Facebook Drama Club is one of several opportunities available to young community members through Drama Time KC.
From producing at-home art tutorials to sewing thousands of masks, Kansas City artists have pivoted in unexpected ways to stay creative throughout the pandemic.
Like many of us, artists have struggled with the isolation brought about by the pandemic. Musicians who make a living playing live events took to Zoom for at-home virtual concerts. Even successful artists have been set back decades just in the past 15 months.
In the spring of 2020 when we knew so little of the pandemic that has since reshaped our lives KCUR spoke with four area artists to give our readers some ideas for how to stay creative at home.
Julie Denesha
Originally published on December 30, 2020 8:36 am
Artist Kwanza Humphrey s studio at the InterUrban ArtHouse in Overland Park is surrounded by the colorful, large-scale portraits he paints. He likes to swathe his subjects in African textiles.
“Black Americans have been uprooted from Africa,” Humphrey says. “I ll have models come in and sit for me and I ll take photos and I say wear whatever you want. It doesn t matter because I m probably going to change it and wrap you in these beautiful patterns from Africa. For me, it s a way of reconnecting with that culture that is lost and to see that richness.”