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Kemper Museum is a free art museum in Kansas City, Missouri that presents global 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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Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial

Bicentennial Exhibiiton Checklist by Group FINAL.pdf

To mark Missouri’s Bicentennial, Kemper Museum invited an advisory group of 13 civic partners comprising curators, educators, artists, and cultural leaders to identify themes and through lines related to the state’s history and select works of art from the museum’s Permanent Collection that can illuminate these ideas. 

This exhibition spoke broadly to the issues that have affected and continue to affect our state as we enter Missouri’s next century. The works on view contributed to discussions around honoring ancestral histories; exploring and reflecting on relationships between Indigenous Peoples and cultures of the Missouri landscape; human’s impact on the Missouri River; the surreal descriptors of nature veiling issues of inequality; the people and experiences less widely known, recognized, and understood in the Midwest region; and the global connections created and sustained by jazz music and its deep roots in Kansas City.

Themes put forth by Advisory Partners were explored through more than 50 works including Frederick James Brown’s (American, 1945–2012) They Had the Right to Sing the Blues (1995), Wilbur Niewald’s (American, born 1925) Current River II (1965), Bisa Butler’s (American, born 1975) A Man’s Worth (2019), Alvin Eli Amason (Native American, Sugpiaq/Alutiq Alaskan, born 1948) So Tall (1990), Elizabeth Layton’s (American, 1909–1993) I am Loved (1977), and Romare Bearden’s (American, 1911–1988) Family (1971).

Collectively, these works inspire us to bring new perspectives to our understanding of Missouri’s unique history as well as to consider the ways that the themes and issues at play in our state fit into a more global framework. Contemporary artists often respond to the world around them, exploring both large societal issues and personal experiences through their work. As we bring our own histories to the gallery, we have the opportunity to interpret them within a new context.

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial is organized by Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Erin Dziedzic, director of curatorial affairs; Jade Powers, assistant curator; and the following Advisory Partners:

Dr. Dina Bennett | Director of Collections & Curatorial Affairs
American Jazz Museum

Gaylene Crouser | Executive Director
Kansas City Indian Center

Anne Ducey | Former Senior Graphic Designer & Exhibit Coordinator
Kansas City Public Library

Paul Gutierrez | Director of Visitor Experience & Public Programming
Kansas City Museum

Kimi Kitada | Jedel Family Foundation Curatorial Fellow
Charlotte Street Foundation

Kathy Liao | Artist, Artist INC Program Specialist
Mid-America Arts Alliance

Toya Like | Associate Professor and Interim Chair of Race, Ethnic and Gender Studies University of Missouri–Kansas City

Eleanor Lim-Midyett, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor
Kansas City Art Institute

Lee Wong Medina | Former Second Secretary Associated Consul 
Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City

Glenn North | Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative Impact
Kansas City Museum

Joey Orr | Andrew W. Mellon Curator for Research
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas

Daniel Wildcat | Indigenous and American Indian Studies Faculty
Haskell Indian Nations University

Dr. Carmaletta Williams | Chief Executive Officer
Black Archives of Mid-America

Installation view, Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial, September 16, 2021–February 20, 2022, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo: E. G. Schempf, 2021.

The Idea of Ancestry

Removal, Resilience, Return

Untold Missouri

Jazz Music

The Power of Nature

The Missouri River

For this exhibition, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art engaged thirteen Advisory Partners comprising curators, educators, artists, and cultural leaders to identify themes and through-lines related to the state’s history. Applying a broad scope of expertise, each group selected works of art from the Museum’s Permanent Collection to represent the themes.

Navigate the themes below to find digital content that provides more context about the exhibition created by the Advisory Partners. 

Reserved timed tickets to see the exhibition. 

Kemper Museum Uses Contemporary Art To Connect Two Centuries Of Missouri’s History

El Museo Kemper Utiliza El Arte Contemporáneo Para Conectar Dos Siglos De Historia Del Estado De Missouri

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial | Talk & Tour: Perspectives with Michael Sims

Talk & Tour: Perspectives with Michael Sims

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial | Talk and Tour Perspectives with Bentley Brown

Talk & Tour: Perspectives with Bentley Brown

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial | Steve Snell on Constructed Landscapes

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial | Jade Powers on Jazz

Talk & Tour: Co-Curator Jade Powers on Jazz

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial | Jade Powers on the Missouri River

Talk & Tour: Co-Curator Jade Powers on the Missouri River

Contemporary Art and the Missouri Bicentennial | Erin Dziedzic Talk & Tour

This exhibition has been generously supported by the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; and the R.C. Kemper Jr Charitable Trust and Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee 

Lead Corporate Sponsor

Premiere Benefactor Sponsor

Additional financial assistance is provided by generous donors and members, especially: William T. Kemper Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Bebe & Crosby Kemper Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; The Sullivan Family Foundation, Jo Ann and William Sullivan; The Family of Mary Beth Smith Docent Program; Jack and Karen Holland Visiting Artist Fund; Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation; Bebe and Graham Hunt; Matt Smith & Lindsey Patterson Smith; Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Commerce Bank, Trustee; Jane Voorhees; Thomas and Sally Wood Family Foundation; Stanley J. Bushman and Ann Canfield; Charles M. Helzberg and Sandra Baer; Francis Family Foundation; Kansas City University; Miller Nichols Charitable Foundation; Bradley and Linda Nicholson Foundation; Harry Portman Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; RLS Illumination Fund; The Sosland Foundation.