Dorri Partain
Managing Editor

From airborne dragon kites and pandas to unicorns and praying mantis insects, new murals are being unveiled in two Northeast neighborhoods during October.

The Indian Mound Neighborhood Association (IMNA) teamed up with the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce to utilize funding from their Neighborhood Empowerment Grant for the creation of a mural along the eastern wall of Furniture La Caudra at 5500 Independence Avenue.

Last month, ten area artists submitted 11 designs following the guidelines for an Asian-themed mural featuring images of Chinese dragons and a pair of pandas in a bamboo forest. Despite a last minute change in the mural’s location, the design submitted by Indian Mound resident Michelle Renn was chosen and paint application began in late September.

Renn modified her original design submission to include a pagoda as the new location had different dimensions. Renn’s team consisted of her husband Chris and two daughters, working evenings and weekends to complete the mural on Sunday, Oct. 5.

This is Renn’s second mural along Independence Avenue. Last year, she teamed up with her sister Merry Burleson and together they completed “Venus Fly-trucks” on the south east entrance of the “truck-eating” bridge.

IMNA will host a mural reveal party from 2 to  4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, in the grassy area under the mural, with food and drinks from the Avenue’s International Marketplace businesses.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) students worked to complete several murals in Mantis Alley, as part of the Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association’s continuing Fairy Lights and Alley Murals Project. Mantis Alley runs from Lexington Avenue north to Pendleton Avenue, between PH Coffee and Quan Am Temple.

Now in its third year, previous murals have been completed in this neighborhood’s Jade and Sage alleys. For the Mantis Alley installation, 14 KCAI Illustration students worked in teams to design and execute murals along fences, garage walls and doors, as well as PH Coffee’s Patio beverage trailer.

Chosen designs expanded on a previous mural featuring lotus flowers — echoed from the pillars and fencing of the Buddhist temple next door — and insects like the praying mantis, for which this alley is named.

Both the design components and on-site painting are part of the curriculum for KCAI’s “Us: Collaboration” illustration class, led by Pendleton Heights resident Hector Casanova, associate professor and mural artist.

This class concludes with a public presentation as the final component. Each student team will explain the scope of their mural design on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. at PH Coffee (2200 Lexington Ave.).  A “wrap party” to celebrate these completed murals is planned for Saturday, Oct. 25. From 5 to 8 p.m., neighbors are invited to come and view the murals, walk the alley and enjoy hotdogs, desserts and cider as the sun goes down and the fairy lights come on.

For a look back at all the completed murals, visit “PHMurals” Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/PHMurals. 

For previous coverage of this year’s mural project, visit