Megan Mantia (’06 Printmaking & Art History)
A collaborative Producer and Art Department Coordinator whose bicoastal career shapes contemporary visual culture by bringing ambitious creative visions to life.
Megan Mantia (’06 Printmaking & Art History) has built a career rooted in collaboration, creativity, and behind-the-scenes impact shaping some of the most recognizable moments in contemporary visual culture.
Working in high-level production and pursuing roles in art department coordination and direction, Mantia has contributed to music videos for Adele (“I Drink Wine”) and Drake (“Nice For What”) and collaborated with A$AP Rocky, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé, including an unreleased video for Beyoncé’s landmark album Renaissance, demonstrating how her inclusive, team-focused approach has brought her to the industry’s highest levels.
She credits her time at the Kansas City Art Institute with laying the foundation for her collaborative approach. “I would say that KCAI was one of the happiest times of my life,” she said. “I wanted something that felt homey and intimate, and it gave me all of that. I met people who have influenced my life forever.”
Mantia quickly found her creative footing on campus, where printmaking and the creative freedom it offered began to reshape her path. Although she initially envisioned a future in museums, gaining hands-on experience through internships at the H&R Block Artspace (now the Emily & Todd Voth Artspace), the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, a growing spirit of exploration expanded her horizons and came to define her KCAI experience.
“I would say that KCAI was one of the happiest times of my life. I wanted something that felt homey and intimate, and it gave me all of that. I met people who have influenced my life forever.”
From Liberal Arts classes that she says “changed my brain forever” to mentorship from faculty like bookmaking professor Carl Kurtz, Mantia attributes her discovery of both her voice and her community to her time at KCAI.
Her time at school was also defined by bold advocacy. As one of the longest-running members of the radical cheerleading group Rah Booty!, Mantia helped merge performance and activism in ways that became legendary within the KCAI community and even drew national attention through an MTV contest appearance.
Collaborative Force
After graduation, fellow alum Cody Critcheloe (‘03 Printmaking) reached out about a film project at Grand Arts, opening the door to a new direction in Mantia’s career. Immersed in the collaborative, experimental environment there, she gained her first deep experience in production and set the tone for everything that followed.
In Kansas City, Mantia became a key force in the region’s creative ecosystem. She spent three years assisting artist Sissel Tolaas on the ambitious SmellScape project across both Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, and later served on the board of the Kansas City Film Office, advocating for the city’s expanding film community.
Mantia has played a central role in bringing major productions to Kansas City, coordinating projects such as Perfume Genius’s “Queen” music video, hosting the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a local shoot, and managing the scrappy, pandemic-era production of Yves Tumor’s “Kerosene.” Each project reinforced her reputation as a connector who can bring people together to make ambitious ideas happen.
Grammy Recognition
That collaborative spirit came full circle in a recent project with Critcheloe for Perfume Genius’s album Glory. The album cover and music videos shoot, held in Raytown, Missouri, featured an all-alumni crew, including Oz Overshiner (‘24 Filmmaking), Bella Cordero (‘24 Filmmaking), and Zak Gorsuch (‘24 Filmmaking), affectionately dubbed “The Three Musketeers.” The project went on to earn a 2026 Grammy Award nomination, marking a milestone for Mantia and her extended KCAI network.
Now based in Los Angeles, she continues work with big-name artists, each production reinforcing her reputation for bringing complex creative visions to life through collaborative teamwork.
“I have found so much joy in collaboration. Not doing everything alone and knowing that you don't have to carry the burden of all art processes by yourself is really huge. That should be emphasized more, because having a village is a really beautiful thing,” Mantia said.
Alongside her work on global stages, Mantia remains deeply committed to Kansas City’s creative future. She continues producing projects with local director Christopher Good and is developing a new feature film, “Fear of Sleep”, with potential for a Sundance Film Festival debut in the coming years.
Image: Glory, Perfume Genius (2025)