Kansas Free for Arts

ENRICHING THE LIVES OF KANSANS THROUGH ADVOCACY FOR WELLNESS, EDUCATION, AND STIMULATING ARTS CULTURE.

Kansas Free For Arts (KFA) is an arts-based 501(c)3 organization founded in 2014 by Hank Osterhout and Megan O'Brien. The two combined their passion and skills for the arts to provide community programming that promotes wellness through creativity. The mission of the organization is achieved through facilitation of an open arts studio, as well as various community outreach initiatives. 

Open Arts Studio: The KFA Studio was opened in downtown Emporia, KS in May 2017. The KFA Studio has been at its current location of 7 E. 7th since March 2018. The Studio was founded through a grant provided by the E.L. & Z. Irene Hopkins Foundation of Emporia, Kansas and maintained through continuous contributions from the Emil Babinger Trust. The KFA Studio is staffed entirely by volunteers and university-level interns who help implement a variety of arts activities to engage diverse abilities and interests. The Studio provides a community space for artists of all ages and abilities to connect with others through the creation of art and music.

Community Outreach: Although day-to-day operations take place at the Studio, additional programming occurs within the community in the form of arts-based events in collaboration with other local agencies. These outreach events are open to the public and often free or at low cost to attendees. Different types of outreach programs have included events such as; community concerts, professional demonstrations, workshops, pop-up studios and more through strategic community partnerships.

Kansas Free for Arts hopes to positively affect the City of Emporia and surrounding areas by fostering a growing interest in the community's cultural economy, as well as engaging public participation in the arts through the creation of continual community outreach opportunities.