Julius Karash

Julius A. Karash is a freelance writer, editor and public relations person. He formerly was a business reporter for the Kansas City Star and executive editor of KC Business magazine. He devours business and economic news, and is keenly interested in the relationship between arts and economic development in the Kansas City area.

Amid Controversy and Opportunity, James Martin Enters the Picture as Kansas City’s New Public Art Administrator

James Martin, Kansas City’s new public art administrator, has accepted a big challenge amid high expectations. Martin was hired in October for the position that had been vacant since April 2018. He came onboard as controversy raged over the city’s One Percent for Art program and its application to the $1.5 billion Kansas City International […]

January 3, 2020
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As an Older Generation Passes, Who Will Carry on Their Legacy of Art Philanthropy?

Marc Wilson, the former director and CEO of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, recalls a pivotal conversation that occurred at a meeting of museum supporters in the 1990s. “We were completely out of space, and were setting out to build the Bloch Building,” Wilson said. “Morton Sosland turned to Don Hall Sr. and said, ‘It’s our turn, for our generation.”

December 30, 2019
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Julius A. Karash on Business and the Arts: KCAI Sponsored Studio Provides Business with Art Services and Students with Real-World Experience

When UMB Financial Corp. wanted streetscape art to illustrate space it was providing for the School of Economics, a nonprofit that teaches children about business, it contacted the Kansas City Art Institute. “They needed a streetscape of small business storefronts and a city hall,” said Randy Williams, the art institute’s senior director of corporate programs. […]

November 14, 2019
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KCI Design and Public Art Controversies Stir Up Turbulence

After years of debate, Kansas City International Airport is being transformed into a single-terminal facility. But like the roar of a jet engine, controversy continues to reverberate from the $1.5 billion project slated for completion in 2023. The ruckus concerns the role of Kansas City’s Municipal Art Commission (MAC) in matters of public art.

October 1, 2019
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Call For Entry: Helping Artists and Art Venues Find Each Other

Last February, artist Mike Lyon agreed to co-curate “Look Me in the Eye: Portraits of Kansas City,” which is scheduled to run Sept. 15 through Nov. 29 at Village Shalom’s Epsten Gallery in Leawood. Lyon and co-curator Elisabeth Kirsch, an art historian and longtime art critic who contributes to “KC Studio,” know lots of artists […]

September 18, 2019
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Julius A Karash on Business and the Arts | Arts Alive: Revving Up the City’s Art Vibe

On a Thursday night in April, when many Kansas Citians were staring at electronic screens, the Belger Arts Center was aglow with in-person enthusiasm. The Belger hosted about 115 people who came at the invitation of Arts Alive KC, an organization that has revved up our town’s art vibe during the past two decades. The […]

July 16, 2019
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