Best of KC 2020: Graffiti Attic goes from apocalyptic scares to end-of-the-world galleria

Photo by Jim Nimmo

This month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can browse the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some of our current favorite things about Kansas City in 2020. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November. 

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One year ago in the summer of 2019, Levi Thomas and partner John O’Connor opened SurviveKC—an interactive maze. Part zombie-infested haunted house and part escape room with a laser tag twist, SurviveKC let Kansas Citian’s use realistic laser rifles to hunt “living dead” zombies hiding in a maze built on the 7th floor of historic Union Station. Then, post-pandemic, it took on new life. Thomas noticed that he had a half-mile of bare wall, and so he posted a call in local art groups, declaring the wall open to all.

“I realized that there is literally no place that is safe for street artist to paint in Kansas City,” Thomas says. His open e-invitation received a hundred thousand views, and more than 200 artists showed up in the initial weeks to overcome their lockdown boredom, while continuing to pursuse street art in a legal and socially distanced way. The zombie shooter staging ground became an artists commune. Now, the artists involved are bringing supplies and helping teach kids from the community about how to use paintbrushes and spray can to create specific effects. We love seeing the next generation of creators get mentored in such a bizarre locale. If you’re planning to stop by Union Station for any of its other huge gallery shows, give yourself the gift of a trip to the seventh floor.

Graffiti Attic, Union Station https://www.facebook.com/GraffitiAttic/

30 W Pershing Road, Suite 720, Kansas City, MO 64108