(Photo courtesy of Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography)
Kansas City, MO, September 26, 2022: Charlotte Street’s Startup Residency program aims to foster the development of up-and-coming, innovative startups such as an artist-run collaborative, business, or organization. This program builds upon Charlotte Street’s 25-year history of providing support and catalytic opportunities for Kansas City-based arts initiatives, entrepreneurs, and collaborative groups in their earliest stages of development.
THREE 2023 STARTUP RESIDENCY RECIPIENTS WILL RECEIVE:
- One to two years of rent-free storefront residency space in the Historic Northeast district of Kansas City, Missouri (first year guaranteed, second year pending review)
- Wifi, utilities, and fridge at no cost
- Mentoring from Charlotte Street staff, and subscription to Creative Study platform, which provides access to high-quality, self-paced video-based courses (https://creativestudy.com/)
- Networking, and cross-marketing opportunities with Charlotte Street
(Photo courtesy of KC Public Theatre)
CRITERIA / WHO SHOULD APPLY:
- Organization or business less than three years old, with an established business plan or demonstrated proof of concept
- Group or business defined as an artist-run or artist-centric organization, with the ability to define and demonstrate artistic component(s) of the work, mission, or initiative of the organization
- A startup can be a for-profit, not-for-profit, or hybrid business model (such as a fiscally sponsored LLC)
- Artists with connection to the Historic Northeast Neighborhood are encouraged to apply
Appropriate applicants could be: publications or critical feedback platforms, art spaces or performance venues, For-cause arts entrepreneurships, collaboratives or collectives with associated programming, (can be visual, performative arts, social practice, or multidisciplinary approaches to “artist”-centric. Applicants should have some public-facing programmatic aspect to the work, which will be hosted on site.)
ELIGIBILITY:
All members of the organization / business / collective must meet the following criteria:
- All members must currently live and have lived in the five-county Greater Kansas City Metro area (Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Platte, Wyandotte) for at least one year prior to application deadline (before October 24, 2022).
- All members must be at least 21 years of age by application deadline
- All members must not be currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program
- Current Charlotte Street Studio residents and 2022 Rocket Grant recipients are not eligible for this opportunity
- Previous Startup Residents are not eligible
Note: if the any member of the organization / business / collective has earned a collegiate degree, the completion date must be at least 12 months earlier than the application deadline)
Note: Applicants DO NOT have to have a degree from any educational institution in order to be considered for this opportunity.
VENUE:
3 selected recipients will receive 24-hour access and usage of approximately 300 square feet street-level micro-retail locations in the Pendleton Arts Block, in addition to the occasional limited use of additional parts of the building, including a larger community event area, maker space, and nearby park for potential programming opportunities. Applicants should be aware that the secured parking lot is for apartment tenants of the Arts Block only, with limited street parking nearby. Located in the historic Pendleton Heights neighborhood of Northeast Kansas City, Pendleton Arts Block is an art-focused residential mixed-income community. To learn more about Pendleton Arts Block, please visit https://pendletonartsblock.com/.
EXPECTATIONS:
Startup Residents will be expected to be participate with partners and community for events, activities, and more. This may include:
- Public-facing programming with emphasis on Pendleton Heights neighborhood and wider Northeast Kansas City community
- Participating in Charlotte Street community events such as block parties and resource fairs
- Tabling at Arts Block community receptions
SELECTION PROCESS:
A selection committee comprised of arts administrators, arts entrepreneurs, and neighbors in the Northeast/Pendleton Heights Neighborhood will select the Startup recipients. Upon review of applications, the committee will narrow the applicant pool to ten finalists. These ten finalists will come to Charlotte Street for interviews further explaining their startup and then a final selection will be made.
(Photo courtesy of Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography)
TIMELINE:
OCTOBER 24, 2022 (MIDNIGHT) – Deadline for applications
NOVEMBER 7, 2022 – Round 1 decisions made, finalists notified
DECEMBER 9, 2022 – Interviews & final deliberations, artists notified
JANUARY 15, 2023 – Residents allowed to move in
DECEMBER 30, 2023 – 1st Year of Residency ends (potential to renew for 2nd year)
DECEMBER 30, 2024 – 2nd Year of Residency ends (residency complete)
APPLICATION PROCESS:
Applicants applying can submit proposals to Submittable: LINK HERE
Materials required for submitting to Startup Residency:
- Bio and CV of lead Artist and Primary Collaborators
- Organizational Budget for 2022 or 2023
- Programming Calendar draft
- Demonstration of Artistic Merit: images, video, or sound clips. No more than 10 images, no more than 5 links to video or sound clips.
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 24, 2022
Questions? Please email [email protected]
STATEMENT ON OPPORTUNITY EQUITY:
Charlotte Street Foundation values an equitable, diverse, and inclusive art community, which we interpret as all artists having fair access to the tools and resources they need to realize their artistic endeavors. We acknowledge structural inequities that have excluded individuals and communities from opportunity based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, and geography, and strive to counter those inequities in our work. We encourage panelists and selection committees to actively consider and seek to recommend a diverse pool of applicants as finalists and recipients of these awards and all Charlotte Street Foundation programs.
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.
