Artistic Champions: The new "Personal Best" gallery is an innovative take on traditional art collections at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

When I think of athletes, I think of the rigid and sharp repetitions that they practice for their sport. Artists, on the other hand, are flowy and easy-going to me as they form abstract shapes that blend seamlessly into each other on the canvas.

“Personal Best,” a new exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, aims to break the pre-conceived notions between athletes and artists and showcase the duality of the two.

For my highly anticipated quarterly trip to the museum, I decided to explore the “Personal Best” exhibit, inspired by the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Kansas City’s role in hosting some of the matches.

“Personal Best” is a refreshing addition to the Nelson-Atkins due to its modern artists, digital additions — including a video displayed on a TV — and a diverse range of art.

The exhibit features artists who are also athletes, ranging from rock climbers and martial artists to football players and cyclists. Their pieces include varying art mediums, consisting of delicate glass sculptures, colorful paintings and hypnotizing prints. Showcasing individuals with interests in two vastly different areas was a creative shift from the “typical” collections at the Nelson-Atkins.

Located in Gallery L8, the free exhibit showcases over 10 different paintings, prints and sculptures from six athlete-artists until Aug. 9, 2026.

“Personal Best” included artists who are currently living, not ones who passed away seemingly millennia ago, like so many of the exhibits at the Nelson-Atkins.

Yes, I can see the appeal of traditional oil paintings that depict elegant women holding grapes in flowy gowns or enchanting woodland landscapes. I’ll be the first one to admit that losing yourself in the beautifully depicted scenes is an addictive pastime.

However, admiring art that I know was created only months or years prior connects with me more because I can relate to the themes explored. For example, I could see the resilience portrayed in martial arts fighter and multidisciplinary artist Thea Wolfe’s collages made of paint swatches that featured bruised athletes.

The other artists featured in “Personal Best” include distance runner Kate Clements, who made a glass installation inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and distance cyclist TJ Templeton, who layered drawings and images of bicycles to create another collage.

Even the descriptions of the art — that are usually dense and filled with historical jargon — were conversational and funny at times. For example, post-digital printmaker and shotokan karate practitioner Mike Lyon wrote a step-by-step tutorial on how he made his piece “Kit.”

Of course, I don’t ever expect to whip out the photo I took of the sign and follow the tutorial to recreate one of Lyon’s pieces. However, his descriptions were something that centuries-old art has never come close to achieving.

Besides the contemporary artists, the digital pieces that were added to the exhibit drew me in as a viewer and kept me engaged throughout the experience.

One of these digital pieces was the TV that played a continual loop of a video featuring all of the artists from the exhibit. Not only was it helpful to hear the artists break down their pieces, but I also learned about the inspiration behind the exhibit as a whole — to allow artists to express their hobbies through their work.

“‘Personal Best’ is a really great concept because it leaves room for failure and growth,” Wolfe said in the video. “Both martial arts and visual arts, for me, are about coming to understand myself and understand the world, especially people.”

Besides the video, I was able to see what the artists looked like through the descriptions of their art. These small plaques included portraits of the artists and bullet points of the sport they played. Being able to see each artist added a more personal aspect to the experience, as I was able to imagine each one sitting in their studio and creating the artwork in front of me.

Through the Nelson-Atkins’ curating of each piece in the collection, it’s clear that all the athlete-artists perfected their craft — achieving a personal best.