Today we’d like to introduce you to Polly McCann.
Polly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I chose to make my oil painting work very textural so it could be felt and not just seen. I have always approached visual art with the idea that vision is not the only thing we need to experience art. Now I know thousands of artists, but back then, as a student, I was in the smallest major. The struggle was real, but I persisted in studying to be a full-time artist, even when my dad went blind, and I knew he wouldn’t be able to see my work. I also had one grandmother who had gone blind. It was hard, but in the end I decided to keep going. I remember taking a poetry class that really helped me figure out how to process and think more clearly about my emotions and intentions. So I decided to stay with art. And I’ve continued with poetry too.
I think since I had grown up in Kansas City, going to art classes at the Nelson-Atkins, visiting Hallmark and Crown Center, walking on the Plaza, all these experiences made me really think and see like an artist, and I couldn’t give up that way of thinking. I kept going even when I was tempted to quit.
After college, I married, and I moved back to Kansas City when my oldest was one year old. I knew here in KC we had the Coterie and Theater for Young Audiences. We have at three puppet theaters, so I got my kids into “What if?” Puppets. Ecstatic to be home after living out east for sixteen years, KC was where I took ballet as a child and participated in so many amazing experiences, like going to the Starlight Theater. Right away, my kids enjoyed the arts here. We went to the Toy and Miniature Museum, the doll museum, Union Station, the Kansas City Zoo, the libraries, and Moon Marble. Big and Small: You name it, we did it. We did all the great things for families to do here.
I wanted to start making art again in my thirties, and not having many opportunities for supplies, I found some leftover wood from a flooring project at one of my neighbors’ houses, and I created a few paintings. I got an opportunity to show art at a little cafe in Parkville, MO. I taught community ed all over town, and then at a paint-and-sip place. I was just getting back on my feet with art, and my kids were finally old enough to both be in school. I was feeling really great, and then I ended up in a sudden divorce. It was just a year or so later, I decided to take a few months for myself and got an art studio down in the Crossroads Arts District. This is where my story of being an artist in Kansas City really begins.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Renting an art studio was the best thing I ever did for my art. Right away, I found artists to connect with in the arts district in KC. We were in a warehouse that was about to be torn down for the streetcar, but we enjoyed the time we had. Suddenly, the art studios closed, and we had to find a new space in six days. Three of us went in for a space in Midtown, and that’s when we decided we really should open an art gallery, too. I remember saying that I just wanted to make art, so why should we have an art gallery? My best friend and now business partner, Heather Collinsworth, answered, “Well, when they come to see the art, they will see our art, too!” Heather is always a few steps ahead of me.
I’ve learned so much from her and other artists I’ve met. That’s when I began a long ten-year journey to discover that my personal art, my creative practice, is not about what I make or what I do; that’s just where I get my own energy and healing from. Art is really about the relationships that form as we come out of our solo spaces and meet together to share our visions, our stories, our experiences, and our art with one another–with our audiences. Art is the experience we share as we get to know one another. Art is building community. This process really changed me. My mind was changed, my empathy changed and grew as I met such a diverse group of people and got to know them and listened to their stories.
From our first October showcase in 2015, where we filled up a warehouse full of vendors, singers, artists, and little pop-up shows, we didn’t stop. Eventually, we had a gallery in Midtown and then in North Kansas City for a total of about four years until COVID shut us down. I stepped back and worked on my dream to become a professor for a long time, but I kept showing art. Heather often curated off-site shows for First Fridays at different businesses. Each show featured live music, poetry, and art. Each show was usually a juried art show or an invitational. At one point, we had a women’s art show at the main gallery that featured 65 artists from the entire gamut of experience in the art world in our region. I couldn’t believe how far we came from that first day where I sat at my desk with a sketchbook in an empty studio, and wondered what to make and if anyone would show up. I credit any gains or successes to my business partner, friends, and artists’ networking groups. We inspired eachother and worked together. Soon I learned, I love to invite people to connect. One arts opportuntity would lead to another.
The problem went from not enough art shows to too many. I was showing three or four places every month for a while, until I counted and I’d done about 100 shows in four years. The COVID shutdown was a time for me to take a break from showing art. So, I decided to publish books instead. Poetry and art books replaced those in-person shows for several years. Instead of 30 artists and one poet at an in person show, I would work for a year putting together an anthology of 30 poets and 1 artist. Learning how to create online shows and publish books and e-books was like getting a whole other degree. It took an intense amount of time and learning. But I met more artists, including international poets. I was able to keep working during that time by having international Zoom poetry readings set so that those in the London time zone could still check in easily. I was proud of those accomplishments and learned so much about what poets need to succeed in sharing their work.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Creative Spark Gallery at Englewood Row?
In September 2025, just ten years after I opened my first art studio with a sketchbook and some dreams, we opened our second art gallery, this time in the Englewood Arts District in Independence, MO. It is about 17 minutes east of downtown KC. Creative Spark Gallery at Englewood Row is a sweet boutique gallery across from Englewood Art Center. It has rentable studios/shops for artists as well. It’s “cute as a bug’s ear,” as my mom would say. And this time, we have switched roles. This time I’m the director, and Heather is supporting us with creative outreach. This time my sketchbook is full. I have an enormous amount of ideas for art I want to make in my spare time when I’m not running the gallery.
The things that are the same this time around are our methods. We are an arts incubator. For example, artists who move back to KC from out of town, as Heather and I did, experience years of not being able to get plugged into a gallery. They want to connect with other artists, get mentorship, learn best methods, explore ideas, and especially show their art. This can be hard if their CV isn’t perfect, with an art degree or a local alum or professional to vouch for them. We’ve shown artists who just moved from California, Texas, New York, or Louisiana. And sometimes, they don’t have many supplies or much art when they arrive because of the moving process. That is why having a gallery that is also an incubator is so important. Artists get a chance to start small in a juried art show with 15 or so other artists for one month.; they learn best practices, plus gain experience to add to their CV.
Artists are such self-starters and self-learners. I believe it is often only opportunity they need. It’s been typical that one month they show up with art, the next month with business cards and an official name and logo for their work. Soon, they are having solo shows in other galleries around town, and after some time, this often leads them to curate group shows themselves. It’s a great process. Many artists who are well-known muralists, artists, or makers in Kansas City had one of their early shows with us, or made a great connection at one of our events and moved on to bigger and better things. That’s as it should be.
The reason this works so well is that we are in Kansas City. This is the place where we love to tell a good story, and we love to listen to one, too. Our hospitality and kindness make this process of welcoming in new artists a great place for the arts to flourish. Treating newcomers and those with less experience as equal partners on the creative journey is what makes this place special, and that culture is what we must fight to keep.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
As for the problem of affordable rent for studios and apartments, the Englewood Arts District is working on that. They have rezoned the district for live and work space, and rent is still a bit more affordable here than in some other parts of the KC area and outlying regions. There are even grants for artists, teachers, and firefighters to purchase housing here in this area just 17 minutes east of downtown KC. Yes, Kansas City and the outlying region is split up into pretty stern districts that residents don’t easily cross. We have the Northland, Midtown, Downtown, Johnson County, Eastside, Kansas City, Kansas, Plaza, Waldo, Brookside, and the list goes on.
Maybe it’s true that most residents hate to cross the river or leave their own area, but remember, artists don’t. Artists go everywhere. And wherever we go, we bring the murals, the music, the food, the party, the art. Invite an artist to your area, and you now have somewhere to go, somewhere to be. KC has always celebrated its artists, and to remain Kansas City, we must continue to support artists with quality live-work space, and we must buy tickets to their events and purchase their art. I encourage every business in Kansas City to have an artist in residence, to offer them space at little to no cost, and watch your business grow in energy, beauty, and community exponentially. Try it. It works. I promise. That’s why I’m honored to be partnering with coworking spaces like Elevator Warehouse in NKC, which offer great studios and offices to small businesses and artists. They are our first off-site business to show artists outside our gallery and we are looking for more.
The Englewood Arts District celebrates our 17th year of a monthly art walks. Every third friday. Yes, artists have been celebrating and showing art here one Friday a month for seventeen years. Our neighbor, the Englewood Arts (Center), began building four years ago. The Englewood Theater has recently been purchased and organized as a historic site. A newly formed nonprofit has lovingly drawn up plans and put on a new roof. Now they are simply looking for partners to fund its renovations and a secondary building next door with spaces for actors to rehearse, studios, apartments, and shops. This is a great place to be for artists. We are poised and ready.
Some people have told me that art isn’t useful or important, and that has been hard to shake. But I know that isn’t right because every other profession, every other vocation, when they want to celebrate, rest, commemorate, or have fun, goes out to participate in the arts. So to me, art remains the most important thing someone can do.
Today, as I make another pot of coffee in the galley kitchen, say goodbye to an artist who teaches our writing classes, and hear kids laughing as they rehearse a play in the main gallery where an artist has just curated a spectacular textile exhibit, I know we are doing it. My mission has always been to be a full-time artist, but today I see my dream coming true. My dream is to make being an artist attainable and successful for myself, and along the way, to bring along as many artists along with me as I can.
Pricing:
- Art Classes & Workshops $30 to $65
- Yoga Classes $20-$25
- Consulting $65-$150/ hour
- Art Rental Service $600-$1500/ month
- Kids Classes & Art Parties $15-35
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.creativesparkgallery.com
- Instagram: @pollyalice_artist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativesparkatenglewoodrow
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/polly-alice-mccann-8114531b/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pollyalicemccann9423
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/creative-spark-gallery-at-englewood-row-independence-2?osq=creative+spark+gallery
- Other: https://elevatorspaces.com/locations/kansas-city/
