Profile: Graffiti Attic
An unexpected home for some of KC’s most talented street artists is awaiting you inside Union Station.
All photos by Kelly Hollowell
Stepping into the elegant grand lobby of Union Station, you’d never guess that the city’s most extensive street art display would be living under the same roof. Several floors up, you’ll find Graffiti Attic, a quarter-mile long art gallery, housed in the same space as SurviveKC, a combat-style laser tag experience.
The idea for Graffiti Attic was born by Levi Thomas, one of four owners of SurviveKC. SurviveKC had recently transitioned from a zombie experience to a combat experience. Through this change, they removed tarps and decorations that left the space a blank canvas. When Thomas learned that one of his friends had been in legal trouble for creating street art on a local builing, his wheels started turning. Not only did SurviveKC have walls that needed decoration, he also saw an opportunity to create a safe space where street artists could create without consequences.
Thomas put out a call to artists, and the community responded. Over time, nearly the entire space has been transformed into a winding gallery of unique displays. Walking into the space, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of art. With six large rooms, two of which are black light rooms, artists have seemingly endless space to unleash their creativity. Wandering through the maze of artwork is a fully immersive experience that gives you a taste of each artist’s personal style.
If you’d like to experience it for yourself - which I highly recommend - Graffiti Attic is open to the public every first Friday from 2:00 - 9:00 p.m. Admission is free of charge, although donations are welcome and appreciated. When you arrive, check in at their desk in the grand hall to be guided to the 7th floor.
Chief Operating Officer of both Survival KC and Graffiti Attic, Ellie Long, showed me around the space and shared her enthusiasm for both the art and artists during our tour:
How do you select artists for Graffiti Attic?
We let the universe decide. We don’t turn any artists away. If they find us through social media or a friend, we want them to come take a tour. If they’re inspired and want to claim a space, we let them. We’ve had some out of town artists come through, but it’s mostly Kansas City-based artists since most of these pieces take a while to create. We’ve had 8-year-old kids claim a wall. We’ve had classically-trained artists, graffiti artists, and students in art school right now – we have a little bit of everything.
How long are works of art displayed?
Artists are able to go outside of the box here and try new things. There are some artists that will come back and redo the same wall over and over again. There are others who want their piece up as long as possible because they spent a long time creating it. And then there are the taggers that tag over their own work or tag over each other. I try to get to know the artists so I can point them to a space that will work best for their style.
We make sure our artists understand that this is an “alive art gallery.” It’s going to be constantly changing and evolving to make room for new artists to come in when it’s full. After a year of doing this, we’re finally getting to a point where we’re having a hard time finding fresh walls. Soon, we’ll paint over some of the older ones from artists we haven’t seen in a while. However, we make sure to take a quality photo of their piece and put it on social media. We’ll try to contact the artist in advance to let them know that it’s time for their piece to be covered. That way it continuously creates opportunities for new artists to come in even after we reach capacity.
How are the artists supported through their involvement with Graffiti Attic?
Our main goal is to lift up the art community and give them a place where they can connect with each other, connect with the community, and prosper by getting connected with people who would like to purchase commissioned pieces. We encourage artists to add their Instagram handle to their artwork so people can easily contact them. On First Friday, we’ll often have artists put up a table of their prints or other items if they choose, but none of that is required. Artists are allowed to be as involved as much or as little as they’d like with the First Friday events.
Additionally, a lot of what we do is mentorship with the artists to teach them how to put their name and work out there and how to present themselves in a way that’s going to help them be successful. Levi has a huge heart for the artists and the community in general. He likes to mentor the artists to teach them how to price themselves. Some of the newer artists don’t know where to start with valuing their art, making prints, or how to make money doing art, which is not a simple thing. The driving force for us to continue this is the artists.
Located on the top level of historic Union Station, Graffiti Attic is accessible on the First Friday of each month from 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM. The 7th floor elevator is located on the main floor next to the restrooms.
Union Station,
30 W Pershing Rd, Suite 720
Kansas City, MO 64108
