Heart celebrates women business owners

This spring and summer the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is hosting “Takes Heart” as part of the Parade of Hearts public art project in Kansas City, Missouri. The five-by-five-foot fiberglass heart, by artist Laura Noll Crossley, “celebrates the courage, creativity, and tenacity of Kansas City’s women+ entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses.”

Located at the northeast corner of the Foundation’s entrance on Rockhill Road, the heart is a riot of color – and interactive. Visitors are encouraged to touch their smartphones to the sparkling tiles to discover inspiring stories, a directory of women-owned businesses, and entrepreneurial resources. Visitors can also add their own favorite businesses to the list.

Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, Kauffman president and CEO, said it means a lot to her for the Foundation to be part of the Parade of Hearts. This year, we will sponsor six hearts, including “Takes Heart.”

“The heart is representative of Kansas City – of us being the heartland – but this entire experience, just how it has brought our community together, how it pushes us all over the city to find the hearts, to learn more about each other, to learn more about the city … I think Mr. K would like it,” she said.

Our founder, Ewing Marion Kauffman believed Kansas City was the heart of the country. “And the work that we do, is at the heart,” Dr. Burns-Wallace said. “So, I love being a part of it.”

The following hearts are sponsored by the Foundation:

Crossley hopes her heart art will generate enough momentum to get every women entrepreneur in Kansas City onto the “Takes Heart” database “Takes Heart really aims to connect the community with women-owned businesses with this pretty cool hidden tech feature,” Crossley said.

By touching a smart phone to a glittered tile, it unlocks a webpage that highlights each business. “The whole goal is to connect our community with those women-owned businesses, so that you can start to support them in ways that maybe you hadn’t imagined before.”

Crossley is a Kansas City-based designer and marketer. Her passion and inspiration to support women-owned businesses stems from her own experiences as an entrepreneur, mother, and community advocate for small businesses.

“Where this heart has landed means the world to me, and I know that it’s hugely impactful to the women that are part of this artwork,” she said. “Having Kauffman behind the scenes, creating these amazing experiences of connecting women-owned businesses at the kickoff party, connecting the community to these entrepreneurs, and connecting these entrepreneurs with the resources that they need to grow has been fundamental to what Kauffman has been doing all along. But now, there’s artwork that represents a lot of that, and the collision of those things together could not have been more natural.”

The Parade of Hearts has become an iconic tradition in Kansas City. It invites local artists to decorate hearts that showcase the creativity and diversity of our city. The Parade of Hearts kicked off this year with a reveal event April 13 at the American Royal Governor’s Expo, where an estimated 70,000 visitors were able to view all 101 hearts and sponsors and artists came together with community to celebrate.

Following the event, the hearts took their places around the city. Engage with the Parade of Hearts from April to August by following the map of heart locations or use the app. In October, some of the hearts will be auctioned off to raise funds for local charities.

Check out images from the Parade of Hearts reveal event April 13 with women-owned businesses Glam Cam, The Orange Ampersand, Sugerfold, and Wild Way Coffee, who joined us to celebrate the event. We also enjoyed time with artist Laura Noll Crossley once her heart, ‘Takes Heart’, was installed at the entrance to the Kauffman Foundation on Rockhill Rd.