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Kansas City, MO 64111

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Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art acknowledges it resides on the ancestral territory of the Osage, Kaw, and Otoe-Missouria, among other tribal nations forcibly moved to the region such as the Shawnee, Wyandot, Delaware, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox and Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) nations. We recognize and support the continued vibrancy of Native communities and cultures today who continue to thrive, as well as the inherent sovereignty of tribal nations. We are compelled to serve and advocate for these communities in accordance with our public mission.

Kemper Museum acknowledges and respects the diversity of Native people connected to this land today. Many recognize the land and all beings who live within it as relatives. We acknowledge the earth we inhabit, the waters of the Blue River, the Kansas River, the Missouri River, and the plants, animals, and people supported by them. 

We acknowledge our responsibility to be good caretakers of the land we occupy. 

Click here to learn more about our land acknowledgment process.

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On view at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons considers how landscapes are shaped by history, relationships, and power.

Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons

Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe/European descent, b. 1979; based in northern Minnesota and Chicago, IL) considers how landscapes are shaped by history, relationships, and power. Her artworks imagine places that are “everywhere and nowhere,” visualizing these shifting yet ever-present dynamics. Grounded in Anishinaabe understandings of space and time, the works in this exhibition reflect on how land carries memories of colonial expansion and violence, as well as Indigenous presence and resistance.

Across painting, video, and sculpture, Carlson organizes imagined landscapes around one constant—the horizon. This line is reminiscent of her homelands on Lake Superior. It is also a significant art historical trope that artists have employed to depict territories as vast and vacant, ripe for the taking. Carlson’s prismatic works are not empty: they are densely layered with an abundance of motifs, making reference to the tactics of colonialism as well as her family and peers, Ojibwe culture, and Indigenous sovereignty. Confronting ongoing histories of erasure and dispossession, Carlson proposes that what appears to be lost can be remade, reimagined, or otherwise regained.

Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons is curated by Iris Colburn, Curatorial Associate at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The Kansas City presentation is organized by Jessica S. Hong, Chief Curator, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. 

Artist Talk | Andrea Carlson

Featured Works

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A Preview of Kansas City’s 2025-2026 Arts Season

In addition to her visual work, Andrea Carlson has published numerous essays, statements, 
and interviews about the histories and themes that inform her practice. Kemper Museum has curated a selection of these writings as supplementary reading materials for the exhibition.

Further Reading Resources:
Andrea Carlson

Generous contributions of all sizes help keep the Museum FREE for all visitors.

At Kemper Museum there is no charge for admission, parking, special exhibitions, or programs. Your donation underwrites these expenses and inspires many thousands with contemporary art each year.

Installation view, Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons, August 29, 2025 - February 16, 2026, Sally Kemper Wood Gallery and Barbara and Paul Ulhmann Gallery, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E.G. Schempf, 2025.

Naudline Pierre, Soft and Fragile, 2018, Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches, Promised gift of Bill and Christy Gautreaux, Kansas City, Missouri, PG.2019.09.02. © Naudline Pierre, courtesy of the artist and Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2020

In a bold reimagining of her Atrium commission, Lucía Vidales will transform her Atrium commission to enter into dialogue with selected works in the Kemper’s collection.

Figure it Out: Lucía Vidales Selects

Figure it Out- Lucía Vidales Selects.pdf

In a bold reimagining of her Atrium commission, Lucía Vidales will transform her Atrium commission to enter into dialogue with selected works in the Kemper’s collection. As part of our ongoing commitment to fostering deeper connections with the artists we collaborate with and to engage with the collection, the museum’s foundation. She will remove the central painting, leaving only the black-and-white piece directly applied to the wall. In addition to the wall adjacent to Oil on Linen, this will create a thoughtful space for her to showcase works from the Kemper’s collection that align with the core themes of her project. 

Vidales’ exploration of the expanded figure, along with migration and class will serve as a lens through which these pieces are reinterpreted, encouraging fresh conversations and layered understandings. This curatorial intervention invites viewers to see the collection anew, as living material in dialogue with contemporary voices.

Figure It Out: Lucía Vidales' Selects

Exhibitions are always free thanks to the generosity of members and other donors. Join or donate today to support free access to contemporary art.

(First row, left to right) Installation view, Lucía Vidales: Hambre, September 20, 2024 - September 7, 2025, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2024; Installation view, Sarah Zapata: So the roots be known, August 18, 2023–July 28, 2024, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E.G. Schempf, 2023; Installation view, Aliza Nisenbaum: Aquí Se Puede (Here You Can), August 21, 2021–July 31, 2022, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2021.

(Second row, left to right) Installation view, Pepe Mar: Rising Sun, August 19, 2022 - July 30, 2023, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2022; Joiri Minaya, Away from prying eyes, 2020, archival pigment print on paper, 41½ x 61½ inches. © Art and photo courtesy of the artist; Angel Otero, Diario, 2019, oil skins on fabric with wire and found objects, approximately 168 x 168 x 7 inches. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and Seoul. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2019

(Third row, left to right) Firelei Báez, To See Beyond Its Walls (and access the places that lie beyond), 2017, installation view, Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, Museum purchase made possible by a gift from the R. C. Kemper Charitable Trust, 2017.7.1. © Firelai Báez, courtesy Wendi Norris Gallery; Paul Henry Ramirez (American, born 1963), Sweet On (detail), site-specific installation, acrylic on canvas, wall mural, and stained glass mural. Courtesy of the artist and RYAN LEE, New York © Paul Henry Ramirez, Photo: E.G. Schempf, 2018

In Fall 2025, The Atrium Project: 10 Years, 10 Stories will mark the initiative’s 10th anniversary with an exhibition featuring all participating artists—several represented in the Kemper Museum’s collection.

The Atrium Project: 10 Years, 10 Stories

Launched in 2016 by then–Kemper Museum Curator Erin Dziedzic, the Atrium Project was created as a platform for emerging and mid-career Hispanic and Latine artists. Each year, one artist has been invited to create a site-responsive work for the Museum’s central atrium, activating a large, prominent convening space with bold new directions in subject or scale.  

Developed over the course of a year, each commission begins with an artist’s visit to Kansas City—an experience that often subtly informs the final work. The series provides space for experimentation, storytelling, and reflection, grounded in both personal vision and place.  

To mark the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Atrium Project, this exhibition brings together for the first time work by the nine previous participating artists: José Lerma (2016–17), Firelei Báez (2017–18), Paul Henry Ramirez (2018–19), Angel Otero (2019–20), Joiri Minaya (2020–21), Aliza Nisenbaum (2021–22), Pepe Mar (2022–23), Sarah Zapata (2023–24), and Lucía Vidales (2024–25), with Edra Soto’s commission debuting in 2026.  

Across these projects, shared themes emerge: gathering as spiritual and social act; tracing layered histories; and exploring material, memory, and identity through personal and communal lenses. The Atrium Project: 10 Years, 10 Stories celebrates a decade of artistic innovation and the Museum’s ongoing commitment to supporting artists at pivotal moments in their careers, while looking ahead to what comes next. 

Organized by Jessica S. Hong, Chief Curator, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art 

(First row, left to right) Installation view, Lucía Vidales: Hambre, September 20, 2024 - September 7, 2025, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2024; Installation view, Sarah Zapata: So the roots be known, August 18, 2023–July 28, 2024, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E.G. Schempf, 2023; Installation view, Pepe Mar: Rising Sun, August 19, 2022 - July 30, 2023, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2022.

(Second row, left to right)  Installation view, Aliza Nisenbaum: Aquí Se Puede (Here You Can), August 21, 2021–July 31, 2022, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2021; Joiri Minaya, Away from prying eyes, 2020, archival pigment print on paper, 41½ x 61½ inches. © Art and photo courtesy of the artist; Angel Otero, Diario, 2019, oil skins on fabric with wire and found objects, approximately 168 x 168 x 7 inches. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and Seoul. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2019

(Third row, left to right) Firelei Báez, To See Beyond Its Walls (and access the places that lie beyond), 2017, installation view, Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, Museum purchase made possible by a gift from the R. C. Kemper Charitable Trust, 2017.7.1. © Firelai Báez, courtesy Wendi Norris Gallery; Paul Henry Ramirez (American, born 1963), Sweet On (detail), site-specific installation, acrylic on canvas, wall mural, and stained glass mural. Courtesy of Paul Henry Ramirez © Paul Henry Ramirez, Photo: E.G. Schempf, 2018; Installation view, José Lerma: La Venida Cansa Sin Ti, 2016, Atrium, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. 

Raven Halfmoon

Ride or Die marks a pivotal moment in Halfmoon’s artistic evolution and a bold expansion of her creative practice. These works, created specifically for this exhibition, engage with the cultural and historical landscape of Kansas City and the surrounding region. Long intrigued by cowboy mythology, Halfmoon flips the script on the “cowboy vs. Indian” trope. Her powerful cowgirl figures dominate the space, subverting colonial narratives with punk-inflected force, as they assert control, power, and protection over both personal and collective Indigenous narratives. 

While she has previously depicted standing horses, a new large-scale sculpture of a bucking horse marks a breakthrough in Halfmoon’s practice. Responding to Cyrus Dallin’s The Scout (1921), a monument currently standing in Kansas City’s Penn Valley Park—which was intended as an homage but ultimately perpetuates stereotypical views of Native peoples—Halfmoon’s horse instead is untethered and unyielding, embodying the spirit of resistance and sovereignty at the heart of Ride or Die. 

Organized by Jessica S. Hong, Chief Curator 

Featured Artworks

Raven Halfmoon (b. 1991, Caddo Nation) lives and works in Norman, Oklahoma. Halfmoon attended the University of Arkansas, where she earned a double BA in ceramics/painting and cultural anthropology. Halfmoon’s work has been featured in gallery exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Raven Halfmoon’s first institutional exhibition Raven Halfmoon: The Flags of Our Mothers opened Spring 2024 at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, and has since traveled to the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, and will continue on to The Contemporary Austin. Halfmoon’s work can be found in the permanent collections The Museum of Fine Art Houston, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, Philbrook Museum of Art, Forge Project Collection and several others national institutions. In 2023, she was selected as an Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellow (Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN) and in 2024 she was a finalist for the international Loewe Craft Prize.

Image Credit: Raven Halfmoon (b. 1991, Caddo Nation), Artist Portrait with The Guardians in Progress at UAP (Urban Art Projects), 2024, Bronze, 108 x 47.38 x 43.79 inches, Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94. © Raven Halfmoon. Photo: Salon 94.

Raven Halfmoon: Ride or Die

Left: Raven Halfmoon, Scouting the Horizon (2025). Stoneware glaze. 41 x 23 x 20 inches. Right: Raven Halfmoon, Tushka Manahatta (2025). Stoneware glaze. 36 ½ x 26 x 17 ½ inches. Images courtesy of the artist and Salon 94. © Raven Halfmoon. Photography by Kes Efstathiou.

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Edra Soto: the place of dwelling

The World in Kansas City

Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene

Sing songs, read books, explore art, and make your own art with a Kemper Museum educator and Kansas City librarian.

Totally Tots

Totally Tots featuring "Stories in Spotlight"

Join us for a drop-in tour led by a Kemper Museum docent on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at 1 PM. No registration required! Docent guides will spark curiosity and conversation about select artworks and exhibitons. Gather at the Visitor Services desk in the Atrium at 1 PM to participate!

Gallery Conversations with a Museum Docent

Join Executive Director Jessica May for a casual gallery talk focused on current exhibitions, and stay for lunch at the museum's restaurant, Oil on Linen.

Jessica May Gallery Spotlight

Director's Gallery Spotlight

Experience the Kemper Museum’s collections through the unique perspectives of Kansas City contemporary artists.

Beyond the Studio: Ellie Naeger

Join us for an evening of creativity and community at the museum.

December Open Drawing featuring Alyx Jacobs

Experience a deep dive into select artworks from Kemper Museum’s collection, presented by eight graduate students from KU

Highlights from Kemper Museum Collection: KU Graduate Seminar Presentation

Highlights from Kemper Museum Collection: KU Graduate Seminar Presentations

The Kansas City Music Teachers Association presents an area-wide student recital featuring holiday selections.

The Kansas City Music Teachers Association presents an area-wide student recital featuring holiday selections in the Atrium of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

Musical Merriment with the Kansas City Music Teachers Association

Join us for a drop-in tour led by a Kemper Museum docent on the second Saturday of the month at 1 PM.

Join Chief Curator Jessica S. Hong for a casual gallery talk focused on Raven Halfmoon: Ride or Die and The Atrium Project: 10 Years, 10 Stories, and stay for lunch at the museum's new restaurant, Oil on Linen.

Curator's Gallery Spotlight

Dálida and Michael (Serennata del Tres Cubano)

Paintings

Carry III

Sculptures

Carbon, silver and gold

Works on Paper

Helen Frankenthaler and Alexander Liberman in her East 83rd Street studio, New York - 1967, with GUIDING RED

Photographs

Deck

Textile Installations

In Praise of Prairie Dogs

Prints

The Wedding

Film & Video

Untitled Escape Collage

Mixed Media

Keep admission, special exhibitions, and programming free for everyone.

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Join us for a special Totally Tots featuring Stories in the Spotlight where reading comes to life through the arts in KC! 

Sing songs, read books, explore and make your own art with a Kemper Museum educator and Kansas City librarian. At this session, take a closer look at artwork in Andrea Carlson: Shimmer on Horizons, enjoy a tailored reading list provided by Turn the Page KC, and take home a free book and additional literacy activities! 

Turn the Page KC’s mission is to mobilize communities to ensure children gain the literacy skills needed to create a lifetime of opportunities. Stories in the Spotlight aims to foster growing readers through the Arts in Kansas City. 

Click here for information on how to get to the museum and where to find our free parking lots.

Kemper Museum programs are FREE thanks to support from members and other donors. Join today!

Public programs are always FREE for everyone only because they are supported by many.

Join us for a drop-in tour led by a Kemper Museum docent on the second and fourth Saturday of the month at 1 PM. No registration required! Docent guides will spark curiosity and conversation about select artworks and exhibitions. Gather at the Visitor Services desk in the Atrium at 1 PM to participate!

Public programs are free for everyone only because they are supported by many. 

Click here for information on how to get to the museum and where to find our free parking lots.
Kemper Museum programs are FREE thanks to support from members and other donors. Join today!

Kemper Museum and Charlotte Street are pleased to present the second program in the new series Beyond the Studio. Experience the Kemper Museum’s collections through the unique perspectives of Kansas City contemporary artists! Charlotte Street Studio Residents will highlight their favorite objects on view in connection with their own artistic practices.

This month's program will feature Ellie Naeger and her exploration of the exhibition Raven Halfmoon: Ride or Die.

This event is FREE but seating is limted – registration required

Ellie Naeger is an interdisciplinary artist working with porcelain and fiber. Through accumulation of smaller components, she explores the balance of tension, harmony, and movement between the instinctual rhythms of human nature and the untamed energy of the natural world. Naeger earned her BFA in Ceramics at the Kansas City Art Institute in 2025. She has exhibited her work locally along with winning numerous awards including, McKeown Special Project Award in 2023 and 2024, Thema and Richard Notkins Award, and the Lead Bank Emerging Artist Award. Naeger is now a Visual Arts Studio Resident 2025-2027 at Charlotte Street in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Public Programs are FREE for everyone only because they are supported by many.

Head to Kemper Museum the for an evening of community and creativity at this special session of Open Drawing with Kansas City-based artist Alyx Jacobs. 

Pick up a stool, drawing board, and provided drawing materials, or bring your own sketchbook and find a spot for open drawing at the museum alongside Alyx, who will be onsite chain stitching. Participants are invited to purchase Kemper Museum merchandise from our Museum Store to be customized by Alyx using a flash sheet of designs inspired by the art on view!

All levels of experience are welcome. Cash bar. (Members receive two free drinks.) Museum cafe will be open for dinner service.

Attendees are allowed to bring their own sketchbooks, paper, and pencil. Otherwise, please use the materials provided by the museum.

Please use only graphite pencils, colored pencils, and crayons in all areas of the museum.

Markers, ink pens, charcoal, paint, watercolor, etc. are NOT allowed (nothing that is liquid-based or highly friable) in any areas of the museum.

Larger drawing boards can be used in the Atrium, but please use standard or smaller size clipboards if you enter one of the galleries.

Folding stools can be taken into the galleries. No easels, tables or drawing horses in the galleries.

Set up a minimum of 6 feet from artwork in the entire museum, and please do not blow or swipe graphite dust or eraser debris toward artworks.

Please dispose of any pencil shavings or any other debris in trash cans provided.