Friends of Overland Park Arts

About Us

The Friends of Overland Park Arts is a not-for-profit group operating as part of the Arts & Recreation Foundation of Overland Park, Kansas. The Friend’s group was designed to promote and support the arts in Overland Park.

 

 

The mission of the Friends of Overland Park Arts is to educate and enrich the lives of the residents of Overland Park, Kansas, by fostering, promoting and developing public art and programs in Overland Park. How do we do that?

  • We fund acquisition and installation of sculpture and two-dimensional art in public spaces as part of Overland Park’s Master Plan for Public Art
  • We sponsor Art at the Center exhibitions by funding prizes and receptions
  • We sponsor Music in the Park concerts by funding local musicians
  • We provide experiences for artists such as the annual Stems Plein Air Paint
  • We introduce performing arts to young children at the Nutcracker Tea Party
  • We partner with the InterUrban ArtHouse to bring the arts to underserved schools
  • We partner with Friends of the Arboretum and Friends of the Farmstead to incorporate art into their programs
  • We support the Shooting Stars scholarship program for high school seniors
  • We work cooperatively with other community organizations to promote the arts in the Kansas City area

 

Friends of Arts Advisory Board

FOA advisory board members represent the cultural interests of our community. FOA members choose the content of some of the city’s public art exhibitions, select artists for residency programs, recommend performance artists for the city’s concerts and festivals, and suggest sculpture selections for the Public Art Master Plan to the city’s governing body. The group organizes and directs fundraising activities to support the arts in Overland Park.

Chair: Laura Harsch

Members at Large: Georgia Erickson, Angi Hejduk, Andrew Helt, Renee Kyles, Janet Long, Terry Happer Scheier, Mary Sabatini, Kelly Seward, and Samira Zaman

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Public Art Projects

Generous donors, membership dues and proceeds from the Nutcracker Tea Party have funded the following civic amenities and art installations in the City of Overland Park.

  • 9/11 Memorial at the Overland Park Fire Training Center (2014)
  • “A Great Place to Land” sculpture by Gary Kahle at Santa Fe & Conser in Downtown Overland Park (2007)
  • “Bison” by unknown artist at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead (2006)
  • “Boy with Frog” by Tom Corbin at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead (2001)
  • “Claude Monet” by Gary Lee Price at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2013)
  • “Converge” sculpture by Steven Richardson at the Overland Park Convention Center (2007)
  • “Copper Hopper Chopper” by David Seitzinger at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2005)
  • Eilert Fountain in Founders Park at Corporate Woods (2006)
  • “Garden Bell” by Duane Fleming at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2005)
  • International Sculpture Garden at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2012)
  • “Heading Home” by Robin Richerson at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2005)
  • “Jazz I” and “Jazz II” by Tom Corbin at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2009)
  • “Lady Bug” by Mary Lynn Swafford at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2005)
  • “Large Pod Forms” by Liz Vercruysse at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2009)
  • “Little Scoundrel” by Stephen LeBlanc at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2006)
  • Permanent Art Collection at the Overland Park Convention Center (2001)
  • Permanent Art Collection at Matt Ross Community Center (2007)
  • “Pierced Sky” by Matt Kirby at 103rd & Metcalf (2008)
  • “Remembering” by Charles Goslin at the Korean War Veterans Memorial (2007)
  • “Soaring” by Dennis Smith at Roe Park (2009)
  • “Song of Tomorrow” by Kwan Wu at Thompson Park (2004)
  • “Standing Couple” by Larry Young at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2008)
  • “Summer at the Pond” by Robin Richerson at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2006)
  • “Sunflower” by Allen Wynn at Tomahawk Ridge Community Center (2009)
  • “Two Frogs” by Elliott Carlson at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2009)
  • “Untitled” by Dieter Kränzlein at Bietigheim-Bissingen Park (2025)
  • “William Strang”, founder of Overland Park, by Kwan Wu in Downtown Overland Park (2006)
  • “Yellow Eyes Medicine Wheel” by Chief Lee Yellow Eyes at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (2001)
  • “Young Girl” by Mary Lynn Swafford (2008)

 

Community Partners

 

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