Charlotte Street Foundation Urban Culture Project Studio Residency Program

Charlotte Street Foundation is a non-profit, Kansas City-based organization dedicated to making the city a place where artists and art thrive. Established in 2003, its Urban Culture Project initiative 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 and studio space for visual and performing artists.

The Urban Culture Project Studio Residency Program, launched in January 2004, provides free studio spaces to talented and dedicated area artists. The program provides studio spaces for approximately 30 visual artists and shared rehearsal space for 7 performing artists/ensembles each year in three facilities in downtown Kansas City: Center City Square, 1100 Main, 5th floor (providing large, shared studio/rehearsal space for several performing artists/groups and small private studios for 12 visual artists); pARTnership Place, 906 Grand, 13th floor (providing space for 7 visual artists in a large, open space); and Town Pavilion, 1100 Walnut, 6th floor (providing private and shared open space studios for 8 visual artists). Studios are granted to selected artists for one-year terms. No full-time students will be considered. Studios are work spaces only and do not provide residential accommodations or access to specialized equipment, tools, or materials. A dance stage with Marley floor is provided for dancers/choreographers.

Participating artists host public Open Studio Weekends twice per year and volunteer 5 hours per month assisting with Charlotte Street Foundation efforts, including gallery sitting at nearby galleries. Each resident completes a goal-setting worksheet at the beginning of the residency and is paired with a studio mentor (an artist or arts professional from the community) who meets with the resident several times over the course of the year to offer feedback and guidance. Artists are selected through a competitive process by a selection panel comprised of artists and arts professionals. Selection criteria include quality and contemporary relevance of work to date and assessment of continued promise; assessment of the artist's potential to maximize the studio residency opportunity for further artistic and professional growth; and assessment of the artist's capacity to meaningfully contribute to the studio residency environment and community of artist peers. Work samples may include up to 10 images, 5 audio files, and 5 video files (10 total samples maximum).