Reasons you might wish to contribute. . .
It is our goal to bring art lovers, visual artists, and gallery venues together in greater numbers. We do this by providing information to the public about as many galleries and artistic events as possible, and by displaying photographs showing recent exhibits and activities.
What exactly is in the Kansas City Gallery Map?
(1) The core of the project is a detailed Google map of the greater Kansas City area, showing the exact locations and addresses of virtually all (191) of KC's art galleries and art event spaces. As of July 09, 2019, the map has had 21,479 views.
(2) Secondly, below each map is a lengthy directory of contact information for each venue. One list is alphabetical, and one is geographically arranged by neighborhood.
(3) Connected to each entry on the directory lists is a link taking you to an individual information page for each gallery.
(4) There is a page containing all of the available online media links for each gallery, featuring Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
(5) The media links are also arranged into a visual grid (the social media matrix), which is laid out in icon-driven columns, making it very easy to read.
(6) To explain why the map website exists, there is an "About" page that the public can review.
(7) The Gallery Map has it's own Facebook page, which contains numerous photo albums of galleries and events we have attended. Announcements are also made on the Facebook feed.
(8) Similarly, announcements are also made on an official Twitter feed.
(9) A running log of sample artwork photos can be found on our Instagram feed.
(10) The site offers a printable PDF map of the Crossroads District that can be carried around on First Friday.
(11) Recently, a whole section has been added for art-loving tourists that may be visiting from out of town. It includes maps and lists of local Hotels, Restaurants, Shopping Areas, and Attractions. (12) And there is more to come as the site grows and develops.
How is the Kansas City Gallery Map of Benefit?
(1) For art enthusiasts and patrons, the map reveals almost every location that worthwhile art can be seen or purchased.
(2) The website assists gallery owners by being a resource through which they may improve their marketing efforts. This is accomplished by showing each owner how all the other galleries are communicating with the public.
(3) For both seasoned and aspiring visual artists, the map provides information about the local gallery scene and where they might exhibit their work.
(4) As for galleries and events themselves, this guide gives an extra boost to their existing online presence, by providing additional targets for Internet search engines to grab hold of.
(5) Last of all, the collection of gallery and event photographs show the public the quality and diversity of artwork in the Kansas City region. Hopefully, it will inspire art lovers to go out and explore KC's creative side to a much larger degree.
Why are we asking for funds? If you visit the KC Gallery Map site and it's many branches, you will immediately see that it is complex and chocked full of details. There is a significant amount of time and labor on display here, and it has all been done for free up to this point. Continually adding new content (photographs, data, announcements) to the site, involves a great deal of time, distance and materials. The web pages have to be designed, coded and uploaded. Reseach has to be conducted and photographs taken by driving all over the Metro area to do on-site inspections. This eats up a fair amount of gas and hours (that could be used for other things). Typically, four or five galleries can be visited in an average day, in any particular part of town. On days when there are large reoccurring events, like First Friday, or the Plaza Art Fair, more content can be collected. All of the pictures taken have to be downloaded, edited and processed for web upload. It's a lot of work, but a pleasure to do. One gets to meet so many wonderful people in the process, and see the inspiring work of talented minds.
So what we are asking, is for you to help offset the unpaid time, labor and resources that get used up in order to make the Kansas City Gallery Map a reality. If you feel that this resource helps you, or is of value to the community, would you kick in some funds to help it keep going and grow? Thanks so very much. See the link before to get started.
- Robert T. Palmer (curiator)
