For a while now, much of Kansas City's arts community has been abuzz about Open Spaces, the 62-day arts festival that's giving a platform to local, national and international artists. The plan, hatched nearly five years years ago by an arts commission Mayor Sly James put together, is becoming a reality this weekend.
Today, Central Standard broadcast live from the pavilion at Swope Park, the heart of the Open Spaces festival and dubbed The Village for the next two months. We talked with people on the inside of the event to get the lowdown on what it's taken to get this thing off of the ground and with some arts experts who told us what they're most looking forward to seeing and experiencing.
- Mayor Sly James
- Keli O'Neill Wenzel, president of O'Neill Events and Marketing and Open Spaces event producer
- Laura Spencer, KCUR arts reporter
- Libby Hanssen, KCUR arts contributor
- Kemet Coleman, Open Spaces marketing team and lead singer of The Phantastics
- Anne Kniggendorf, KCUR arts contributor