Receive the most timely information about Charlotte Street programs and opportunities:
Opportunity Equity
Charlotte Street 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 programs.
CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
Rocket Grants
Rocket Grants receive support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and are developed and implemented though a partnership between the Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, MO and the Spencer Museum of Art, at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. These grants provide opportunities for Kansas City area artists to make and share experimental work and ideas in public spaces around the region – by providing direct support for exceptional, under-the-radar, artist-driven, and artist-centered projects.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 25, 2025 at 11:59pm
ELIGIBILITY:
• Artists, curators, collectives, collaborative groups, partnerships, and artist-run spaces residing within an 80-mile radius of the Kansas City metropolitan area are eligible to apply.
• If applying as an artistic group, this group can be long-standing or created specifically for this project.
• Nonprofit, 501(c)3 organizations are NOT eligible to apply.
• All artists must be over 21 at the time of the application, and may not be full-time students at any time during the application or award period (May 6, 2025 to October 1, 2026).
• All exclusions apply for the entire period of the application and award (May 6, 2025 to October 1, 2026).
For more information, please visit rocketgrants.org or contact Kimberly Kitada at [email protected].
Artist INC Live
Artists of all disciplines can currently apply for Artist INC. Charlotte Street partners with M-AAA to deliver this eight week professional development program in the fall. Applications are now live and are due June 9 by 5:00 PM CST.
Artist INC LIVE is a training seminar designed to address the specific professional and entrepreneurial challenges that artists of all disciplines face in their practices. Artists will learn and grow together through artist facilitator mentoring, small group activities, large group discussions, multimedia lectures, and networking with other artists across disciplines.
Approximately 20 artists will be selected through an application process to engage in an eight-week training seminar led by a team of six trained artist peer facilitators.
How do we define an “artist”?
If you engage in a creative practice, you are an artist. Our definition of an artist is broad and includes, but isn’t limited to, creative workers, idea purveyors, dancers, makers, artisans, illustrators, culinary artists, actors, playwrights, storytellers, social conveners, imaginaries, poets, cultural workers, visionaries, change makers, textile artists, photographers, teaching artists, filmmakers, sculptors, designers, crafters, organizers, rock stars, and more.
For more information about the Artist INC LIVE program, visit www.artistinc.art
The Guest Critic Series
The Guest Critic, a three-part series bringing nationally recognized curators to Kansas City for public artist critiques. This is an incredible opportunity for artists to receive thoughtful feedback on their work from curators shaping contemporary art today.
For the 2025 series, we’re thrilled to welcome:
TK Smith (Curator, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University)
Jovanna Venegas (Curator, SculptureCenter, New York)
Taylor Bythewood-Porter (Curator, Museum of Riverside, CA)
HOW IT WORKS
Kansas City-based artists who have exhibited outside the region or completed a national/international residency are eligible to participate. Selected artists will present their work in the Charlotte Street Stern Theater, where guest curators will lead a public critique, followed by an audience Q&A.
Interested in participating?
Send your bio, artist website, and 3–5 images of your work to [email protected].
PROGRAM DATES:
Wednesday, April 2
6:00—7:30 PM
The Guest Critic: TK Smith
Saturday, June 7
1:00–2:30 PM
The Guest Critic: Jovanna Venegas
Thursday, September 4
6:00–7:30 PM
The Guest Critic: Taylor Bythewood-Porter
Open Call
Open Call is an opportunity for artists to submit proposals for Charlotte Street’s state-of-the-art performing and exhibition spaces. Artists, curators and cultural producers wishing to partner with Charlotte Street are invited to produce programming, including but not limited to: visual art exhibitions, installations, original live performances (dance, theater, music, performance art, spoken word, etc.), video screenings, literary readings/events, public programs, and collaborative projects.
Proposals are evaluated by an external Programming Committee comprising of local, regional, and national arts partners.
This opportunity is open year-round. The deadline for 2026 proposals is August 31, 2025.