Kelly Yarbrough is a Kansas-based artist whose work is an ecosystem of mixed media drawing, arts administration, and environmental engagement. Her studio practice centers on large-scale, mixed media drawings that reflect an ongoing relationship with the tallgrass prairie—one of the most endangered ecosystems on Earth. Her work invites a sense of intimacy with place and seek to cultivate a deeper literacy of the landscapes we call home.

Kelly holds an MFA from Kansas State University and a BA in Art and English from Austin College. In 2016, she founded the Tallgrass Artist Residency, a program that hosts prairie-connected artists in the tiny rural community of Matfield Green, KS. She has connected with communities across Kansas through work with the Kansas Arts Commission, has taught foundations courses at Kansas State University, and served as Board President of Shadowcliff Lodge in Grand Lake, Colorado, helping to launch a new artist residency program. Between 2023-2025, Kelly participated in the inaugural Wildfire + Water Residency at PLAYA Summer Lake in Oregon. She is an Artist INC peer facilitator, founder of the Manhattan Seed Swap, a so-so gardener, and a pretty good dog mom.

Her writing and artwork have been featured in publications such as The New Territory Magazine, Contra Viento, and Symphony of the Flint Hills Field Journal, and she has presented at TEDx Austin College.