Creating a Kansas City regional arts inventory

University of Missouri Extension’s Urban West Region is partnering with ArtsKC to develop a comprehensive asset map and online arts inventory for the five-county Kansas City metro region. The ArtsKC Regional Arts Impact Dashboard helps to:

Goal of Turquoise Tables Is To Create Gathering Spot for Neighbors

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Getting to know your neighbors may be as easy as getting a picnic table, painting it turquoise, and creating a neighborhood gathering spot in your front yard. Sounds a bit crazy, but according to David Burton, a University of Missouri Extension community development specialist, the turquoise table movement that began in 2018 is still going strong nationwide.

Lawn Art With Neighbors (LAWN) Strengthens Social Bonds Through Art April 23 – May 8 in Greene County

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Along with the invigorating energy of Spring, Lawn Art With Neighbors (LAWN) is popping up near you from April 23 to May 8, 2022, with front lawn art created by your neighbors throughout Greene County. Think of it as a museum without walls says Deidre Argyle, an art professor at Missouri State and founder of LAWN. “LAWN is a city-wide public art exhibition made for front lawns by community members located in and…

Watercolor Notecards Provide a Personal Touch to Neighboring, Can be Relaxing

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- When a neighbor receives a kind note from us, especially if it is handwritten, they feel like the writer has a deeper desire to serve them or connect. “Isolated and lonely people desire a personal touch. This has always been true. But it is especially true during this period in our social history,” said David Burton, community development specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

Neighborhood art can spread kindness and joy in a community to combat isolation and loneliness

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Robert Frost once said, “Good fences make good neighbors.” While many families are sheltering-in-place, that phrase could be “good art makes good neighbors,” according to David Burton, a county engagement specialist with University of Missouri Extension. 

Several lessons can be learned from one-room schools

Historic one-room schools still dot the landscape in the Ozarks. Several fine examples exist with others moving toward restoration. The old schools are an icon of America and are historically tied to agriculture in Missouri. According to David Burton, civic communication specialist with University of Missouri Extension and director of the Ozarks Country School Program, one-room schools are still revealing valuable historical,…

“Missouri Directory of Historic and One-Room Schools” is now available for purchase

The "Missouri Directory of Historic and One-Room Schools" has been published and is now available for purchase on Amazon.com or at the University of Missouri Extension Center in Greene County in Springfield.

Rural schools history book updated and available from Greene County Extension Center

The book, “A History of the Rural Schools in Greene County, Mo.,” was updated in 2010 by the author to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the book’s original release in 2000. 

St. Louis Storytelling Festival honors MU Extension

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Storytelling Festival awarded MU Extension the inaugural Nancy and Ken Kranzberg Spirit of St. Louis Storytelling Award. Founded in 1980, the festival brings regional and nationally recognized storytellers to St. Louis for workshops, presentations and free storytelling events.

MU Art on the Move exhibition comes to Hannibal

HANNIBAL, Mo. – The artwork of former Palmyra resident and University of Missouri alumna Maddie Olmsted goes on display May 11 at Java Jive, 211 N. Main St., Hannibal.MU School of Visual Studies’ Art on the Move outreach program and MU Extension are co-sponsoring the Hannibal Art on the Move exhibition through June 8. Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays, said Lee Ann Woolery, outreach…

Arts can boost, diversify small-town economies

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A two-day training this fall will show civic leaders, artists, elected officials, entrepreneurs, business owners and others how the arts can play a role in community and economic development.

Art exhibition addresses sexual violence, Aug. 28-Sept. 21

“It Happened” features local and national artists who create work on the issue of sexual violence. These works, some including very personal stories, address the reality of rape and sexual assault on university campuses, at K-12 schools, and in communities regionally, nationally and around the world. This exhibition has been scheduled at the beginning of the school year because it is the period with the highest incidence of sexual…

MU collaborates with community on audio tour of historic Lexington

LEXINGTON, Mo. – Visitors to historic Lexington, Missouri, can learn about the town’s rich Civil War history through an audio walking and driving tour created through the University of Missouri Extension Community Arts Program. The audio tour gives businesses another way to drive economic development in the town of 4,500, said Lee Ann Woolery, MU Extension community arts specialist.