This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

InterUrban ArtHouse is an artist-run 501(c)(3) arts facility at 8001 Newton Street in downtown Overland Park, Kansas, founded in 2011 by artist Nicole Emanuel and housed since 2017 in a converted 10,000-square-foot former USPS sorting facility. The building holds 19 private and shared artist studios, a gallery, and indoor and outdoor performance and rental space, and runs five standing programs spanning studio practice, artist business training, exhibitions, K-12 arts education and arts-based health work. Its name comes from the Missouri–Kansas InterUrban Railway line that once ran the route.

Description

InterUrban ArtHouse is a nonprofit arts facility in downtown Overland Park, Kansas, at 8001 Newton Street. It was founded in 2011 by Nicole Emanuel, an artist with more than thirty years of practice who had previously lived and worked in midtown Kansas City and started the organization in response to what she saw as a shortage of affordable, shared creative space in the metro.12

The organization’s stated mission is “to enrich the cultural and economic vibrancy of the community by creating a place where artists and creative industries can work and prosper in an affordable, sustainable and inclusive environment.”1 It bought and renovated a former United States Postal Service sorting facility, opening the new building — which it calls the ArtSpace — in June 2017.12 The name refers to the Missouri–Kansas InterUrban Railway, the interurban electric line that ran the corridor from roughly 1906 to 1940.1

The ArtSpace is roughly 10,000 square feet and contains 19 single and shared studios occupied by 25 or more multidisciplinary artists, an on-site art-therapy practice, and The LAB — an Art As Mentorship recording studio for young musicians — alongside gallery and event space.1 Studios rent monthly at published rates, with financial assistance available on request, and tenants get 24/7 access and discounted event rentals; applicants are reviewed on a rolling basis and are expected to maintain a consistent practice beyond hobby level, use the studio at least three days a week, and take part in community mentorship and events.3

The building is open to the public six days a week — hours on the organization’s own site list a Tuesday–Wednesday closure, a discrepancy worth resolving — and visitors can drop in for coffee and watch artists working.14

Programming

InterUrban ArtHouse runs five named programs plus a recording studio:5

  • ArtMatters — studio practice support: open studios, live drawing sessions, dance and painting classes, musician jam sessions, critiques and exhibitions. Reported 5,044 participants and 226 artists across five shows in 2025.
  • ArtWorks — entrepreneurial training for working artists covering strategic planning, marketing and communications, grant writing and fundraising, budgeting, accounting and tax, project management and legal practice. Low- or no-cost classes reported 485 artist participants in 2025.
  • ArtConnect — exhibitions and community events, including recurring gatherings, Morning Brew and a Fall Festival, plus rotating exhibitions placed in four corporate annex spaces and nine library locations.
  • ArtSmart — arts enrichment and curriculum integration for pre-K through 12th grade in Title I schools, delivered by contracted local artists in dance, storytelling, music and visual art.
  • ArtHeals — arts-based mental, emotional, physical and community health programming, including an annual six-week exhibition and art-therapist-led workshops; 31 workshops serving 413 participants reported in 2025.
  • The LAB (Art As Mentorship) — an on-site recording studio pairing music production with mentorship for young musicians.

The gallery carries a rotating exhibition schedule; 2026 shows have included a Patterns and Perspectives group exhibition (April 1 – June 21, 2026) and an Art Heals group exhibition (April 17 – May 28, 2026), and the building has hosted outside arts-sector events such as an Art in the Loop information session in February 2026.6 A recurring monthly opening reception is held; sources disagree on whether it falls on the third Thursday or third Friday.45 Programming spans sculpture, painting, dance, poetry and music performance, and the indoor and outdoor event spaces are available for private rental.4

Sources

Footnotes

  1. InterUrban ArtHouse — official “About” page — asserts: founding in 2011 as a 501(c)(3) by artist and community advocate Nicole Emanuel; the mission statement quoted above; address 8001 Newton Street, Overland Park, KS 66204; 2017 purchase and renovation of a former USPS sorting facility; siting along the historic Missouri/Kansas InterUrban Railway route (1906–1940); ~10,000 sq ft with 19 artist studios, gallery and indoor/outdoor performance and rental space; co-directors Wolfe Brack and Brittany Noriega; staff James Faren (grants) and Ellen Creed (financial); phone 913.283.7091; email info@interurbanarthouse.org; public hours. (Accessed 2026-08-13.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. Startland News — “A coworking studio for artists, InterUrban ArtHouse to open in Overland Park” (April 2017) — asserts: founder Nicole Emanuel, a local artist with 30+ years of practice previously based in midtown Kansas City; founding year 2011; the new home as a renovated post office of nearly 10,000 square feet scheduled to open June 15, 2017; initial capacity of 20 to 40 artists across 12 studio spaces; a coffee shop and large programming/exhibition space; Emanuel’s stated rationale of proximity creating opportunity. (Accessed 2026-08-13. Note: studio count has since grown to 19.) ↩ ↩2

  3. InterUrban ArtHouse — official “Artist Studios” page — asserts: 19 private and shared studios in downtown Overland Park; monthly rates of $325 (15’x11’ private), $225 (12’x9’ private) and $180 (8’x13’ shared); financial assistance available on request; 24/7 access; 50% discount on event rentals; on-site gallery and event space; rolling application review and its requirements; expectations of consistent practice, minimum three days weekly use, and community participation; address, phone and email. (Accessed 2026-08-13.) ↩

  4. Visit Overland Park — official destination-marketing directory listing, InterUrban ArtHouse — asserts: InterUrban ArtHouse as a collaborative space hosting artists, performers and creative industries at 8001 Newton Street; phone (913) 283-7091; open to the public six days a week; monthly reception; disciplines including sculpture, painting, dance, poetry and music performance. (Accessed 2026-08-13.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. InterUrban ArtHouse — official “Program Overview” page — asserts: the five programs (ArtMatters, ArtWorks, ArtConnect, ArtSmart, ArtHeals) and their descriptions; The LAB / Art As Mentorship recording studio; 2025 participation figures (5,044 ArtMatters participants and 226 artists across five shows; 485 ArtWorks participants; 31 ArtHeals workshops serving 413 participants); rotating exhibitions in four corporate annex spaces and nine library locations. (Accessed 2026-08-13.) ↩ ↩2

  6. InterUrban ArtHouse — official event calendar — asserts: an active 2026 exhibition and event schedule, including a Patterns and Perspectives group exhibition (April 1 – June 21, 2026) and an Art Heals group exhibition (April 17 – May 28, 2026), evidencing current operation. (Accessed 2026-08-13 via search index; hand-verify the individual dates in a browser.) ↩

See also

  • Registry
Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/interurban-arthouse · record updated 2026-08-13