About Creative Spark Gallery & Studios @ Englewood Row
Creative Spark Gallery at Englewood Row is a vibrant new art gallery and studio hub in the heart of Independence’s Englewood Arts District. Featuring monthly juried art exhibits, weekly classes, and a lively Third Friday Art Walk with live music and vendors. The space supports eight rentable studios for new and emerging artists working in fine art, fashion, and jewelry. The Spark is all about community-focused programming with classes and events in fine art, oil painting, storytelling, poetry, and artist entrepreneurship. Creative Spark’s vision is to reignite artistic energy and connect the creative community among Independence and KC area creatives.
History:
The Englewood Row Art and Gallery Space is in Jackson County and has been a longtime arts hub. In the 1940s, it was the headquarters of A.V. Cauger Service Inc., a motion picture production and distribution company. The owner, Scott Cauger, remembers as playing the part of an extra in commercials filmed there. After the actors and film crew shot the films, they were edited, delivered, shown across in theaters and on television around the country, including across the street at the historic Englewood Theater. We are so glad to be focused on the fine arts on this historic site.
Executive Director: Polly McCann of Creative Spark. Polly consulted on the founding of several regional galleries. She's acted as visiting art and poetry professor for several colleges and universities. For seven years, she was the managing editor of Flying Ketchup Press, even starting her own radio show. She has had a full-time art studio in Kansas City since 2015, first at 1910 Walnut Street in the KC Crossroads, followed by Overland Park's Interurban Arthouse, RiverNorth District, and Gladstone. She credits much of her creative work to her master’s thesis on the subconscious creative process, which won her an Ernest Hartmann Award. Polly's paintings have been published in US newspapers and magazines, most recently Rattle Magazine, and have shown art internationally from Santa Monica to the Netherlands; collected by buyers on four continents. She is the editor of three international poetry anthologies and over twenty-five other titles. She is excited to start her own space with an emphasis on mentorship. She will host weekly Creative Spark Groups with an emphasis on entrepreneurship to inspire artists and writers to get to the next level in their creative work. Polly's clients have won awards like Top 100 Books of the Year, National Children's Book Awards, KC Fringe Fest, numerous grants, and debuted new art and retrospectives. She writes, "Creativity is a daily act of courage that requires us to listen to each other, to share our stories, and to dream big."
Polly is joined by Heather Garrett as Creative Director. Heather is the recreation specialist at North Kansas City Parks and Recreation, where she has helped with the annual events for artists and creatives such as the Arts in the Park for over a decade. She has been a catalyst in the art community in KC, curating 100s of juried art shows and events like Parkville Days.
We are pleased to also have Karen E. Griffin (KE) Lead teaching artist, Kansas City artist, fuses African American textile heritage with vibrant storytelling. She was named 2025 Individual Artist of the Year for Missouri, and won an Artist-in-Residence Grant at Englewood Arts Center 2023-2025. She has exhibited across the metro area and other states, and has been highlighted in Kansas City Studio magazine and The Kansas City Globe.
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