What They’re Saying
Select quotes about CSF’s efforts and impact:
Charlotte Street Foundation’s inspired commitment to artists coupled with extraordinary competence is creating a new viability for both the city and the artists living in the city. In meeting with artists in New York, Los Angeles and other major cities, we now discuss Kansas City as a model of how programs can be implemented. CSF has developed as a resource for artists that is to be cherished and copied by other cities. We are extraordinarily impressed and admiring of how the organization has made a seminal impact on Kansas City and its community of artists.
- Colleen Keegan, Co-chair Endowment Committee, Creative Capital Foundation, New York
I think it is hard for mid-sized cities, such as Kansas City, to have a flourishing, developing art scene. Charlotte Street Foundation has been extraordinarily creative in developing a model to showcase young, emerging artists. It reminds me of what occurs in some of the great cities of Europe, such as Liepzig, where artists have made it a leading art center. This can also happen here in America, but it’s not easy. Charlotte Street Foundation is a trailblazing force in how it has developed a new way for developing a major contemporary arts scene, and it is a model for the future.
- Gregory Volk, Art Critic, Curator, New York
I always refer to Urban Culture Project as a model program for any community who has empty storefronts and a struggling retail sector in a former downtown. Places like Pittsfield, MA, and Toledo, OH, have either replicated this program in some format or are looking to do so. UCP is successful because it has an amazing presence, well-designed programs and great attendance. Being able to accomplish so much with so little is truly exemplary. They’ve knocked it out of the park.
- Jason Schupbach, Director, ArtistLink, Massachusetts Cultural Council
Kansas City’s standing in the art world continues to rise… A supportive community of artists, respected museums, low rents and an innovative philanthropic apparatus are the big pluses of the Kansas City scene.
- Stephen Maine, “Report from Kansas City,” Art in America, October 2008 (a 6-page article that includes a profile of Charlotte Street Foundation)
As a newcomer to Kansas City, I was immediately impressed by the impact and wealth of resources offered by the Charlotte Street Foundation — an organization whose reach seems limited only by my capacity to understand its multiple facets. From remaking the urban landscape as a city passionate about art, to a foundation whose direct support of artists helped re-shape a generation of artists local to Kansas City, to an ambition to create a cultural community for the performing arts, the Charlotte Street Foundation is ubiquitous, highly treasured by the local arts community, and respected by business leaders for its impact and scope of service. For its spirit of innovation and highly effective entrepreneurial impact, it ranks among the best non-profit arts organizations in the region, though its budget is only a fraction of that of its collegial institutions.
- Eric Rosen, Artistic Director, Kansas City Repertory Theatre
Congratulations on the terrific job that Charlotte Street (Foundation) has done with all of its related activities. You are among the first to grasp the impact that the art community can have on the life of a city and have done so much to help revitalize the downtown area. On behalf of all those involved in the (Hall Family) foundation, we applaud you for your efforts.
- William A Hall, President, Hall Family Foundation
Charlotte Street Foundation has been a real catalyst, for the art world and for the whole of Kansas City. By recognizing the achievements of emerging and established artists who live and work in the metropolitan area, it calls public attention to the fact that important art is being made here and art that can hold its own against work being shown in other major cities.
- Jan Schall, Sanders Sosland Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
Charlotte Street Foundation has prompted organic growth, which is stronger than the traditional mode of thought in which some might think that a new arena is the answer. As a result, our city is experiencing a long-term economic benefit. All this activity has created an attractive place for creative thinking and growth which has led to a dynamic, living economy that is very attractive and has been very effective in creating a downtown revival.
- Crosby Kemper III, Chief Executive, Kansas City Public Library
What the Charlotte Street Foundation does is to bring visibility to the excellence of contemporary art and the art community in Kansas City. It is establishing a kind of center of gravity, and even artists who leave town are still orbiting around it. And at the same time Charlotte Street Foundation is bringing energy to Kansas City because people know that Charlotte Street is here, that there is this kind of support and recognition, and that they can make a career as an artist in Kansas City. It has been a tremendous boon… I can’t imagine Kansas City without the Charlotte Street Foundation.
- David Cateforis, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Kansas
Charlotte Street Foundation has played a critical role in supporting the growth of our urban core. It’s not enough to build new retail destinations. You need residents to develop their own neighborhood culture. Artists create dynamic spaces for urban interaction. Through this infrastructure that supports creativity, you can drive sustained growth. Urban Culture Project took over unused commercial spaces in downtown buildings and transformed them into studios and galleries for emerging artists and venues for performing arts. Fifty percent of my trips downtown were because I wanted to go see a Third Friday Urban Culture Project Show. Once you’re down there, you eat dinner or get drinks there. Urban Culture Project drew more people to downtown neighborhoods. It became a “scene.” It started to drive economic growth. The increased activity generated by UCP supports new restaurants, galleries, and clubs.
- Michael Frisch, PhD, AIC, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Winston Churchill said, “To perceive a path and point it out is one thing, but to blaze a trail and build a path is a harder task.” Charlotte Street Foundation has built a path for urban renewal by enabling the creativity of artists to intersect with and spark economic development activities. It is a replicatable and combustible formula that has renewed an important link in our urban corridor.
- Irvine O. Hockaday, Jr., Retired President/CEO of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Charlotte Street Foundation has chosen to present a very strong consciousness and dynamic of artists in the community. And, from each of the individual artists’ work, CSF has created a larger presence for all of the artists.
- Saralynn Reece Hardy, Director, Spencer Museum of Art
As the chair of a forward-looking department at the Kansas City Art Institute, I am especially grateful for the opportunities afforded to our artists - both graduates and students - by the Charlotte Street Foundation and its Urban Culture Project…. All of Charlotte Street Foundation’s endeavors clearly demonstrate to emerging artists that Kansas City is a community that is dedicated to sustaining and growing our creative constituents. Through its thoughtful and committed philanthropy, we are able to offer an environment that is a supportive and vibrant alternative to other urban centers. The Charlotte Street Foundation and its Urban Culture Project are not only transforming our city’s character and livability by directly sustaining our creative class, they are also indirectly fostering the innovation and community connections that are essential to a healthy and vigorous society.
- Julia Cole, Chair of Interdisciplinary Arts, Kansas City Art Institute
Charlotte Street Foundation’s first ten years are a great success story, and the organization has made significant contributions toward strengthening Kansas City’s contemporary visual arts scene. CSF is in the growth phase of its organizational lifecycle, with highly talented, well-connected staff who have created clearly-focused programs that serve growing audiences. Their impressive ability to form partnerships with other nonprofits, businesses, and civic leaders has become a highly successful programming strategy as well as a means for building visibility and community support.
- Nancy Lee, LarsenAllen Public Service Group, consultant on behalf of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
The money [from the Charlotte Street Foundation's Awards] is significant, but you can’t put a price on the program’s exposure and validation - for the artists and for Kansas City.
- Alice Thorson, “All About Life, All About Art,” Kansas City Star, December 14, 2008
The folks at Charlotte Street Foundation like to throw parties. Their event schedule dominates the social whirl of the downtown art scene…Without even thinking about it last weekend, I spent three nights in a row at Charlotte Street-relatated events. Hooray for Charlotte Street for funding an art party and an urban ecosystem that pushes the boundaries all the way to outer space.
- Steve Paul, “Culture Thrives on the Street Where Art Lives,” Kansas City Star, November 30, 2008
