Art guaranteed to charm to most every person at Olathe Artwork Festival
2 min read
Allison Bowman of Olathe will be a person of the much more than 30 Kansas Metropolis-location artists at the Olathe Art Pageant. Bowman, a visible artist, produces abstracted botanical blended-media pieces.
Courtesy photograph
Chelsy Walker is hoping for a lot of connections at this weekend’s Olathe Arts Festival.
“Visual language transcends language barriers we have,” Walker said. “I really believe art has a way of connecting people and communities and bridging socioeconomic disparities. We can share a common love of beauty.”
Walker is chairperson of Olathe’s Public Art Committee, which planned the festival with the city of Olathe.
The arts festival will be held from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Johnson County Square, 100 N. Kansas Ave., in downtown Olathe. Those who attend will find entertainment and nearly 60 artists from eight states with a variety of art including ceramics, clay, drawing, fiber, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking and woodworking.
Allison Bowman, of Olathe, is one of the 30-plus Kansas City area artists who will show work at the event.
Bowman, a visual artist who creates abstracted botanical mixed-media environments, said she was excited to be selected for the festival.
She moved to Olathe after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Kansas State University in 2017. Allison has painted murals in Kansas and Missouri, displayed her artwork in many art exhibitions locally and nationally, and participated in community projects such as Art In The Loop and the KC Parade of Hearts. In addition to being an artist, she also works for Mid-America Arts Alliance as a program associate on their Artist Services team.
“It’s such a great opportunity to meet new people and to share my love of art and nature in my own community,” Bowman said. “One of my priorities when it comes to making and selling art is to ensure that it’s accessible to everyone, everywhere, and art fairs and festivals in the community are a great way to make that happen.”
The festival was designed to offer a variety of art, both in terms of media represented and price points, Walker said.
“Someone could find a big statement piece for themselves,” Walker said. “Someone might be looking for a piece of jewelry for their mom for Christmas.”
Children can enjoy hands-on activities in KIDTOPIA. It will include face painting, making and trading of friendship bracelets, tie-dye and wearable art, and button making.
This tale was originally released Oct 4, 2023, 5:00 AM.
