship/...

Blue map of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas with cities highlighted by white stars.

@smudataarts.bsky.social dropped a spicy 🌶️ list of the Top 100 Most Arts-Vibrant Communities of 2025.

Did your town make the cut? Do you agree with the order? 🤔
culturaldata.org/arts-vibrancy-2025/top-1...
#missouri #texas #arkansas #nebraska #kansas #oklahoma

Missouri Citizens for the Arts A vital resource for artists, arts organizations, and arts patrons in Missouri, dedicated to arts advocacy, securing arts funding, and encouraging the community to lobby for arts initiatives through t...

Without action, these cuts would significantly reduce MAC grants, limiting access to the arts for Missourians of all ages.

🎨 Stand up for the arts. Join advocates from across the state on February 4 for Arts Advocacy Day at the Capitol in Jefferson City.

👉 Get involved at MO4Arts.org

🚨 Missouri Citizens for the Arts needs your voice 🚨

The Governor’s proposed budget would cut funding for the Missouri Arts Council by more than 36% even though MO’s Arts and Culture sector generates $11.5 billion for the economy.