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The EVOLUTION Magazine Partners to Promote Local Artists
The EVOLUTION Magazine is proud to partner with Art Garden KC and Troost Market Collective ( AGKC / TMC ) to help support its mission and feature works by local AGKC artists on its monthly front cover . “ We ’ re excited to collaborate with Art Garden KC artists and feature the natural intersection of creativity in our industry . These local artists will bring visually unique works of art to our monthly covers , and we ’ re eager to be a platform for local talent ,” said Clayton Stallings , director of marketing for The EVOLUTION Magazine . “ Once an artist ’ s artwork is submitted and selected for an upcoming issue cover , their vision of the art featured and examples of the artist ’ s works will be included on a page within that issue .”
Art Garden KC in collaboration with Troost Market Collective , a 501 ( c )( 3 ) Non-Profit arts initiative , has worked together to develop community programming from Troostapalooza , the Big Balloon Build KC , city-wide maker markets , and the KC Art on the Block — BLM Murals . Together they function as an entrepreneurial “ test kitchen ,” providing over 1,400 diverse artists , makers , and innovators with low-risk access to large retail markets and educational opportunities . Over 80 % of the artists are from minority and low-income zip codes within Kansas City ’ s urban core .
During 2023 , Art Garden KC will host over 76 affordable and accessible pop-up markets and festivals in premiere Kansas City locations , bringing locally made goods and art to the masses — building our local creative small business economy .
Its festivals held at Berkley Riverfront Park are quickly becoming Kansas City ’ s most anticipated weekly festival , drawing thousands of patrons each Sunday ! The festival is free to the public and runs every Sunday from April to October from 11 a . m . – 4 p . m . These weekly markets feature food trucks , live art , yoga-in-the-park , yard games , live music performances , and a large market of over 70 unique local vendors with a diverse range of locally handmade products from paintings to ceramics , custom clothing , décor , jewelry — and more art !
About the Cover & Artist
We asked this month ’ s cover artist Joshua Williams to create unique art that represents the Missouri cannabis industry , our distribution area , make it fun , action-oriented , and vibrant . We think he did just that . Here ’ s what Josh had to say about his creative cover art .
“ For this month ’ s cover , I wanted to represent the cannabis culture and its Missouri expansion . I played off the names of a few popular strains and designed my original characters based on them . Like the many cannabis strains available , I wanted the characters to pop out as their characteristics . I created these characters from my idea for my future comic strips . I hope the fun characters will introduce this magazine ’ s audience to them , and enjoy them . The goal of the characters is to create something new and evolutionary for the funny pages one day .
“ Thank you to The EVOLUTION Magazine ! It ’ s humbling , and I am grateful to be chosen for this month ’ s cover . I ’ m the youngest of five . I was born in Minneapolis , MN , and raised in Missouri by my dad , Avery Williams . My dad studied martial arts and was an artist himself . I started drawing at age four . I would watch my dad and siblings draw — that ’ s what inspired me . I was heavily into the 90s cartoons and always wanted to design my own characters and even tell some stories . As I got older , my dad continued to motivate me . He would challenge my skills by having me replicate detailed pages from comic books and other books such as Conan , Spawn , or even the Bible . He ’ d approach me with a book , no matter what I was doing , and say , ‘ I betcha can ’ t draw this …’ Needless to say , my dad is the one who inspired me to be the artist I am today — and continues to inspire me as I grow on my journey .”
My two pieces of art below include Bugs Bunny , a digital piece I recently designed ; the other is my acrylic painting of my father .
To learn more about future Art Garden KC festivals and events , visit www . artgardenkc . org or follow them on social at @ ArtGardenKC . For vendor information , email hello @ artgardenkc . org .
You can also learn more about Troost Market Collective ’ s mission to create equitable economic opportunities for local creative entrepreneurs by visiting www . troostmarketcollective . org . If you ’ d like to become a sponsor for the 2023 year of programming , please mention The EVOLUTION Magazine for exclusive discounts and opportunities .
Interested in Submitting Your Artwork for a Future Cover ?
Art Garden KC member artists interested in submitting potential cover art for The EVOLUTION Magazine should contact Clayton Stallings at clay . s @ theevolutionmag . com for more details regarding participation , creative art design ideas , concept sketches , final art submission guidelines , and deadlines .
22 August 2023
You can see more of his art on his Joshua Williams Facebook or Instagram . Contact him at 1000phasesart @ gmail . com . You can also see Joshua Williams artwork at IG : @ 1000 _ phases , Facebook : Josh OneThou Williams , and the Art Garden KC festivals held at Kansas City ’ s Berkley Riverfront Park . The festivals are free to the public and runs every Sunday , April through October from 11 a . m . – 4 p . m .