2018 Charlotte Street Foundations Visual Artist Awards

The H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) opens its fall season with the 2018 Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Awards exhibition, featuring new work by the 2018 Fellows: KCAI Assistant Professor of Fiber Marie Bannerot McInerney, Adjunct Faculty Member Jarrett Mellenbruch and Alumna Jillian Youngbird. Artspace is hosting this exhibition for the eighth time in the award’s 21-year history, and Charlotte Street Foundation and H&R Block Artspace are both pleased to partner with Open Spaces Kansas City as a participant in Open Spaces: The Expanded Field for this exhibition.

Since 1997, Charlotte Street’s Visual Artist Award has supported outstanding visual artists living in Kansas City through annual, unrestricted cash awards distributed directly to visual artists. These competitive awards recognize local artists who are creating outstanding artwork and show great accomplishment and promise by providing financial support, critical attention, and increased exposure with the aim of fostering their continued artistic and professional development.

The Artspace will also continue to dedicate the Studio Gallery upstairs to Commonspace. Modeled as an exhibition of community action, Commonspace facilitates “do-it-together” programs and events in collaboration with other institutions that consider how creativity, action, and information intersect. This project aims to create new bodies of knowledge, engage audiences around issues of urgency and resonance, address media literacy and bring together artists, scholars, activists, librarians, students and political and cultural leaders for in-depth exploration into how information is gathered, processed and shared.  H&R Block Artspace is also pleased to partner with Open Spaces Kansas City as a participant in Open Spaces: The Expanded Field for this exhibition.