Kansas City, MO, September 9, 2022: Charlotte Streetis excited to present the exhibition Everybody Eats When They Come to My House opening Saturday,October 8 from 2-6PM, and will be on view through November 5, 2022.
Everybody Eats When They Come to My House is a curatorial exploration of the Charlotte Street Mission and the creative community in which it served. The Mission,as it was fondly called by Kansas City’s thriving artists, musicians, writers, chefs, craftsmen and new collectors, was a modest rental home on Charlotte Street owned by the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the 1980s. John Puscheck’s home and studio was always open for socializing, day or night. Puscheck , “the Good Reverend” was a generous, quick-witted, savant with a passion for painting and food. One of the several sayings often heard from the artist was, “You gotta eat!!” with a cigarette and Boulevard beer in one hand, and something delicious in the other. He played host of the Mission for nearly two decades in the 1990s-2000s. The artist’s home and studio served as the regular gathering space for backyard cookouts, art shows, live music and dancing, domino playing and art making. Kansas City’s creative ecosystem is directly influenced by the backyard community model that fed so many bellies and souls of so many creatives.
At a time when opportunities to display new work in Kansas City were slim to none, young visual artists not employed by Hallmark, design firms, or academia were often opting to leave town for bigger and better opportunities. An exception was with Puscheck’s group of Midwest transplant bohemians that fell in love with Kansas City’s charm and took on a DIY approach. While some restaurant owners, chefs, and record stores displayed and sold local artwork, there still was no critical writing being published or experienced local collectors purchasing and exhibiting Kansas City work (minus commercial art fairs and auctions). This crew took care of their own, seeing Kansas City as a playground for gathering, experimenting, creating, and sharing with one another.
Local foundational institutions like Boulevard Brewery, The Pitch and Review publications, Athena’s and The Bluebird, Music Exchange and the Grand Emporium, KCPT, KCUR, KKFI’s public community broadcasts like the Fish Fry, and the KC Jazz and Blues Festival all emerged from this era to celebrate art and civic pride. As the Crossroads Arts District and subsequent First Fridays developed with galleries like the Dolphin, Sherry-Leedy Contemporary, and the Leedy-Volkous Art Center, artists’ work matured with more exhibition opportunities and sales. The Evil Monkey annual art show featuring new works and collaborations from long-time friends John Puscheck, Mike Randall, and Mike Temple was always a joyous and unforgettable gathering. The backyard party crashed the gallery for an evening with all the usual suspects: the American Royal BBQ and dominos crew, a Grammy nominated Reggae band, hip lawyers, record store and restaurant employees, and the community activists – all in attendance to support what they had built: a community. After John Puscheck’s early passing in 2005, John’s friends and the larger arts community created what became the annual Evil Monkey Memorial BBQ, where for another decade artists gathered as they did at the Mission – and everybody still ate! This exhibition is a dive into their legacy.
Throughout the month-long exhibition, Charlotte Street Gallery will be transformed into a backyard setting that will proudly display loaned artworks in an immersive installation. Additionally, Charlotte Street will be producing an oral history project to gather, share, and preserve stories from the Charlotte Street Mission’s artist community. These interviews and recordings will be edited and added to the media gallery listening station within the exhibition, and later archived in Charlotte Street’s Kemper Library. Friends and guests are welcome to complete and share their version of the show postcard and any ephemeral offerings that emulate the spirit and generosity of the Mission on the “Puscheck Potluck Table.” These items will remain on display through the duration of the exhibition.
PROGRAMMING:
Opening + Gathering:
Saturday, Oct. 8th from 2-6 PM | Charlotte Street Gallery and Puscheck Courtyard
Please join us for the opening reception for Everybody Eats When They Come to My House, accompanied by live music by Amy Young Sextet. Food will be provided by Julita’s Fried Chicken Truck from 4-6PM.
Visitors will be invited to contribute to the Puscheck “Potluck Table” of ephemeral offerings.
Tales from the Charlotte St. Mission
Oral History private interview recording sessions:
Saturday, Sept. 10th, Oct. 15th, Oct 29th from 9 AM-12 PM | Charlotte Street Media Lab
and by special appointment or Zoom
How Do Ya feed 50 ppl!?!
Spicy Story Swap
Saturday, Nov. 5th from 2-4 PM | Charlotte Street Library
The community is invited to swap and share their favorite spice blends, recipes and tales of preparing meals for large social gatherings. Paired with archived KC public radio broadcasts from the Fish Fry, produced by Chuck Haddix.
ABOUT CHARLOTTE STREET
Charlotte Street centers Kansas City’s most forward-thinking visual artists, writers, and performers—acting as the primary incubator, provocateur, and connector for the region’s contemporary arts community, and its leading advocate on the national stage. Since 1997, Charlotte Street has distributed over $2 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.
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