Charlotte Street Foundation congratulates visual artist Glyneisha Johnson for being chosen as the Charlotte Street representative for the 2019 Art Omi International Artists Residency Program this summer. When asked about her excitement to attend Art Omi later this year, Glyneisha Johnson responded with, “I am excited for the opportunity to connect, share, and grow with the other artists at Art Omi. I hope to learn more about myself and my practice during the residency. I am going to take advantage of what I make during this critical and introspective time for myself and my work.”
Megan Pobywajlo was also selected to receive this year’s Byron C. Cohen Award, which allows her the opportunity to travel and attend any national/international art fair of her choosing. “Traveling to an art fair will be a way for me to experience national and international contemporary art in a way that I never have before,” said Megan. “I look forward to better contextualizing what I do, as well as what is happening in the community around me through the Byron C. Cohen Award.”
In 2005, Charlotte Street added an opportunity for one Visual Artist Award recipient to attend the Art Omi Residency. Art Omi is a highly respected international artists residency program in Upstate New York. All past award recipients are invited to submit applications to Art Omi with one spot guaranteed for a Charlotte Street artist.
Artists are selected by the Art Omi selection panel. Not only does the selected artist benefit from the fully-funded residency and professionally curated exhibition, but all applicants have their work viewed by a selection panel comprised of nationally known artists, arts professionals, and art collectors.
The Byron C. Cohen Award provides one Kansas City-based visual artist annually with funding to attend a leading national/international art fair of their particular interest. The award is administered by Charlotte Street and funded by contributions made to Charlotte Street in memory of Byron C. Cohen. The artist for the annual award is selected by a panel of local and national curators as part of Charlotte Street’s annual Visual Artist Awards selection process.
The Byron C. Cohen Award honors gallerist and collector Byron C. Cohen and his passion for art, artists travel, and his desire to connect Kansas City and its artists to the national and international art world. Eileen Cohen, Toma Wolff, and Mark Cohen serve as advisors to the Byron C. Cohen Fund at Charlotte Street Foundation. Funds contributed to date will support one annual Byron C. Cohen Award for five years.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Glyneisha Johnson is a multimedia artist born in Dallas, Texas, currently living and working in the USA. Johnson completed her Bachelor of Fine Art in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2017. Johnson received her diploma from the prestigious Booker T. Washington Magnet High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. She is a current recipient of the Drug Store Studios Artist of Faith Reward in Kansas City, Missouri, where she is an artist in residence. In 2017, she was an artist in residence at Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City. Her work has been included in exhibitions at Haw Contemporary, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, and la Esquina Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri; Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri; and the Hudson Foundation Gallery in Dallas, Texas, among others. Johnson’s work is in the collections of The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas; The Kansas City Collection in Kansas City, Missouri; and The Collection of Emprise Bank in Wichita, Kansas.
Megan Pobywajlo is a photographer transplanted to Kansas City from San Diego, California. Megan works with pictures, humor, zines, books, writing, performance, the internet, collaboration, and education to grow the democratic potential of photography. Since 2013, Megan has created local and traveling exhibitions, public events, and publication projects centered on photography with Archive Collective.
ABOUT ART OMI
Omi International Artists Residency invites visual artists from every continent, representing a wide diversity of artistic styles, to gather in rural New York State to experiment, collaborate, and share ideas. During four weeks each June-July, concentrated time for creative work is balanced with the stimulation of cultural exchange and critical appraisal. Learn more at http://www.artomi.org.
ABOUT BYRON C. COHEN FUND
The Byron C. Cohen Award honors Byron’s passion for art, artists, and travel, and his desire to connect Kansas City and its artists to the national and international art world. Byron was adamant that exposure to premier art fairs such as Art Basel, New York art fairs, and various satellite fairs would enable collectors and artists to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the visual arts. With this in mind, the Byron C. Cohen Award was established to provide local artists funding to attend premiere fairs. A panel of local and national curators selects the Byron C. Cohen Award recipient annually as part of Charlotte Street Foundation’s annual Visual Artist Awards selection process.
ABOUT CHARLOTTE STREET
Charlotte Street identifies the needs and fuels the evolution of an ever-changing multidisciplinary arts ecosystem, acting as its primary provocateur. Charlotte Street cultivates the contemporary, the exceptional, and the unexpected in the practice of artists working in and engaging with the Kansas City art community. Since 1997, Charlotte Street has distributed over $1.1 million in awards and grants to artists and their innovative projects, and connected individual artists to each other and to the greater Kansas City community. For more information about Charlotte Street, its awards, programs, and initiatives, visit www.charlottestreet.org.
Press release can be found here.
