Missouri River Mural Festival was held on Oct. 11, celebrating the works of local Kansas City artists.
One side of the festival was lined with various shops, while the other featured murals painted by a diverse group of artists from the Kansas City scene.
“I’ve actually been a part of this festival since they started it, so I watched most of these murals go up,” said “DJ Joe” Straws. He has been attending the festival since before it became an official event. “They’ve been painting down here for three years.”
“Well, the whole theme of [this] thing that we’re all doing is human connection,” said Issac Tapia, a local artist participating in the festival.
One of Tapia’s art pieces displayed an image of himself and his wife, depicting them while he was working on an art residency in Mexico City, and she was in Kansas City.
“I wanted to do a message of unity,” said local artist Vania Soto. “We are reflections of each other, so however you treat me, you treat yourself, so hopefully that’s with kindness.”
Her piece was a monarch butterfly, which consisted of a mirrored image of two people in its wings.
“It’s a symbol for immigrants. It’s kinda like our calling card, because the monarch butterflies fly south, and even if it’s not one butterfly making it all the way across, they lay their eggs, and their future generations know that they have a mission to fly south every year,” said Soto.
Soto encouraged UMKC students to get involved in the local art scene.
“Support the galleries that are around locally in Kansas City, that’s the best way to get involved, is supporting the galleries, especially the new generations coming up. If they don’t support the arts, we can’t have a platform for you to join. So I think it all starts with the galleries.”
Jacki • Oct 21, 2025 at 1:05 pm
I would have to agree more people should get involved with the arts and I believe more people should help support the art, and the artist destroy really touched me