Charlotte Street Foundation

CSF is excited to announce the launch of a new UCP Studio Residency facility specifically for performing artists. Located on the 5th floor at City Center Square, 12th and Main, this new studio venue includes one large open space (3,000+ sq. feet), to be allocated as performance studio/rehearsal space, and to be shared among a selection of performance-based artists and groups of artists. 

An informational meeting/open house will be held at City Center Square, 5th floor, on Monday, June 22 at 5:15pm.  This meeting will provide interested artists the opportunity to see the space, ask questions, and meet other interested artists. Artists interested in applying are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND. Deadline for applications is July 10.

Artists/groups of artists working in the realm of performance (music, dance, theater, spoken word, performance art, etc…) are encouraged to apply. It is planned that a schedule, with dedicated weekly time slots for each artist/group of artists, will be collectively established following the selection of artists. In addition to establishing regular studio time slots for each artist/group, it is expected that open blocks of “flex time” may be signed up for on an as needed/desired basis, accommodating special projects and more intensive rehearsal schedules.  

For more information, including application form and requirements, download the call to artists here.

The Missouri Bank Crossroads Branch, 125 Southwest Boulevard, debuts four new large-scale commissioned images, by Kansas City based artists Elijah Gowin and Emily Sall, on its “Artboards” in time for First Friday June 5, 2009.  Elijah Gowin’s images, featuring a single figure set against a backdrop of blue sky punctuated by wispy clouds, might be seen as poignant meditations on personal and societal anxiety during a time of global change and crisis, as evocations of existential uncertainty, or as portraits of escape or release.  Inspired by the urban environment, Emily Sall describes her two east-facing images as “graffiti like blueprints of ever changing cityscapes.”  They also play on the idea of billboard advertising in terms of their bold colors, flattened imagery, and the digital manner in which they were created.

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 full press release.

Charlotte Street Foundation’s Urban Culture Project, in collaboration with City Center Square, seeks proposals from artists interested in being considered for a window installation commission, for the large ground-floor window at City Center Square, located on the north side of the street just west of 12th and Main in downtown Kansas City. The selected artist will be awarded a materials budget of $500 and an artist stipend of $500 to support the creation of the final project. The installation will remain on view for approximately one year.

In relation to the United States Post Office located within City Center Square, the installation should engage the theme of mail or the post office in some manner. Creative, innovative, artistic approaches to this subject are encouraged. Deadline for proposals is Friday, July 10, 2009. The window dimensions are approximately 22 feet long; 3 feet deep; 14 feet tall and should be considered in relation to proposals.  Access into the window space is via a ladder and opening of limited size.

For more information on submitting your proposal, click here.

Charlotte Street wants to hear from you! Tell us about how a UCP show or performance, a work of art, or an event presented at one of our spaces has supported or encouraged or inspired or affected you. Or share with us why you value CSF’s support for artists and artist-centered programs in Kansas City.  Or just tell us why you believe artists matter to our city, our culture, and our world. We want to better tell our story, and the story of why artists and art matter, and need your help! Post your thoughts as a comment, or send an email to info@charlottestreet.org. Thank you!

CSF/UCP and Azteca de Greater Kansas City are pleased to partner to present the second annual Comunidad/Community art exhibition at UCP’s la Esquina. This large group show, featuring works by a diverse array of approximately 40 Kansas City area artists, is curated by Jenny Mendez, Chairperson of Azteca’s Guild of Latino Fine Arts and Director of Mattie Rhodes Art Center.

The exhibition opens on June 5, 6-10pm, in conjunction with the third annual Westside Block Party, co-sponsored by Azteca, CSF/UCP, and C&G Construction. The event, which drew a diverse cross-section of more than one thousand visitors last year, will  feature live outdoor music and dance performances, low rider cars, authentic Mexican cuisine, Boulevard beer, and other surprises. This free, family friendly event takes place on the block of West 25th Street just north of Southwest Boulevard, and in the parking lot in front of la Esquina at 1000 West 25th Street. Visits are encouraged to bring folding chairs! Read full press release. We are currently seeking SPONSORS for this event. Click here for sponsorship information.

A Comunidad/Community gallery talk with artists and curator Jenny Mendez is set for Wednesday, June 10, 6:30pm at la Esquina.

See photos from the event!

Missed Connections, a solo exhibition of work by Kansas City artist Paul Shortt, takes its name from the online classifieds section of Craigslist, where individuals post ads in attempt to reconnect with other people, typically strangers and potential love interests glimpsed in public spaces. The show will feature a video involving a series of Missed Connections ads read aloud, combined with empty images of the places they describe, as well as a series of photographs of  site-specific interventions –in the cake section of the supermarket, the bathroom wall of Starbucks, the 3rd floor elevator lobby of a garage in the Power and Light District – inspired by specific ads.

Missed Connections opens Friday, May 15, 6-9pm with a free reception at Urban Culture Project Space, 21 East 12th Street, Kansas City MO, and runs through June 4.  Read the full press release.

Happy Tree Friends (Part II) at Paragraph, April 17-June 4, features work by Kurt Flecksing (Kansas City), Ke-Sook Lee (Kansas City), Hmh Services (Kansas City), Sarah Vandersall (Kansas City), BJ Vogt (St. Louis, MO), and Chris Wildrick (Syracuse, NY). It is the second component of a two-part exhibition project curated by CSF Associate Director Kate Hackman featuring artworks that depict, reference, incorporate, document, and otherwise derive or draw inspiration from trees.

Happy Tree Friends (Part II) focuses primarily on exhibition-specific installation-based works, creating an immersive, interactive, multi-sensorial experience for viewers. Works include Root, a new installation by St. Louis based artist (and KCAI alumni) B.J. Vogt, which incorporates motion sensors and tree limbs to form a connection between the synaptic connections in the brain and the branching structures of trees; Tree Woman and Tree Woman Leaf, two new related installations by Ke-Sook Lee, employing leaves and bark gathered by the artist as sculptural elements and surfaces for drawings; and several works from an ongoing project by Syracuse, NY-based artist Chris Wildrick titled The Best Tree in the World.  An installation of seating made from raw wood by Kurt Flecksing will serve as the gathering space for a series of tree-related lectures and conversations by area arborealists on Saturday afternoons in May (exact dates to be announced.)

View photos of this exhibition. Read Steve Brisendine’s review of B.J. Vogt’s work. Read Steve Brisendine’s review of Ke-Sook Lee’s work. Read Steve Brisendine’s review of Sarah Vandersall’s work.

Read full press release.