Steve Paul

January 7, 2020

Crystal Bridges Set to Open Momentary

Lieven Bertels, a Belgian arts professional with global experience, made his first visit to Bentonville two and a half years ago. He had worked in the U.K. and the Netherlands and most recently directed an arts festival in Sydney, Australia. Now here he was, a little apprehensive but interviewing for a job in a place of which he’d had no clue.

November 25, 2019

Saved from the Ax, UMKC’s Literary Publishing Operation is in Transition

Seventy years ago, in 1949, one of the best-known literary figures in the land spent two weeks in Kansas City. Martha Foley, editor of an..

November 8, 2019

See Hear: Steve Paul on Rambling Around the Arts | Cheers to a New Partnership!

The first time I watched Elizabeth Belden brew a batch of beer, her quiet morning among the tanks at KC Bier Co. was shattered just moments after I arrived. A news alert on her phone reported the death of Yordana Ventura, the young Kansas City Royals pitching ace and World Series veteran, whose vehicle had crashed on a mountain road in the Dominican Republic.

September 12, 2019

See Hear: As a New Season Arrives, There Are Many Ways to Catch the Spirit

It’s a given that much of what makes Kansas City great is the arts. The growth and energy of the city’s cultural institutions have been..

September 3, 2019

Small Vibrant Windows on an American Dream Defined by Gold

Gold. Forever a symbol of wealth and human desire, it’s also a source of folly and madness. It has been a catalyst of enormous historical force. It can spell cataclysm and doom. And, beginning in September, it’s the subtext of a haunting exhibit of historical photographs at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

August 28, 2019

After Nearly 30 Years, KC’s Floating Sculpture Needs a Fix

Hallmark’s Iconic “Triple Crown,” by Kenneth Snelson, Will be Renovated and Reinstalled This Fall One of Kansas City’s most prominent pieces of outdoor art —..

July 5, 2019

See Hear: Rockin’ the Nelson: On Andy Goldsworthy’s Moveable Wall

The Goldsworthy wall progresses, inch by inch, stone by stone. At least that was the plan for this summer. The British artist was scheduled to..

May 9, 2019

See Hear: Do We Have What it Takes to be a City of Jazz?

Early this year, “Downbeat” magazine announced a global list of 25 cities where jazz “thrives.” Kansas City, alas, failed to make the cut. A friend..

April 24, 2019

Entrepreneur, Civic leader, Philanthropist, Mensch: The Enduring Spirit of Henry Bloch

The last time I saw Henry Bloch, it was a perfectly fitting occasion.

Author: Steve Paul