A historic downtown Olathe building is now home to an art gallery featuring pottery, paintings and a range of other pieces.
The Olathe Art Gallery — formerly First Art Gallery of Olathe — has officially relocated from its former spot on the corner of 127th Street and Mur-Len Road.
The gallery held its grand opening in its new downtown Olathe digs at the beginning of March.
Olathe Art Gallery moved into 100 E. Park St.
- The art gallery moved into a space on the ground level of the Park Cherry Building (on the corner of Park and Cherry streets), near bakery and cafe Park Street Pastry.
- Before Olathe Art Gallery relocated, it operated at 127th Street and Mur-Len Road for roughly six years.
- The gallery’s downtown space is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
This is the gallery’s fourth space in Olathe
Olathe Art Gallery initially opened in 2007, at the now-demolished Great Mall of Great Plains.
In 2009, the gallery moved to the Olathe Station shopping center at 119th Street and Black Bob Road. It stayed there for a decade before moving to the Devonshire Village shopping center at 127th Street and Mur-Len Road.
Upon walking into the Olathe Art Gallery, guests are met with a wide range of artwork — from paintings and photography to pottery and jewelry.
“I always like to tell people that we’re kind of like an indoor art fair,” said Ruth Bakovac, artist and instructor with the Olathe Art Gallery. “We try to get a variety of artists, and we try to make sure that they’re not competing against each other by doing the same things.”
In addition to the artwork available for viewing and purchasing, Olathe Art Gallery also offers a variety of classes and events for both kids and adults, such as canvas painting and sculpting, drawing.
Olathe Art Gallery also shares the space with Olathe Visual Artists, a nonprofit geared toward expanding the presence of fine arts and promoting local artists in Olathe.
Downtown Olathe is seeing a lot of changes
Olathe Art Gallery comes as the latest in a growing number of new businesses downtown, amid the city’s ongoing efforts to reimagine the area.
Just a few doors down from the gallery on Cherry Street, Austins Bar & Grill will open in 2026. The restaurant will serve as one of multiple new restaurants in a redeveloped project dubbed County Square Commons.
Three popular Kansas City, Missouri eateries, Pizza 51, Char Bar and Third Street Social also plan to open new locations in downtown Olathe.
Bukovac said the gallery had been eyeing downtown for a while before it actually got the chance to move there. So in a way, this new chapter feels like a full-circle moment.
“We were wanting to be where we could do the most good for the most community,” Bukovac said. “They’re trying to revitalize downtown, and we wanted to be part of the revitalization too.”
As the area grows and changes, she said, she hopes the gallery can be a part of it — through both city events and increased exposure.
“We’re all really pumped, because we want to be a part of this,” she said. “It’s a new location, and it’s a different environment altogether. It seems more conducive to us.”
Want more local business news? Pickleball club coming to Olathe spot that used to be a Hobby Lobby
