ARTS & CULTURE

Springfield has dozens of private art galleries, as well as a public art museum housing nearly 9,000 art objects representing thousands of years of culture. On the first Friday of every month, downtown galleries and local businesses open their doors for Art Walk, a free event featuring revolving exhibits of the best local painters, photographers, sculptors and mixed media artists. Festivals throughout the year like Artsfest and Cider Days also attract hundreds of regional and national artists to display their works.

Springfield offers a rich and varied live performance scene. Ozarks Lyric Opera, formerly known as Springfield Regional Opera, presents a diverse repertoire of productions designed to make opera accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The Springfield Ballet stages classical, contemporary, and seasonal productions throughout the year. Led by Conductor and Music Director Kyle Wiley Pickett, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra is Southwest Missouri’s largest professional regional orchestra, performing at the 2,264-seat Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts each season. Juanita K. also hosts Broadway touring productions, children’s programming, and national performers throughout the year. 

If your inner artist needs a creative outlet from time to time, Springfield, MO has plenty of studios for aspiring potters and painters. Or couples just looking for a different type of date night. Springfield has an AR Workshop that sells DIY kits, leads woodworking classes and hosts kids parties. Both the north and south sides of town have pottery studios. Firehouse Pottery is nestled in quaint Galloway Village, and Artistree Pottery  in the historic Rountree neighborhood. Feeling more adventurous in your artistic pursuits? 

Springfield and the surrounding region have plenty of options for catching live music. Great Southern Bank Arena on the Missouri State University campus has hosted a wide range of national acts over the years. The O’Reilly Family Event Center on the Drury University campus regularly brings in touring artists. The Gillioz Center for Arts and Entertainment and Juanita K. Hammons Hall round out the indoor options, each offering a distinct atmosphere and acoustic experience.

The outdoor concert scene in the Ozarks has grown significantly in recent years. About an hour south of Springfield, Thunder Ridge Nature Arena is a 20,000-seat nature amphitheater located in the heart of the Missouri Ozark Mountains, overlooking Table Rock Lake. Part of the Big Cedar Lodge footprint and envisioned by Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, the venue has hosted some of the biggest names in music, with recent shows including the Rolling Stones, Morgan Wallen, and Guns N’ Roses. For a more intimate outdoor experience, Black Oak Amphitheater, also near Table Rock Lake, draws a steady slate of national country, rock, and Americana acts each summer.

If you prefer the silver screen to the stage, Springfield has a strong and growing lineup of options. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on South Avenue offers a full dine-in experience, with gourmet food, craft beers, and handcrafted cocktails served right to your seat, along with a strict no-talking, no-texting policy that keeps the focus on the film. 

Downtown Springfield has become a genuine cinema hub with two locally owned theaters side by side. College Station Theaters reopened in November 2024 under local ownership after renovations that added Dolby Atmos audio, laser projection, and heated reclining seats across its 14 auditoriums. The theater also features partnerships with local businesses including Big Slice Pizza, Coffee Ethic, Pineapple Whip, and a 1984 Arcade space, making it more than just a place to catch a movie. One block south, the Moxie Cinema is a nonprofit, community-supported arthouse theater known for showcasing independent, foreign, documentary, and classic films. The two-screen venue also hosts filmmaker Q&As, thematic film series, and free monthly screenings for kids.

When driving or strolling through Springfield, especially downtown, there’s a good chance you’ll pass a striking sculpture or large-scale mural. Sculpture Walk Springfield displays quality sculptures in public spaces on an annually rotating schedule, with each collection in place from April through March of the following year. Now in its 10th year, the program has grown to include both rotating works and permanent installations spread throughout the downtown streetscape. An interactive map on their website makes it easy to find every piece. 

St. Louis Street has emerged as a particularly rich corridor for public art, rooted in Springfield’s identity as the Birthplace of Route 66. A six-story mural at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and St. Louis Street now greets travelers along the historic Route 66 corridor, depicting an Ozarks hiker surrounded by native wildlife including deer, turtle, rabbit, and bobcat. The street also recently welcomed Queen’s Gate 66, a 20-foot illuminated monument in the shape of a crown installed near St. Louis Street and Glenstone Avenue, serving as a gateway landmark for Route 66 travelers and a nod to Springfield’s nickname as the Queen City of the Ozarks. The city’s broader mural collection continues to grow across neighborhoods, recreation centers, and greenway trails throughout Springfield.