Charlotte Street Foundation

Missouri Bank’s new Crossroads Branch, 125 Southwest Boulevard, is the first Kansas City area building project to gain “Art Achievement” status through Art through Architecture (AtA), a new program designed to encourage collecting and commissioning work by Kansas City area artists through architectural practice.

Among the building’s integrated art components is Golden Hedges, a multi-part, site-specific sculptural installation by Jesse Small. In addition, the building’s existing pair of double-sided billboards have been transformed into “The Artboards,” a highly visible new site for commissioned images by Kansas City area artists. Debuting with works by Kansas City based artists Warren Rosser and Jaimie Warren, these renovated and repurposed billboards will present newly commissioned artworks by Kansas City area artists every four months, produced as digital prints on ECO-flex, a new, “green” billboard material.

“Local artists have long been an important part of our customer base, and we are thrilled to include their work as an integral part of our Crossroads Branch,” said Grant Burcham, President of Missouri Bank. “The Art through Architecture program has helped us to do exactly what we wanted to do, without re-inventing the wheel.”

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The Charlotte Street Foundation and the American Institute of Architects-Kansas City (AiA-KC) are excited to announce Art through Architecture (AtA), a new partnership to promote and support the work of Kansas City area artists through architectural practice. AtA provides incentives and tools to encourage and empower architects and their clients to incorporate art and artists from the Kansas City area into their projects. New architectural projects may qualify for Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels of “Art Achievement” by dedicating percentages of total construction budgets to collecting artwork, commissioning temporary or permanent artworks, and/or including artists on design teams.

The new AtA website, www.ArtArch.org, launching late fall 2008, will serve as a tool for architects and their clients to identify artists of interest for specific projects. Artists within a 60 mile radius of downtown KC were invited to apply earlier this year for potential inclusion in the program’s on-line artist database, which will be updated annually. In addition, AtA representatives will provide hands-on support to architects and their clients pursuing Art Achievement status for their projects.

A new call to artists will be posted annually.