Area residents and frequent travelers to Kansas City will notice that many of the restaurants in the new terminal are smaller versions of neighborhood establishments. Soiree, for example, is an anchor of the 18th and Vine Neighborhood and is located at the site of the historic Street Hotel, an establishment that served Black travelers in the early 20th century. The original restaurant is located near the American Jazz Museum and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and the art and photographs located within the airport version of the restaurant reflect life and history in the 18th and Vine District.

Kansas City muralists Isaac Tapia and Rodrigo Alvarez were chosen to bring this unique location to life in their 3-panel series, “Soiree.” Tapia and Alvarez have been collaborating as the artist team IT-RA Icons since 2017, and have painted over forty murals in the Kansas City area, plus other pieces nationwide. Both artists moved to Kansas City at a young age from outside the U.S.—Rodrigo from Uruguay and Isaac from Mexico City—and honor local communities as well as their unique identities in their art.

The history of American music would be very different without the creative nexus of 18th and Vine, Kansas City’s famous jazz district. The current-day Soiree restaurant sits on the former site of the jazz district’s famed Street Hotel, which included the Blue Room Cocktail Lounge and Restaurant. Since the Street Hotel hosted visiting musicians, the Blue Room Lounge became a natural spot for nightlife, including music and dancing.

Artists Rodrigo Alvarez and Isaac Tapia wanted to capture this creative fusion in their three-part mural for the Kansas City Airport’s version of Soiree Restaurant. The excitement of visiting a jazz club like The Blue Room is represented by the panel on the left, as revelers gather in the street. The center panel is a close-up view of a performer like Billie Holiday on stage, and the third panel captures the passion, exertion, and excitement of dancing to Kansas City’s unique music, being created in real-time.

Many exceptional jazz musicians got their start in Kansas City. Famed saxophonist Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Ben Webster, and Lester Young all played The Blue Room at Street Hotel, and baseball player Jackie Robinson stayed at the hotel during the 1940s while playing for the Kansas City Monarchs. The Street Hotel hosted many important civic and cultural functions. Tapia and Alvarez’s expressive work honors the monumental creativity of the 18th and Vine Jazz District, tying their unique Central and South American roots and their lives as Kansas City artists to a seminal time in American music.

About the Artists, IT-RA Icons. Accessed July 22nd, 2024. https://www.itraicons.com/about.

Learn About Kansas City’s Jazz Heyday!, Mosca.org. October 24th, 2023. Accessed July 22nd, 2024. https://mocsa.org/mocsa-night-out/.