KANSAS CITY, Mo — The new Kansas City International Airport terminal is set to open early next year, and with the construction over 90% of the way done, local artists commissioned to decorate the space are adding their final touches.
Nineteen local artists were chosen from a pool of nearly 200 applicants to create artwork that will be displayed in Concourses A and B of the new KCI terminal.
KSHB 41 checked in with two of those artists — Rachelle Gardner-Roe and Kwanza Humphrey.
Gardner-Roe has been sewing up the last of her passion project.
She wanted to make sure the artwork reflects her love for wildlife, especially animals and plants that are native to Missouri and Kansas.
“In my small way, I’m trying to sort of share this love that I have," she said. "Cause I think that if you love something, you want to take care of it. But also an interest in understanding biodiversity and the local ecosystems and how important they are — not only for the health of the biosphere, but the health of human kind as well.”
The piece also pays homage to her rural upbringing in Adrian, Missouri.
The wool she uses to create water color effects were taken from her family farm where she and her mother clean the wool and dye them together.
“My parents got three sheep and a donkey. The donkey didn’t last, but the sheep did,” Gardner-Roe said. “And over the year, the flock grew and when you’re a young struggling artist, free material is good material.”
She hopes as people pass through the new airport, the artwork raises curiosity and paints a better idea of what can really be found in the “Flyover Country.”
“A little bit of education about our regional wildlife, but also just a little bit of joy and beauty and fun that I hope they take away from it,” Gardner-Roe said.
Meanwhile across state line, painter Kwanza Humphrey is capturing the “essence” of Kansas City, Kansas. He created a series of five oil paintings — all portraits of people representing Kansas City’s best.
“It’s really about kind of learning who the person is, trying to capture enough that represents the city — some of the qualities that are distinctly this midwest area," Humphrey said.
Humphrey says he wanted to make sure the portraits capture the diversity of our region, while also highlighting the sameness of the human race.
“I really like to focus more on what hasn’t been seen and really elevate, not just African American people, but people that don’t necessarily have a voice,” Humphrey said. “I hope that people will see themselves as they come through and recognize something in them. I tried in each piece to have, not just reflect the person that I was painting, but really to reflect some of the things that are here in the area.”
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