KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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For graffiti writers Mike Galloway and James Foster, they remember when Kansas City’s street art scene came to life along the Missouri riverfront in the 1990s.
“To be able to come back to where this scene, really, put its original footprint and be able to come and create something new is really special, really exciting,” Foster said.
Once ‘barren’ Kansas City riverfront now a canvas for color, art and growth
100 artists will spray some color along the levee wall that lines the Riverfront Heritage Trail this Memorial Day weekend, according to developer Port KC.
RELATED | KC Streetcar now connects to the riverfront — and a neighborhood on the rise
Galloway said he thinks the 1.1 mile-long continuous mural adds to the growing development along the riverfront.
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Mike Galloway
“I think the entire city is dramatically changing over the last few years,” Galloway said. “I barely recognize it.”
But, Galloway said he likes the change. He said he was one of the first to put their mark on the growing murals along the riverfront when the project began in 2023.
His current street art portrays a half insect, half woman robot. It is displayed alongside Foster’s, which is his newest design of his graffiti name — “East.”
“I know this is hard for a lot of people to understand,” Foster said. “They don’t understand why we’re writing these things or painting these things. They can’t read most of it, but really, that’s not the thing they should be looking for.”
Foster hopes trail visitors can enjoy the movement of the colors as the murals bleed into one another.
Lauren Leslie/KSHB
James Foster
“I hope they can just come and enjoy that we’re putting in our talents and our efforts to make this a more inviting space,” Foster said.
Galloway said throughout Friday morning, joggers, runners and bicyclists gave him a thumbs up as he brought his street art to life.
River Market resident Abbey Higginbothem said she began running along the Riverfront Heritage Trail seven years ago when it was “barren.” She said the development along the trail, especially along the Berkley Riverfront, has made a community.
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Abbey Higginbothem
“I’ve walked this path for the longest time,” Higginbothem said. “It has always seemed kind of underutilized. It seemed like it’s just rocks and trash around, so seeing some art to make it pretty makes your morning a little better.”
Port KC spokesperson Patrick Pierce said this beautification effort and surrounding development will increase the trail’s visibility, estimating the number of annual visitors will jump from about 600,000 to about 1.8 million.
Lauren Leslie/KSHB
Ben Watson
Port KC, SprayKC and Evolution partnered together to bring the murals to the riverfront.
“They’re really developing it (the riverfront), and this is a part of the city that hasn’t been used for a long, long time,” said Ben Watson, an artist with Evolution. “To see the trail go in, all the art go up, it’s already coming to life and changing the area.”
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