Charlotte Street Foundation Urban Culture Project Program Proposals 2011-12

Launched in 2003, Urban Culture Project creates new opportunities for artists of all disciplines and contributes to urban revitalization by transforming spaces in downtown Kansas City into new venues for multi-disciplinary, artist-driven contemporary arts programming. Over more than 7 years, UCP has transformed nearly a dozen spaces in the downtown area into exhibition, performance, and studio spaces, creating a cross-disciplinary platform for the generation and presentation of original work, projects, and ideas.

Urban Culture Project 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 a diverse community of artists and cultural producers of all disciplines, bring together young, emerging, and established artists from local, regional and national backgrounds, and foster collaboration and exchange among artists, arts and cultural organizations, and audiences. UCP offers a small honorarium in most cases to help support expenses directly related to presenting accepted projects to the public and manages promotion and press relations for all projects, including producing press releases, printed exhibition cards, and emailers. Installation and deinstallation is the responsibility of the artist or curator, though assistance can be arranged as available and appropriate.

Proposals are reviewed by UCP's Curatorial Committee, a multidisciplinary panel of Kansas City area artists and arts professionals. Notification of decisions will be provided within 12 weeks of the submission deadline. In some cases, artist/curators will be contacted to revise or further develop proposals based on committee feedback for reconsideration at a later date. UCP will give preference to proposals that are original and contemporary, feasible based on project description and demonstrated ability, inclusive of more than one artist's work, inclusive of and responsive to ethnic, cultural, and ideological diversity, and conducive to outreach/inreach opportunities such as related public programs. Submit 5-15 images of work samples.