CALL FOR ARTISTS – COLORING BOOK

In 2023 the City of Fountains Foundation’s will celebrate its 50th Anniversary! As part of the celebration, we plan to produce several fundraising/friend-raising products. Our first product will be a collaborative coloring book, filled with multiple artists’ work and  featuring a variety of fountains from around the KC area.

If you or an artist you know are interested in submitting a piece for this coloring book, please read the Call for Artists tab for details. Then, simply complete the submission form and upload your artwork for consideration.

Proposals will be accepted through October 15, 2022.

** New Board Members — At our June 1, 2022, meeting the City of Fountains Foundation Board approved two new members, bringing to 15 the number of Board members.

In place for terms ending Dec. 31, 2023, are Virginia Salazar Bellis, a Westside resident and activist, and David T. Ford, a senior principal at the engineering firm Walter P Moore.

Virginia formerly worked as a sales budget analyst and an accounts receivable supervisor at Hallmark Cards. She has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas-Austin and received her B.A. from UMKC.

Virginia will focus, at least at first, on helping build a consensus among Westside residents and activists on what to do about the Westside fountain site, S.W. Boulevard and Summit. The fountain, dedicated in 2001, has not operated for about eight years.

David has more than 20 years of consulting and forensic engineering experience. He leads Walter P Moore’s “Enclosure Diagnostics Practice” and has extensive experience in project management on new and existing buildings across North America. He has experience with fountains, having been involved in the assessment several years ago of two fountains that, at the time, were not working – the Meyer Circle Sea Horse Fountain and Haff Circle Fountain at Meyer Boulevard and Swope Parkway. Both fountains were subsequently renovated and have been working well.

David lives in the Crestwood neighborhood of Kansas City.

COFF is thrilled to have Virginia and David as Board members. We expect them to help advance our mission of promoting and advocating for publicly owned fountains, monuments and sculptures in Kansas City.

For a complete list of Board members, click on the About page.

** The Osage Woman statue, which was stolen from its perch on the Francois Chouteau & Native American Heritage monument last year, is now back in place. The sculpture piece, done by artist Kwan Wu, was cut into several large pieces by thieves who intended to sell it for scrap. Fortunately, police recovered it before it was sold, and the pieces were large enough that they could be welded back together by a conservator in Reading, KS.

Including transportation and incidentals, the repair job cost about $12,000. A Go Fund Me campaign run by the City of Fountains Foundation produced a little more than $5,000. The City Council and the Parks Department financed the rest. It’s gratifying — and remarkable — to have the grand lady back in place! Go by and see the sculpture pieces, if you get a chance. The monument is on the west side of Chouteau Trafficway just north of Missouri 210.