Kansas City MO, January 8, 2026: Stand Up, Fight Back: Designing an Anti-Racist Movement for WorkerPower examines how sustained, intentional design has strengthened more than a decade of anti-racist, working-class organizing by Stand Up KC. The exhibition traces how a consistent visual identity—defined by bold color, typography, and composition—has become inseparable from the movement’s public presence and organizing effort. An opening reception will be held Saturday, January 17 from 3:00–5:00 PM in the Charlotte Street Gallery (3333 Wyoming St, Kansas City, MO).
Since 2011, Stand Up KC has been identified by their iconic red shirts with blocky
white lettering and the matching posters and banners they carry at public actions. In a unique visual melting pot, organizational design works in concert with the artistic expression of
low-wage workers to forge a compelling movement identity. A wide collection of graphic ephemera sits alongside photo and video documentation and cell phone photography from the workers themselves, which provide compelling visuals of everyday life of people working beyond full time and struggling to get by. This mix of design, documentation, and photography further cements the legacy of workers’ struggle for a living wage, protections on the job, and the right to unionize.
Now stretching beyond a decade, this rich narrative is told through a vast array of artifacts and media. Full-size banners and silkscreened posters carried on the street by workers will be featured alongside dozens of event flyers, documentary video and photos, used to publicize the group’s organizing. Behind-the-scenes process and unused designs, oral histories from workers, and a range of other ephemera will be on display to paint a multi-faceted picture of this ongoing anti-racist, working class struggle for economic justice.
Stand Up, Fight Back will run from January 17 through February 28, 2026 in the Charlotte Street Gallery. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 12:00–5:00 PM and Saturday 11:00 AM—5:00 PM. Admission is free and open to all.
Contributing artists include: Chase Castor; Suzanne Corum-Rich; tyler galloway; Steve Hebert; Zac Mueller; David Terrill; Elijah Winkler; student design collaborators: Anthony Bennett; Alli Sevareid; Devon Wolfe; Sam Yates-Meier; Michael Jumper; The Langston Hughes Club – Stand Up KC worker-photographers. More information about the contributing artists can be found on Charlotte Street’s website at charlottestreet.org/exhibition/stand-up-fight-back/.
EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING
OPENING RECEPTION
January 17, 2026 | 3:00–5:00 PM
let’s design protest posters! w/ tyler galloway
January 31, 2026 | 1:00–3:00 PM
from workshop facilitator tyler galloway:
graphic design can be a powerful tool for social change, whether on a national or individual level. in this brief workshop, i’ll share all of the basic things i know, as both an activist designer and a design educator, about what makes an effective protest poster. we’ll talk briefly about messaging, ideas, images, text, context, materials, and more. as we talk, we’ll quickly put those ideas into practice using a range of readily-available materials so you can try your hand at making your own posters for public use.
Archiving People’s History: A Panel and Conversation
February 12, 2026 | 6:30–8:00 PM
Join us for a discussion on the importance, process, and methods of preserving the histories and memories of marginalized communities in the Kansas City region. Panelists will draw on the experience and lessons from established archival collections, such as the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America, as well as incipient ones, including the Stand Up KC Community Archive, both housed in the LaBudde Special Collections at the University of Missouri Kansas City.
Panelists: Stuart Hinds, Curator of Special Collections and Archives, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Zac Mueller, co-founder of Stand Up KC Community Archive and labor organizer; Tadeo Weiner Davis, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas and co-founder of Stand Up KC Community Archive
For interview requests contact Amanda Middaugh at [email protected]
or 816-994-7734.
ABOUT THE CURATORIAL TEAM
A collaborative curatorial team was assembled to empower multiple viewpoints and skillsets for this exhibition along with curatorial assistant Ruth Collins.
tyler galloway, professor and Joyce C Hall Chair of graphic design, Kansas City Art Institute.
galloway’s research focuses on visual communication for social and political change through work with various non-profit, activist organizations. thenewprogramme.net
Tadeo Weiner Davis, Assistant Professor, School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas.
Davis’ research focuses on community organizing, urban politics, race and class. https://socwel.ku.edu/people/tadeo-weiner-davis
Michael Schonhoff, Director, KCAI Gallery and Art & Design Labs. Schonhoff has over 25 years experience collaborating with living artists in academic environments to realize exhibitions and other projects. KCAI Gallery
Aditi Ramaswami leads communications at Missouri Workers Center, elevating the stories and expertise of workers to make the power of multiracial labor organizing a dominant narrative in Missouri and beyond. Prior to MWC, Ramaswami spent a decade in public health policy, movement work, and investigative journalism to center people over profits and expose corporate and political corruption. https://bsky.app/profile/aditiramaswami.bsky.social
Zac Mueller is an organizer and communicator with over a decade of experience building political movements. Mueller was one of the original organizers of Stand Up KC, who helped build the organization from its proto-formations to its first five years of existence.
Les Stitt, Organizing Director and Cofounder, Missouri Workers Center. Stitt leads MWC’s comprehensive organizing program, developing strategic campaigns that build worker power and advance workplace democracy. With over a decade of experience in union organizing and movement building, Stitt trains and mentors staff, worker leaders, and community members to build enduring worker power through collective action.
Elijah Winkler is the archive fellow for the Stand Up KC Community Archive. He studied labor history at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and is an associate with the Kansas City Public Library’s Missouri Valley Special Collections.
For interview requests contact Amanda Middaugh at [email protected] or 816-994-7734.
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 $3 million in awards and grants to artists and their innovative projects and has hosted countless exhibitions, performances, convenings, and conversations connecting and challenging Kansas City’s contemporary art ecosystem. For more information about Charlotte Street, its awards, programs, and initiatives, visit www.charlottestreet.org.
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View the press release as a PDF here.
