Artsy Imports

Globe-trotting entrepreneur Sarah Cool’s stated mission is spanning cultures and serving coffee, combined with a love of northeast Kansas City — all embodied by her new business, Kafe Kiskeya, at 3226 East 12th Street. “Kiskeya is the Taino Indian word meaning mother of the Earth,” she says. “It was the name of the island of Hispaniola, before Columbus renamed it.” The spartan culinary side of the business — brewed fair-trade coffee and nothing else — is compensated by a range of international artwork from Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Jamaica, and other countries. “It’s all fair-trade artwork,” Cool says. She collects it on her travels, exhibiting and selling it in Kansas City on behalf of international creative types. “Pieces sell here, and then, darn it, I have to go traveling to look for more.” Kafe Kiskeya also hosts monthly exhibits for local artists on the first Thursday of each month. Tonight, painter and poet Maurice Copeland exhibits his artwork and reads his verse from 5 to 8 p.m. Call 816-914-5096 for details.

Thu., Oct. 4, 2007