You’ve seen it on our masthead, but what, exactly, is The Arts Engagement Foundation of Kansas City? The new year, and the organization’s heightened level of activity, seems a good time to review its purpose and projects.
Founded in 2014, The Arts Engagement Foundation of Kansas City (AEFKC), a 501(c)(3), is the publisher of KC Studio magazine, inaugurated in 2008, as part of its mission “to promote engagement and increase participation in the arts in Kansas City.”
Since I came on as editor in 2015, the magazine has maintained a dedicated staff of professional writers to realize its mission of providing diverse, balanced and informed coverage of the visual, performing, literary and cinematic arts in Kansas City.
Over the years, the Arts Engagement Foundation has also sponsored other projects, independent of KC Studio, and directed by other members of the organization.
These include “Art City,” first published in 2017 and updated in 2024, an illustrated overview of Kansas City’s One Percent for Art program, overseen by AEFKC executive director and magazine cofounder Heidi Nast in conjunction with Kansas City’s Municipal Art Commission.
“The Art of Life at 50+,” which beginning in 2018, has appeared as both a separate publication and a special section in KC Studio magazine, was also under the supervision of Heidi Nast.
Recently the Arts Engagement Foundation has ramped up its level of activity, founding TeenTix KC, a program directed by Martin English offering teens $5 tickets to local exhibits and performances, and launching an arts podcast, “Artful Connections Along the Streetcar,” under the direction of the magazine’s sales and marketing department.
The podcast features interviews with local arts and civic leaders by Michael Mackie, discussing the impact of the KC Streetcar and the World Cup on KC‘s cultural landscape.
Just out is Weddings in KC, a publication produced by the sales and marketing department. Income from many of these projects help support KC Studio, the AEFKC’s flagship venture.
The magazine and the foundation’s other projects are supported by AEFKC’s board, comprising arts luminaries, artists and philanthropists. Its officers are KC Studio founder H. Guyon Townsend III, chairman; Dalene Bradford, vice president; Linda Lyon, treasurer, and Jim Blair, secretary. Founding vice chairman, the late C. Stephen Metzler, is director emeritus.
Board members are José Faus, Ron Fredman, Danielle Doerhoff Hill, Joan Horan, Kathy Liao, Susan Schmelzer, Ph.D. and Heidi Nast. Pete Browne and Sly James serve as advisors.
As the new year begins, all of us would like to thank our generous readers and other community supporters for helping The Arts Engagement Foundation of Kansas City generate engagement and participation in the arts in Kansas City.
