Library Encourages Residents to Tap into Their Own Creativity
Mid-Continent Public Library’s annual festival of art will return this spring, bringing opportunities for art enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels to take part in free art workshops and to enjoy the work of other local creators through programs and exhibits. Although select Access Art programs are available at the Library year-round, March and April mark the climax of the program, with a wide array of classes offered at various MCPL branches throughout the metro as well as online. “Drawing Poppies Like Georgia O’Keefe” is one such class, during which, attendees will use chalk pastels to create pieces inspired by the famous artist.
In addition to hands-on classes, Access Art also incorporates opportunities for participants to view the work of local artists, such as Patricia Streeper, whose paintings will be displayed in the Historic Home at MCPL’s Woodneath Library Center (8900 Flintlock Road, Kansas City, Missouri) through the months of March and April. Streeper will also give two artist talks about her work. Her display, The Storytellers: Women Who Led Through Story, features oil portraits of famous, powerful women, including Harriet Tubman and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
For those who would like to continue their creative explorations on their own, the Library offers a wide variety of resources that can be accessed from the comfort of home, including:
Art Index Retrospective – This collection includes articles from 1929 to 1984 about fine, decorative, and commercial art, including American, Latin American, Canadian and Asian art, as well as stories about new artists, contemporary art, exhibition reviews and feminist criticism.
medici.tv – This resource offers access to classical music concerts, operas, ballets, documentaries and master classes. More than 100 of these performances are streamed live each year.
Fine Arts – This collection provides more than 150 full-text magazines and journals, providing support for research in drama, music, art history and filmmaking.
–Emily Becker
