Many years ago, I was on the Missouri Arts Council, a nonprofit that supports the arts in our state, and I always felt there was a distinct rivalry between St. Louis and Kansas City when it came to the arts. I wasn’t sure if it was just my impression, so I did a lot of Googling and research to see what I could find.
More comparison than competition
What I found is that the relationship between the arts scenes in St. Louis and Kansas City is less a direct rivalry and more a long-running comparison, shaped by different histories, funding models and cultural identities. Still, there is definitely a sense of competition, especially when it comes to visibility, philanthropy and national reputation.
St. Louis is the larger and older city, with major, long-established institutions like the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, the Contemporary Art Museum and the St. Louis Symphony. It has a strong tradition of philanthropy and legacy wealth, and its arts scene is often seen as being more museum-driven and academically connected.
Kansas City also has major institutions like the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, but its reputation leans more toward a decentralized, artist-driven scene…