By Elissa Andre

Johnson County Library’s printed activity guide is now available in branches.

The Guide is published three times per year – summer, fall and spring. The Summer 2024 Guide is your source for the latest Library information for the months of May-August; inside you’ll find upcoming events and programs, service highlights, branch updates, volunteer opportunities and more.

Within the Guide you can also learn about the Library’s art exhibitions, a popular feature at many of our branches since the early 1970s and an enjoyable way to beat the heat on a hot summer afternoon.

Exhibitions at the Library serve a dual purpose: not only do they beautify our spaces, but they also aim to inspire viewers and promote community connection.

Johnson County Library currently offers dedicated gallery spaces in 10 of our 14 locations: Blue Valley, Cedar Roe, Central Resource, Corinth, Gardner, Leawood Pioneer, Merriam Plaza, Lenexa City Center, Oak Park and Shawnee Libraries. We are proud to share work from a diverse selection of Kansas City metro area visual artists across a variety of mediums.

Installations rotate a minimum of three times per year; summer exhibitions are installed on or around May 1.

In January 2024, we were thrilled to expand our partnership with InterUrban Arthouse, an Overland Park nonprofit that offers arts programming for the community. They now oversee the curation of nine of 10 gallery spaces, while Library staff will continue to curate exhibits at Central Resource Library.

“We see them as the experts,” shared Bryan Voell, the Librarian who led curation efforts. The partnership ensures that the quality of art installations remains the same, while freeing staff to work on offering additional programming opportunities for Library patrons.

Voell was reminded of how important Library gallery spaces are one day when he met a woman using a mobility scooter at the Central Resource branch.

“She told me this is where she comes to enjoy art and learn about the artists, because it’s more easily accessible to her than local galleries and museums,” he said.

Information about the Summer 2024 art exhibitions is available on page 22 of the Guide and at jocolibrary.org/exhibitions. Gallery locations vary within each branch.

Elissa Andre is marketing & communications manager at Johnson County Library.