Public art is a vital component of the redevelopment of the Plaza at Barney Allis. With the unique ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, public art is one of the vital ingredients that will give the Plaza renovation a unique flavor of Kansas City.

The Plaza at Barney Allis project will participate in the City’s “One Percent for Art” program administered by the City’s Public Art Administrator and the Municipal Arts Commission. Along with over 300 other U.S. cities and counties, Kansas City participates in a program which stipulates that one percent of public construction costs will be set aside for public art enhancements.

Opportunities for Impact

Applied thoughtfully to the Plaza, public art will reinforce a sense of place, reinvigorate the surroundings, and create a dynamic sense of connectedness among the convention center, hotels, downtown neighborhood and community at large.

Opportunities for impact range from wayfinding to landscape elements, recreation to infrastructure, and temporary to permanent works. Potentially, there will be three primary artistic components to the new Plaza space:

1. Permanent installations.
2. Ongoing temporary projects, which may be funded privately or through public-private partnerships.
3. Architectural details.

Collaboration

Listening to and engaging the surrounding stakeholders and the local arts community about the opportunity for public art at the Plaza at Barney Allis will be a perpetual focus of the project. This collaboration will help make the Plaza a place where all can a feel a sense of pride and ownership.