Lawrence.com

Kelly Kuhn called them "art opening groupies."

They would slither into her Kansas City gallery like bottom-feeders, clear the hors d'oeuvre trays, suck down the Chianti and slip out without throwing so much as a courtesy glance at the art on the walls and pedestals.

Which kind of defeats the purpose of First Fridays, a monthly mass opening of new art exhibitions in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District.

Within the past year, however, city officials have all but nixed participating galleries' option to serve alcohol, leaving the moochers to head elsewhere for their free fix.

"There are no longer people coming down to First Fridays just to get free booze and get liquored up," says Kuhn, who co-owns the Blue Gallery, 7 W. 19th St., Kansas City, Mo.

But that doesn't mean the district doesn't become party central the first Friday of every month. Art enthusiasts crowd galleries and spill into the sidewalks and streets, clamoring to see and be seen.

• The first Friday of every month, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
  
  "First Friday"
  
  
• Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District
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• Parking is ample early, and a free trolley service is available throughout the night. The district is also home to plenty of restaurants and bars.
• To get to the district, take either Interstate Highway 70 or Kansas Highway 10 to I-35 South. Then take the 20th Street exit and turn left onto Southwest Boulevard.
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  More info

And Lawrence ALWAYS represents.

"You can't turn a corner without running into somebody else that is part of the art scene here," says Bailey Kivett, a Kansas University art student and co-owner of Olive Gallery & Art Supply, 15 E. Eighth St.

The September First Friday is considered by many to be the annual opener because, with college students back in town, it traditionally draws the biggest crowds of the year.

Close to 5,000 people came into the Blue Gallery alone last September, Kuhn says, "and we noticed there were a lot more people in the streets. It probably drew 8,000 people to the neighborhood."

More than social scene

That's a far cry from 20 years ago, when artists and gallery owners first began setting up shop in the square-mile area in downtown Kansas City. There were openings during the next few decades, of course, but not on nearly as grand a scale, says Emily Eddins, an assistant at the Dolphin Gallery, 1901 Baltimore.

Mailings about new shows went out to collectors, artists and the press, but galleries didn't coordinate events -- until they realized larger cities were having success with gallery walks.

"People can remember an event if it's like the first Friday of every month, so the crowds have changed from the original openings," Eddins says. "Now we're getting a lot of people in that have never been to galleries before, haven't spent much time looking at art."

That's part of the beauty of First Fridays, says David Vertacnik, KU associate professor of design: It attracts such a diverse throng.

"To me, I think it's an indication of an intelligent city, something that's progressive," he says.

Vertacnik routinely recommends First Fridays to his students and has even taken vanloads of them to the event himself. He's experienced the energy of the mass opening both as a spectator and an exhibiting artist. "Kinetic Bouquet," a collection of his sculptures, opened during a First Fridays in the spring of 2003.

"There couldn't have been any more enthusiasm being pumped into me," he recalls. "It was nice having the installation up because it was a dream that I had for a long time. And then to actually have it there and then to have it experienced by so many people ... I don't know how to say it. It was heartfelt."

For students aspiring to careers in art, the Crossroads is the closest thing to a contemporary urban art district within reasonable driving distance. On a single Friday evening, it's possible to see artwork not only by Kansas City artists, but artists from throughout the country.

"It's important not to isolate yourself from your peers," says Jay Gordon, a sculptor and KU art graduate who recently moved to Washington. "There's a social element to it (First Fridays) -- meeting people, networking, just figuring out how things come together. Most importantly, though, it is about seeing new work, expanding your own ideas about art and supporting the artistic community."

Carnival atmosphere

Educational value aside, though, First Fridays turn the Crossroads into a carnival.

"It's shoulder to shoulder through the sidewalks," Eddins says. "I'm always working, so it's work to me, but I think there is an excitement and energy in the neighborhood."

Near student-friendly galleries like the Arts Incubator in the 18th and Wyandotte area, it's not uncommon to see skating demos, and street performers permeate crowds districtwide.

And then there are the U-Hauls.

Gordon says some University of Missouri graduate students decided to have their own shows every month in the back of rented moving vans.

"I really respect that DIY aesthetic," he says, "and the work's very interesting."

If gallerygoers actually want to SEE all the interesting artwork, however, First Friday veterans recommend hitting the district early.

"If you want to look at the work, you have to get there rather early, and then I usually don't last too long because it does get too crowded to even get in and out of places comfortably," says Lawrence artist Lisa Grossman, who shows her paintings at the Dolphin. "I'm not really into that, but a lot of people are."

Eddins and Kuhn admit that the multitudes who flock to First Fridays have driven the collectors away from the openings. Fortunately, they still come later in the week.

And new customers occasionally crop up from among the First Fridays legions as well.

"First Fridays is a social event, no doubt about it," Vertacnik says. "But in the flash in the pan way of seeing things so quickly, it IS a means of enticing you to come back."