Brothers behind new show at Zhou B Art Center KC paint space as gift to creatives, community

The Zhou B Art Center KC is going to be the next hub for great art, Bryce Holt shared, and he’s thrilled to be a part of it.

The Overland Park-based artist’s “The Bible in Art” is on display at the new art center, located in the former Crispus Attucks School — which underwent a $27 million renovation — in Kansas City’s historic 18th and Vine district.

Bryce Holt’s Old Testament collection from “The Bible in Art” at the Zhou B Art Center KC; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Holt’s Old Testament collection — the first 39 paintings — will be on display through the end of February, with the New Testament collection — the final 27 paintings — featured March 2 to April 6.

“It’s an absolute gift,” Holt said of the in-the-works arts center. “I don’t know its legacy yet, but I think all artists in Kansas City will want to be involved with this place. So to get to open it with such a big show — so much of my own work — it’s flattering.”

The collection — curated by Holt and his brother — is free to view 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, but reservations are required.

Holt’s showing is part of the soft opening for the Zhou B Art Center KC, which was founded by the Zhou Brothers — Shanzuo Zhoushi and Dahuang Zhoushi — renowned Chinese painters who are based in Chicago and have a sister art center there. With just finishing touches left like landscaping, they are hoping for a grand opening celebration for the art center in May, according to Art Director and Curator Izzy Vivas.

From the archives: Historic School In Kansas City’s 18th And Vine District Slated To Reopen As Zhou B Art Center

The brothers were captivated by the building — which was built in 1905 as an African American school and is listed on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places — when they toured Kansas City with Allan Gray, an arts advocate and partner on the project.

Zhou B Art Center KC; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“The Zhou Brothers honestly just fell in love with this space and were guided by their intuition,” Vivas explained. “They’re like, ‘Something is right. The Spirit is here and that connected them.”

“That’s when they started looking at the renovation process and figuring out ways to preserve as much of the school as possible,” she added, noting they broke ground on the project in October 2022.

The Zhou B Arts Center KC is expected to include exhibition spaces, 45 artists studios (which they are currently leasing), and three event spaces, Vivas noted, which will be used for community and private events. 

“18th and Vine has such a rich history, so we’re making sure that we’re preserving the history,” she said. “We’re reaching out to the community. We’re engaging different elements of Kansas City, participating in things like First Friday, and then showcasing the artists that we have here to tell their stories and get their perspective.”

The center also plans to offer programming for artists and to give them a platform through Artsy, an online global marketplace, she shared. The exhibit spaces will feature not only local artists, but national artists, as well, said Vivas.

“The arts center will serve as an anchor for making Kansas City itself a center for the arts in the Midwest,” she added.

Bryce Holt at the Zhou B Art Center KC; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

An unexpected, but perfect creative space

While searching for a venue to display Bryce Holt’s collection of Bible paintings, his brother and business partner, Kyle Holt, found the Zhou B Art Center KC on Instagram and decided to take a tour.

“By the time we had gotten back to my house — where Bryce was working at the time — we were about 90 percent sure that we wanted to take a studio space here,” recalled Kyle Holt, who noted they weren’t even looking for such an opportunity.

“I walked in here and I’m like, ‘This is the place that I want to create every day,’” Bryce Holt added.

It was the perfect match at the perfect time, continued Kyle Holt, who co-founded the art business The Patrons with his brother.

Bryce Holt's Old Testament collection from “The Bible in Art” at the Zhou B Art Center KC; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Bryce Holt's Old Testament collection from “The Bible in Art” at the Zhou B Art Center KC; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“To have Bryce’s show be the first show that was ever going to happen here at the Zhou B — we knew that there would be construction going on and we knew it might be a little messy and a little difficult — but nobody can ever take that away,” he said. “We just felt like this is a great fit for where Bryce wants to take his art and me being able to work with Izzy and her team.”

The Holt brothers — who co-founded a tech software startup together before selling it — grew up in an entrepreneurial environment, Kyle Holt noted, and working in a space like this, surrounded by other artists, reminds them of an incubator for entrepreneurs.

“It harkened back to our business background,” he continued, “and knowing that we would be surrounded by professionals and the next generation of artists, it just felt right.”

“Just having a space with people who have been doing it alone — or in their little spheres of influence — suddenly explode onto the scene and be able to have this circle of reciprocity, it’s a powerful thing for us,” Bryce Holt added.

“The Valley” (representing the book of Psalms) from Bryce Holt’s Old Testament collection from “The Bible in Art” at the Zhou B Art Center KC; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Hidden in the Bible, collection

On top of joining a community of fellow artists, Bryce Holt — a self-taught painter who decided to try his hand at the arts full time once they sold their tech startup — was also excited to find a place large enough to display his complete “The Bible in Art” 66-painting collection, he said, albeit in two selections at different times. 

“It’s kind of like everything came together at the right time for me to have produced this work, to have found a place that could house it, to have leveled up to the point where I actually deserve to even remotely be in a space like this,” he explained. “It’s a great amount of gratitude for all things coming at the right time.”

The collection — which has a painting for each book of the Bible — took Holt 11 months to complete and spans 270 feet (nearly the length of a football field) if the paintings were to be laid end to end, he noted

“It’s 800 square feet of art,” he added. “It was an immense undertaking. I really did not know what I was getting into.” 

“Tabula Ecclesiastes” (representing the book of Ecclesiastes) from Bryce Holt’s Old Testament collection from “The Bible in Art” at the Zhou B Art Center KC; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

The paintings give a modern aesthetic to the ancient texts, shared Bryce Holt — who describes himself as a Christian. He read each of the books of the Bible, as well as researching them, while working on the project.

“Religion is still necessary,” he explained of the story behind the collection. “There is a component here that — while beautiful — there’s modern stories hidden in these very ancient texts. There’s stories that you’ve never heard that are really important to hear now — more than just going to Christmas and Easter services. There’s a lot of other interesting stories hidden inside this book.”

Bryce Holt’s most meaningful painting from the collection: one that depicts the book of Psalms — “The Valley” — which comes from the text about the valley of the shadow of death. It represents his own death, which he sees not as scary, but as an adventure. Suited in astronaut suits, his wife and daughter stand beside him — still weighed down with the backpacks of life — ready to usher him off into the great unknown.

“I literally painted how optimistic I am for my own death and the unshackling, the unburdening of life,” he explained.

The painting for Ecclesiasties — Tabula Ecclesiastes — is Kyle Holt’s favorite. With the characters of Richard Scarry illustrating the seasons of life, he said, it invokes a feeling of nostalgia, remembering when he read those books as a child and now to his own children.