Charlotte Street Foundation

Eyes of the World, curated by Heather Lustfeldt and on view at Paragraph + Project Space Feburary 20-April 4 features works by artists currently working within CSF’s Urban Culture Project Studio Residency Program, which awards free studios for one year terms to promising and accomplished Kansas City area artists in need of dedicated space in which to work among a community of artist peers. The exhibition includes new work by Audra Brandt, Heather Brown, Brent Cox, Justin Farkas, Rachelle Gardner, Robert Heishman, Erica Leohner, Jessica Owings, Lee Piechocki, Julie Potratz, Allan Winkler, and Graham Zuelke.

The following events upcoming events are planned in conjunction with the show:
Saturday, March 28, noon, Paragraph gallery: The Exchange - Participating artists will engage in a lively discussion and critique about their individual processes and the work in the show, followed by a studio tour. Audience participation will be encouraged.
Third Friday, March 20, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Paragraph + Project Space- An evening of live performance, music and a few surprises by participating artists and others.
Read the full press release.

Missouri Bank’s Crossroads Branch, 125 Southwest Boulevard, debuts four new commissioned images on its “Artboards” on Feburary 6, by Kansas City based artists Archie Scott Gobber and Miki Baird. Gobber’s images, to be displayed side-by-side, reference, and literally illustrate, the buzzword that so pervaded the recent presidential election, while also capitalizing on the nature of the billboard itself as something temporary, to be replaced in the near future with  a different message. Miki Baird’s “Urban Deposit” draws upon her interest in pedestrian waste—“litter, trash and ‘stuff’—the kind of things we all leave behind.” For this piece, Baird walked around the Crossroads area photographing plastic bottles, cups, and discarded wrappers, in situ and close-up, then combined dozens of these small images to create a larger pattern.

The “Artboards” project began last fall, when the building’s existing double-sided billboards were renovated and converted into a highly visible site for work by area artists as part of Missouri Bank’s purchase and renovation of the building. Designed by Helix Architecture + Design, Missouri Bank’s  was the first Kansas City area building project to gain “Art Achievement” through Art through Architecture (AtA), a partnership of American Institute of Architects-Kansas City and Charlotte Street Foundation designed to encourage collecting and commissioning work by Kansas City area artists through architectural practice. Read the full press release. Visit AtA’s NEW WEBSITE: www.ArtArch.org.

CSF’s Urban Culture Project invites proposals from artists and curators working in all disciplines interested n producing programming for its Paragraph, Project Space, and la Esquina venues.  Proposals accepted will include, but are not limited to, visual art exhibitions, installations, original live performances (dance, theater, music, performance art, spoken word), video, literary readings, and hybrid forms thereof.  UCP favors work that is contemporarily relevant, site-specific, experimental, and/or collaborative in nature.  Proposals will be reviewed by UCP’s Curatorial Committee, a multidisciplinary panel of Kansas City area artists and arts professionals. Notification of acceptance will be provided within 4-8 weeks of submission deadline.  Deadline is February 23, 2009 – for programming April-December 2009. For complete information and application, click here. 

UCP also seeks applications from artists interested in being considered for its Studio Residency Program. The Studio Residency Program provides free studio spaces for one year terms to talented and dedicated local artists in need of space in which to work.  The Studio Residency Program is currently housed at two locations: Bonfils, a storefront space at 125 East 12th Street accommodating seven artists at one time; and on the 13th floor at pARTnership Place, 906 Grand, also accommodating approximately seven artists.  Deadline is March 1 for studios beginning April 2009. For complete info and application, click here.

Kansas City Electronic Music Alliance returns to Urban Culture Project’s la Esquina on Tuesday, February 17, 7:30pm for a one-night concert of live electronic music and multimedia featuring music by James Mobberley, Jacob Gotlib, Matt Dotson, Peter Lawless, and special guest Sonict Duo, with performances by Rebecca Ashe, flute and Timothy Eshing, viola,  and video by Bart Woodstrup and Sonict. Doors open at 7pm; suggested donation $5.

The Kansas City Electronic Music Alliance (KCEMA) was founded in 2007 to promote electronic and experimental music of all types and genres across the Kansas City area. Special guests Sonict, comprised of Jeff Herriott and Matt Sintchak, formed in 2005 with a goal of sonic exploration in new media and aesthetic style. Sonict has recently performed at Hallwalls contemporary arts center, the Third Practice Festival, UW-Milwaukee’s Unruly Music series, and at The Stone in NY as part of a solo Jeff Herriott recital. This spring, Sonict will be in residence at UMKC, the Kansas City Art Institute, Clarke College, and Iowa State University. Read the full press release.

The Coppelia Project is a non verbal “clown ballet” created and directed by Kansas City based writer, director and performer Heidi Van.  Based (loosely) on the ballet Coppelia, which is (even more loosely) based on a story by German Romantic writer ETA Hoffman called “The Sandman” (”Der Sandman”), The Coppelia Project debuted at the Kansas City Fringe Festival to rave reviews in the summer of 2008. (see past press) It returns, in a new incarnation adapted specifically for la Esquina, including a site-specific video installation by Kansas City visual artist Susan White. In addition, this run  at la Esquina features the premiere of a “New Original Work Performance,” also conceived and directed by Heidi Van. Read the full press release.  The series kicks off with a FREE First Friday Event Febuary 6, 7-10pm - with performance teasers and a live performance by BOOM, an experimental music/performance/comedy ensemble.

Featuring a revolving cast, including Vanessa Severo, Ric Averill, Doogin Brown, Kalen Compernolle, Marissa MacKay, Dan Hillaker and Heidi Van, The Coppelia Project will be performed as follows:  Saturdays, February 7 & 14;  Sundays, February 8 & 15; Mondays, February 9, 16 & 23  - all performances at 8PM;$10 (doors open at 7:15pm)

In addition, a NEW ORIGINAL WORK PERFORMANCE conceived by Heidi Van and related to The Coppelia Project, will be performed on the following dates: Fridays, February 13 & 20; Saturday, February 21; and Sunday, February 22 - all performances at 8pm; FREE (doors open at 7:15).

Urban Culture Project invites proposals from artists, curators, and culture producers working in all disciplines interested in producing and presenting projects for UCP’s Paragraph, Project Space and la Esquina venues. Through its contemporary arts programming, UCP seeks to: encourage and foster new and experimental work of the highest quality; provide a platform for presenting work that may be difficult to produce and show elsewhere; engage the participation of a diverse community of artists and cultural producers of all disciplines;  bring together a mix of young, emerging, and established artists, including local, regional and national artists; and  foster collaboration and exchange among artists, arts and cultural organizations,  and audiences.

Proposals accepted will include, but are not limited to, visual art exhibitions, installations, original live performances (dance, theater, music, performance art, spoken word), film and video screenings, literary readings, lectures and other public programs, and hybrid forms thereof. Deadline is January 29, 2010. Download an application here. Proposals will be considered primarily for fall 2010 through spring 2011 slots; one-night or short-term projects might be scheduled sooner as program calendar allows.

UCP also seeks proposals for temporal, site-specific activities for the “Training Room,” a project organized by Michael Schonhoff  as part of his upcoming exhibition You’re Such A Good Sport (Paragraph/Project Space, March 19-May 6, 2010), which explores and mines the visual language of sport, sports culture, and gamesmanship.  For this project, Project Space will become a site for short-term (1-2 day) projects that exemplify ideas of “training” or “practice,” and are inspired by or address the subject or language of sport(s) in some manner. Deadline is  January 9, 2010. Download an application here.

CSF’s Urban Culture Project kicks off 2009 with a Third Friday event on January 16, 6-9pm, featuring the openings of two new exhibitions plus open studios.

Free Will: Image and Linear Sequence, Paragraph Gallery, 23 East 12th Street, features the work of Cortney Andrews, Adam Cruces and Martin Murphy - all three graduates of Kansas City Art Institute now working in New York. Curated by CSF Programs Manager Jared Panick, the exhibition features photographs, digital prints, video, sculpture, and multi-media works that employ non-linear approaches to the conveyance of time, place and narrative in order to evoke and invoke the complex manner in which humans process information and attempt to make sense of the world.  Read the full press release.

On the Up Side: New Work by Angela Lopez, Project Space, 21 East 12th Street, includes large-scale watercolor paintings on paper, oil paintings on canvas, drawings, and ceramic sculptures.  With this Kansas City-based artist’s debut solo exhibition, she tackles global events, attempting to bring serious political issues and actions into a more personal realm of understanding.  “Made with a tired yet still hopeful public in mind,” Lopez’s work aims to provoke consideration of such serious topics as war and climate change in a nuanced, non-bombastic manner. Read the full press release.

Both exhibitions run January 16 through February 12. Gallery hours are Thursday + Saturday, 12-5pm.  Also on January 16, 6-9pm, the thirteen artists in UCP’s Studio Residency Program, at Bonfils (125 East 12th) and pARTnership Place (906 Grand, 13th floor) host Open Studios.

Channeling, curated by Chicago-based artists/curators Latham Zearfoss and Ethan White, features the work of eight film and video artists who use their bodies and stories as conduits to channel the political and historical dramas that haunt the queer experience.  In a highly personal manner, works in this 60+ minute program address topics including the AIDS pandemic, the body in transition, the idealized nuclear family, and the narrow cultural standards of desirability. The curators will be present for this screening on Friday, January 30, 8pm at la Esquina, 1000 West 25th St.  Sliding scale donation at the door, $3-$6.  Seating is limited. Read full press release including program of works included.

Whoop Dee Doo presents the final in its series of events at la Esquina, 1000 West 25th Street, with this kid-friendly Live Filming #2. Wear your costumes and be prepared to dance as Whoop Dee Doo hosts a high-energy, eccentric array of performances by community talents, engaging audiences of all ages and cultural backgrounds.  Seating is limited.  Read full press release.  See Whoop Dee Doo cover story in Ink magazine.