Charlotte Street Foundation announces 2021 Visual Artist Awards and Generative Performance Artist Awards status

Tuesday, November 10, 2020: After serious consideration and review, Charlotte Street Foundation announces that the 2021 Visual Artist Awards and Generative Performing Artist Awards will be reallocated as Rocket Relief funds, to be distributed in a third cycle of relief grants in early 2021. Charlotte Street Foundation and its partners have seen first-hand how artists in the KC Metro area have been impacted by the Coronavirus, and have decided to reprioritize $50,000 of 2021 funds earmarked for the Visual and Performing awards to emergency grants accordingly.

Currently Rocket Relief, which has so far received nearly 700 applications, is demonstrating a most urgent need, unprecedented in our artist community. The reallocation of these funds will enable us to support an additional 50 artists impacted by the pandemic with $1000 grants. For more information about the Rocket Relief Emergency Grants, you can visit https://bit.ly/RocketRelief.

The curated exhibition awarded to 2020 Visual Artist Fellows Cory Imig, Glyneisha Johnson and Kathy Liao scheduled for fall 2020 has been postponed to the fall of 2021 due to the Coronavirus. Charlotte Street and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art are committed to our 2020 Visual Artist Fellows and their exhibition, which can be better executed, promoted, and experienced when pandemic circumstances have improved.

Redistributing the 2021 Visual and Performing Awards funds was a difficult decision that is unprecedented for the Charlotte Street Foundation, in a year of highly unusual and unfortunate circumstances. We feel it is important to emphasize it is a temporary reallocation. Our intent is to resume the selection process for the 2020 Awardees next fall, when we hope to be better positioned as a community to celebrate and honor a new group of artist Fellows. Additionally, Charlotte Street will use this time as an opportunity to review and improve the current awards processes, ensuring that the program returns improved with a new call for applications in the fall of 2021.

Charlotte Street Foundation thanks supporters and artists for their perseverance and understanding as our local communities continue to navigate through the Coronavirus pandemic. For questions about future artist opportunities, artists are encouraged to email us at [email protected].