While returning artists made up the majority of the 2008 Kansas City Flatfile participants, new and younger artists, recommended by their peers, helped to grow the exhibition to more than 180 participants. This biennial exhibition began in 2001 in collaboration with Brooklyn-based Pierogi Gallery flatfiles. Kansas City Flatfile has become a much-anticipated venue to discover new artists, see new bodies of artwork by familiar artists and purchase or barter for artworks for addition to a growing number of Kansas City art collections.

The guest curators were Joe Armhein, Barry Anderson, Jim Brinsfield, David Ford, David Gant, Kate Hackman, Bruce Hartman, Robert Heishman, Sean Kelley, Heather Lustfeldt, Owen Martin, Sarah Mote, Steve Proski, Raechell Smith, and Jaimie Warren.