While many children spend their summers playing sports and spending time with friends, two Gardner sisters are also sharing their artwork with visitors from around the globe.
Abby, age 9, and her sister MaryAlice, age 12, are among the artists featured at the City of Entrepreneurs Marketplace during the 2026 FIFA World Cup festivities at Union Station in Kansas City.
Their work is represented through The Collective Heart Creative, a nonprofit arts organization based in Ottawa, Kansas, that was selected to participate in the marketplace. The organization's booth features work from 36 Kansas artists ranging in age from 9 to 77.
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Abby began making magnets when she was just six years old. When she's not creating, she enjoys soccer, animals, and spending time with her friends.
"I like creating things because it is relaxing, fun, and takes my mind off of things," Abby said.
MaryAlice loves painting and creating mixed-media artwork using found objects and sparkly treasures. She enjoys bringing ideas from her vivid imagination to life and especially loves making gifts for friends and family.
"I like making things because I can make it into anything," MaryAlice said.
The sisters are among four youth artists featured in The Collective Heart Creative's World Cup booth, giving them the unique opportunity to have their work viewed by visitors from all 50 states and more than 100 countries.
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"One of the things we love most about this opportunity is being able to include artists of all ages," said Dawnua Dawson, founding member of The Collective Heart Creative. "It's exciting to watch young artists like Abby and MaryAlice realize that their creativity has value and that something they made can be appreciated by people from all over the world."
One of the goals of The Collective Heart Creative is to help artists of all ages move beyond creating at the kitchen table and into opportunities where they can share their work with others. Whether through classes, teaching opportunities, retail sales, exhibitions, community projects, or events like the World Cup Marketplace, the organization works to create meaningful experiences that help artists grow in confidence and reach new audiences.
For Abby and MaryAlice, that means having their work displayed alongside experienced artists and shared with visitors from around the world. It's an opportunity few young artists experience and one that demonstrates the power of creativity to connect people across generations and cultures.
For more information about The Collective Heart Creative, visit www.thecollectiveheartcreative.org.
This article is based on a press release from The Collective Heart Creative.
