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, Marilyn Lyons, Mary Reed, Mary Sabatini, Amy Salem, Terry Happer Scheier, Kelly Seward, and Samira Zaman
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
- “A Great Place to Land” sculpture by Gary Kahle at Santa Fe & Conser in Downtown Overland Park
- “Bison” at the Farmstead
- “Converge” sculpture by Steven Richardson at the Overland Park Convention Center
- Copper Hopper Chopper by David Seitzinger at the Arboretum
- Eilert Fountain in Founders Park at Corporate Woods
- “Garden Bell” by Duane Flaming at the Arboretum
- “Heading Home” by Robin Richerson at the Arboretum
- “Jazz I” and “Jazz II” by Tom Corbin at the Arboretum
- “Lady Bug” by Mary Lynn Swafford at the Arboretum
- “Pierced Sky” by Matt Kirby at 103rd & Metcalf
- “Pod Forms” by Liz Vercruysse at Tomahawk Ridge Community Center
- “Remembering” by Charles Goslin at the Korean War Veterans Memorial
- “Soaring” by Dennis Smith at Roe Park
- “Standing Couple” by Larry Young at the Arboretum
- Statue of William Strang, founder of Overland Park, by Kwan Wu at 80th & Santa Fe in Downtown Overland Park
- “Summer at the Pond” by Robin Richerson at the Arboretum
- “Sunflower” by Allen Wynn at Tomahawk Ridge Community Center
- “Two Frogs” by Elliott Carlson at the Arboretum
Community Partners
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