Nelson-Atkins Offers Array of New Summer Activities
Museum Open Every Monday Beginning Memorial Day
Kansas City, MO. April 15, 2019–It’s shaping up to be a red-hot summer filled with new activities at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, with an exciting outdoor art installation, a mini golf course, a street party featuring Making Movies, and a new Terrace Snack Bar. Also, the Nelson-Atkins will be open each Monday through the summer.
“This will be the most exciting summer ever at the Nelson-Atkins, and it just makes sense to give our visitors an extra day to enjoy it,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “Andy Goldsworthy will be working outside in full view of the public while music enlivens the street, and the museum’s masterpieces are given a creative twist on Art Course. The museum grounds will definitely be the hottest place in Kansas City this summer.”
Andy Goldsworthy and his crew begin work on stage two of the Walking Wall on May 15, bringing the wall across Rockhill Road and onto the museum campus. Rockhill Road will be closed to traffic from May 12 to June 3 to accommodate this important work of art. Public fascination with the building of the wall has increased since the installation began in March. Walking Wall will be built in five stages. With the final stage in Fall 2019, the wall will come to rest inside and outside the Nelson-Atkins. The installation was commissioned by the Hall Family Foundation in honor of Estelle and Morton Sosland and their passionate and longstanding commitment to the arts in Kansas City. A commissioned piece by Goldsworthy is considered a triumphant addition to the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park.
The temporary closure of Rockhill Road offers an unprecedented opportunity to bring the community together for a celebration. Rockin’ Rockhill: Summer Street Party features Kansas City-based band Making Movies and begins at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 19. The free event marks the first chance for Kansas Citians to hear and purchase the group’s new album, ameri’kana. Five food trucks will add to the fun. The concert ends at 4 p.m. Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is partnering with the Nelson-Atkins for this unique event, which is also supported by Kansas City Parks and Recreation.
“The street party will be such a festive community event and we are thrilled to partner with the Nelson-Atkins for this celebration,” said Sean O’Harrow, Executive Director of Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. “I look forward to many future collaborations between our institutions.”
The celebratory mood continues with an art-inspired miniature golf course opening Memorial Day Weekend. Art Course features nine hole designs that present fresh interpretation of the museum’s works of art. The designs were selected from public submissions and represent creative ways of experiencing the museum’s treasures. The Hallmark Creative Marketing Studio was an integral partner in this project from early on, and A to Z Theatrical is the museum’s custom fabrication partner and is creating the holes.
Tickets for Art Course will be $14 for general adults, $11 for adults who are museum members, and $9 for children 4 to 12. The course is free for children 3 and under. The latest on programming can be found at www.nelson-atkins.org. Art Course will run from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Lingering near an art-inspired mini golf course is easy with the addition of the museum’s new Terrace Snack Bar, featuring treats and local favorites such as Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, James Lemonade, and Boulevard Beer. The snack bar will be open during museum hours through the summer. On Friday nights from 5 to 9 p.m. visitors will also be able to order dinner and have a picnic on the museum’s iconic lawn. The Terrace Snack Bar opens Memorial Day weekend and closes after Labor Day.
Because there is so much more to enjoy at the Nelson-Atkins, the museum will be open on Mondays throughout the summer, beginning on Memorial Day. The museum had been closed Mondays. In Fall 2008, the museum closed to the general public on Tuesdays as well, in order to devote that day to school tours. The museum will still be closed Tuesdays. Visitors will now be able to experience the wonders of the Nelson-Atkins six days a week.
Photo credits: Gabe Hopkins (Walking Wall, Terrace Snack Bar), Luis Cantillo (Making Movies)
Rendering: Amber Mills
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The museum, which strives to be the place where the power of art engages the spirit of community, opens its doors free of charge to people of all backgrounds. The museum is an institution that both challenges and comforts, that both inspires and soothes, and it is a destination for inspiration, reflection and connecting with others.
The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access to its renowned collection of more than 41,000 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. In 2017, the Nelson-Atkins celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the Bloch Building, a critically acclaimed addition to the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.
The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours, beginning Memorial Day, are Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The museum is closed on Tuesday. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org.
For media interested in receiving further information, please contact:
Kathleen Leighton, Manager, Media Relations and Video Production
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
816.751.1321
kleighton@nelson-atkins.org