Get some culture: First Fridays

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Every first Friday of the month, the streets in the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City, Mo., are taken over by thousands of people. They crowd in this one square mile in downtown to have a look at art galleries and retailers showcasing art throughout the evening. “The neighborhood can easily attract over 10,000 people on a nice fall night,” says David Kuhn, owner of the Blue Gallery, 118 Southwest Blvd., Ste. 100.

Contributed photo

Art all around: Visitors to the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City, Mo., during First Fridays can see art anywhere from galleries to restaurants to dentist’s offices.

First Fridays center around art openings. Kuhn says that galleries across the country traditionally have art openings on the first Friday of the month. But at the Crossroads art is featured everywhere from restaurants to dentist’s offices. “It could just be a vacant store front that the landlord lets the artist use to display his art,” Kuhn says.

There are also plenty of things going on outside, including street vendors, musicians and movies being played on the sides of buildings — it all depends on the night. Kuhn describes it as a calm Mardi Gras environment with people from all walks of life. “It’s definitely a way to see an exorbitant amount of art in a short period of time,” he says.

Galleries usually showcase their art on First Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

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