Kansas City as a UNESCO Creative City of Music
Kansas City, Missouri is a UNESCO City of Music and a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network
UNESCO City of Music
Kansas City, Missouri
In November 2017, the City of Kansas City, Missouri, became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network
UNESCO Creative Cities Network
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City was designated the first and only Creative City of Music in the U.S. On November 6, 2017
City of Music since 2017
Kansas City, Missouri
We planned to connect preservation efforts at 18th and Vine with UNESCO’s platform.
Kansas City is a recognized leader internationally. In 2022, the Kansas City team was invited to present The Voyage of the Drum on stage at the annual meeting of the UCCN in Santos, Brazil. The past five years have been filled with dynamic local and international programming representing Kansas City on a global scale. Highlights include:
• Creative City KC presented The Voyage of the Drum at the 2019 Annual Meeting in Fabriano, Italy.
• Kansas City was invited to attend the 2020 meeting of the UCCN, Spanish Cities, hosted by Burgos, Spain, (Gastronomy). The Voyage of the Drum was presented.
• Kansas City led the UCCN global project, The Voyage of the Drum, with 19 UCCN cities. This project promoted the International Decade of People of African Descent, 2014-2024.
• We.R.Culture 2020: a response by the UCCN Cities of Music to the shutdown of the live music scene in cities globally, impact on musicians, and efforts to engage music as a strategy for recovery from COVID19.
• Make Music Day/ Fête de la Musique: in-person music festivals in partnership with the Heart of the City
Neighborhood Association in Historic Dunbar and KC Parks and Recreation for the past three years.
• Joshua Nelson “Kosher Gospel,” a celebration of Jewish and African American musical cultures promoting “Not Long Ago, Not Far Away,” Auschwitz traveling memorial exhibition. Partners included the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, the Jewish Community Fund and Union Station.
• Participated in the UNESCO Future Literacies Lab with Heidelberg, Germany; Nottingham, England; and Montevideo, Uruguay; focused on the future of safe public spaces for LGBTQ+ Youth. This work was supported by members of Kansas City’s LGBTQ+ commission and community, including Justin Short, Carl Stafford, and Paul Gutiérrez, Director of Visitor Experience and Public Programming at the Kansas City Museum.
Creative City KC Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization that was created to sustain its designation in the UCCN. The Creative City KC Inc. team currently includes Anita Dixon-Brown, Executive Director; Kathryn Persley, President of the Heart of the City Neighborhood Association; Bukeka Blakemore, Recording Artist and Entrepreneur; Dr. Jacob Wagner; and Anna Marie Tutera, Executive Director of the Kansas City Museum.
The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that have identified creativity as a driver of sustainable urban development. The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. There are 295 member cities that form the UCCN within 90 countries.
Nine cities in the United States are member cities in the UCCN.
Anita Dixon-Brown, local historian, prepared the UCCN application in 2017 on behalf of KC. Ms. Dixon-Brown worked with Dr. Jacob Wagner, Associate Professor of Urban Planning + Design, and students in UMKC’s UPD Program on a plan to connect preservation efforts at 18th and Vine with UNESCO’s platform. John James, President of the Wendell Phillips Neighborhood Association,
supported the UNESCO application.
