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Kansas City, MO 64111

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Kemper Museum is a free art museum in Kansas City, Missouri that presents global contemporary art.

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

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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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When Kemper Museum opened in October 1994, it was the only museum in the state dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Over the past three decades, it has become a cultural cornerstone in Kansas City and a leading presenter of contemporary art and ideas in the region. At 30 years young, and with the support of our communities, we're just getting started. 

Join us throughout 2024 to celebrate Kemper Museum’s legacy of ambitious exhibitions and innovative programs that have kept local communities connected with groundbreaking artists from around the world and support a visionary future for contemporary art in Kansas City. 

Kemper Museum Streetcar

Infinite Regress: Mystical Abstraction from the Permanent Collection and Beyond

Joseph Stella (American, 1877-1946), Dance of Spring (Song of the Birds), 1924, oil on canvas, 43 ⅜ x 32 ⅜ inches. Collection of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection, Gift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, 2003.03.01. © No known copyright restrictions. Photo: Mike Jenson, 2023.

Lucía Vidales: Hambre

Director's Cut

New Acquisitions: In Celebration of Thirty Years of Kemper Museum

Thread: Making Patterns

Hangama Amiri: A Homage to Home

Sarah Zapata: So the roots be known

Beyond Ninth Street: Legacies of Women in Abstraction

Featured artist, Sumire Skye Taniai, leads a workshop focused on incorporating words, phrases, and iconography into collage-based artwork.

Studio Night: The World in Kansas City

Manor Fest is a two-weekend long event, including 20 venues and 60 local bands, raising funds to support Manor Records Foundation, a local non-profit record label.

Manor Fest 8

The World in Kansas City artist, Kathy Liao leads a collage-based workshop focused on connecting with personal memory.

The World in Kansas City: Exploring Memory with Kathy Liao

Open Drawing+ transforms the museum into a space for sound, exploration, and making!

Open Drawing+ is a free event transforming the museum into a space for sound, exploration, and making. Experience an evening of activities inspired by the exhibition, Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene.

Open Drawing+

Join Executive Director and Curator Jessica May for a casual gallery talk focused on Second Nature: Photography in the Age of the Anthropocene, and stay for lunch at the museum's restaurant, Oil on Linen.

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.

Director's Gallery Spotlight

Director as Curator: Gallery Spotlight

Join us for a drop-in tour led by a Kemper Museum docent on the second Saturday of the month at 1 PM.  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. No registration required.

Gallery Conversation with a Kemper Museum Docent

Featuring hands-on art-making activities, guided mini-tours of the galleries, performances and more, Kemper Museum invites you for an art-filled day of fun for everyone!

Spend the day at Kemper Museum with hands-on art activities, a live performance, and opportunities to explore the galleries together. Designed for families and curious minds of all ages.

Summer Break Family Day 2026

Summer Break Family Day

In celebration of Juneteenth, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art proudly presents acclaimed flutist Amber “Flutienastiness” Underwood

Juneteenth Performance featuring Amber “Flutienastiness” Underwood

Museum admission and public programs have been free and open to everyone from the beginning, and "free for everyone" means supported by many. With your investment, Kemper Museum will continue to serve the public and keep Kansas City connected to global conversations in contemporary art for the next 30 years, and beyond.

Support Free Access to Contemporary Art and Ideas

Become a Member

Thank you to all who supported dinners at the museum that honored renowned contemporary artists Hung Liu and Lucía Vidales, celebrate local chefs Pam Liberda and Ted Habiger, and championed free admission and public programs for everyone.

30th Anniversary Artist Dinners

A group of philanthropists, organizations, local businesses, cultural leaders, and corporate sponsors dedicated to the future of contemporary art in Kansas City.

Join the Visionaries

Join us on Saturday, November 2 for Kansas City's best party of the year and help keep admission and public programs free for everyone!

ArtSmash: Kemper Museum Annual Gala

This year, donors who make a major commitment to the future of free access to contemporary art in Kansas City will receive special recognition and benefits in acknowledgement of their generosity. To learn more, contact Don Schreiner at dschreiner@kemperart.org.

30th Anniversary Luminaries

30th Anniversary programming is made possible in part by a generous gift from the Kemper Family Foundations.

Gattermeir Family Fund
Christy and Bill Gautreaux
Jack and Karen Holland
The McDonnell Foundation
Jo Ann and William Sullivan