Charlotte Street

05/28/2026

Dive into SEA STREET 🐠⚓🌊 Charlotte Street’s free annual Block Party is on dock next Saturday, 6/6 from 1-4 PM for an afternoon of art, music, games, and community! Barter Boat is sailing in from Minneapolis, so bring something to trade at this interactive installation! We’ll have live music from Dub Vendors and Soul Activators, the Midwest Swang exhibition on view, plus community partners African American Artist Collective, KC Clay Guild, Magpie Creative, Small Works Art Gallery, Viva La Tinta, and seedlings to take home for your garden. Test your art handling skills at our Art Drop competition, make zines and buttons, swap books, play yard games, and grab free food from Taco Cacao plus popsicles from Palacana. Come make waves with us! 🌊

05/14/2026

Come out for a free community movie night at Charlotte Street! We’re showing a family-friendly film for the whole neighborhood — kids, adults, everyone welcome. 🍿 Sat, May 16 | 5–7 PM | Black Box Theater.

And don’t miss our Block Party on June 6!

05/13/2026

Are you willing to share your voice? Join the conversation this May as we welcome Eric Avery into the Charlotte Street Stern Theater for a series of engagement surrounding his interactive performance, The Pla[y/n] for Reparation$.

→ Swipe to learn more about the opportunities to engage with this project throughout the month of may!

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The Pla[y/n] for Reparation$ invites audiences to learn about, discuss, envision, and practice individual and collective healing. Upon entering, participants answer a series of Yes/No questions that guide them down branching paths, sorting them into groups based on identity, opinions, and willingness to engage. This consent-forward approach gives audiences agency in shaping their experience while exploring reparations. Informed by the California Reparations Report, the project uses its findings to guide both the content and structure of the performance.

It all starts this Saturday, May 16 from 1–4 PM with an introductory event to meet and greet with Eric and learn more about this developing interactive performance.

Then on May 23 from 1–4 PM, May 28 & 29 from 6:30–8:30 PM there will be open rehearsals; which will begin with Eric Avery introducing the session and guiding participants through a warm-up activity. Throughout the rehearsal, attendees may be invited to answer questions, complete simple activities, or share their perspectives. As this experimental work continues to evolve, these informal sessions help shape the project through community feedback while offering a chance to engage with the creative process, connect with the artist, and explore ideas around reparations. RSVP for open rehearsals by going to bit.ly/cst-theplayn.

A workshop will be held on May 30 from 11 AM–2 PM. This free public workshop will build community and consciousness around the concept of reparations by exploring embodied engagement frameworks. Participants will decide how they want to make decisions together; activate excerpts from the CA Reparations Report or other sources, and redistribute a sum of money to a beneficiary the group chooses. Register for the workshop by going to bit.ly/cst-playn-workshop.

05/13/2026

Mosey on down to the Charlotte Street Ranch on Saturday, October 24 for our annual 2026 Gala!

Wet your whistle and enjoy fine vittles with fellow supporters at the year’s premier party—immersive installations, performances and activations from local artists and off-the-wall-activities!

Get yer Rodeo Nouveau tickets by heading down to bit.ly/cst-rodeonouveau-tickets; or become a sponsor at bit.ly/cst-rodeonouveau-sponsor.

05/12/2026

Artist INC What Works + KC Alumni Panel is this Wednesday, May 13 from 6–8 PM in the library!

What Works is a free workshop sharing the common behaviors of artists with enduring practices. It speaks directly to artists’ concerns in building sustainable careers from the artist’s point of view. These behaviors have been identified by the thousands of artists of all disciplines participating in the Artist INC program over the past fifteen years.

The concepts shared in the What Works workshop are the foundation of Artist INC program. Artist Peer Facilitators José Faus and Cory Imig will explain the core concepts and illustrate them with their personal and professional examples, leaving participating artists ready to apply them to their own practices.

The workshop includes discussion of:
Goal setting and planning
Portfolio careers and multiple income streams
Communications
Strategic networking
Financial planning
and more

The two hour workshop will include audience Q&A as well as a panel with Artist INC alumni. Information on applying for the Artist INC Kansas City 2026 cohort will also be available.
What Works is presented in collaboration with Mid-America Arts Alliance.

For more information about Artist INC, visit

Artist INC connects artists of all disciplines to the tools, resources, and the opportunities necessary to develop their entrepreneurial skills and to strengthen their artistic practice.

05/11/2026

Charlotte Street is excited to announce the next exhibition: Midwest Swang! The exhibition will open Saturday, May 23 with a reception from 3–6 PM; the exhibition will remain on view through Saturday, July 11, 2026.

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Curated by Mueni Loko Rudd, this exhibition is a return and a recognition; a gathering of the folk who are all shaped by memory, migration, and the quiet knowing that the lasting regional impact has not left. Intentionally bringing together Black contemporary artists connected to the region, the exhibition traces how place shapes identity and how that identity travels. The audience is invited to appreciate the contributions of artists representing and influenced by Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Chicago, and Milwaukee.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Tay Butler
Dontay Lockett
Kathedral Looney
Shaina McCoy
Alexis Pye

Learn more by going to bit.ly/cst-midwestswang.

🎥: Tay Butler, Video clip from “MILien"

05/07/2026

Last call! Applications for the 2026 Cultural Producer Grants close Friday, May 8 at 11:59 PM CST. With $25,000 in total funding available, the program supports low-budget grassroots arts organizations, artist-run spaces, collectives, and creative projects across Kansas City. Since launching in 2021, the initiative has helped sustain the vital artist-led ecosystems that shape the city’s cultural landscape through grants ranging from $5,000–$10,000.

Learn more about the Cultural Producer Grant Program by going to our website → bit.ly/cultural-producer-grants.

Applications due Friday, April 18, 2025 at 11:59 CDT on Submittable → bit.ly/charlottestreet-apply.

05/06/2026

COMING SOON @ CHARLOTTE STREET: Tonight EMAS Presents welcomes New Orleans-based pianist/keyboardist Brian Haas. Next week on Wednesday is Artist INC What Works + Alumni Panel, a workshop that provides an overview of the concepts covered in the Artist INC program that Charlotte Street will host in the fall (2026 cohort applications open now). In the gallery, Q***r Ecologies II closed this past Saturday, and we are prepping for the next exhibition curated by Mueni Loko Rudd, Midwest Swang, opening May 23. That same Saturday we'll have our next Artist Market. Throughout the latter half of the month, we'll be welcoming Eric Avery for a series of engagement surrounding his interactive performance, The Pla[y/n] for Reparation$.

RSVP for Charlotte Street events by clicking the link in our bio or by going to bit.ly/cst-eventrsvp.

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Wednesday, May 6, 7:30–9 PM
EMAS Presents: Brian Haas

Wednesday, May 13, 6–8 PM
Artist INC What Works + Alumni Panel

May 16, 1–4 PM
The Pla[y/n] for Reparation$ (TPFR): Intro Event

Thursday, May 21, 6–8 PM
Writer’s Circle

Saturday, May 23
TPFR: Open Rehearsal, 1–4 PM
Midwest Swang Opening Reception, 3–6 PM
Artist Market, 3–6 PM

May 28, 6:30–8:30 PM
TPFR: Open Rehearsal

Saturday, May 30
TPFR: Workshop, 11 AM–2 PM
TPFR: Open Rehearsal, 6:30–8:30 PM

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→ ELSEWHERE: Swipe to the end of the carousel for exhibitions, events and performances happening around Kansas City that features current and past Charlotte Street artists.

04/22/2026

Meet Charlotte Street’s Studio Residents: Performing Artists! 

This Saturday’s Open Studios offers a glimpse into the evolving work of our performing artist residents—featuring excerpts, rehearsals, and live moments in motion. From movement to sound, each work invites you into the process and the energy of performance. 

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: 
IN THE COURTYARD (1ST FLOOR)
3:30 PM Henry Scamurra - pathways,

IN THE LOBBY (1ST FLOOR)
4:00 PM Kadesh Flow,

IN THE LIBRARY (1ST FLOOR)
5:00 PM Writer’s Block

IN THE GARDEN (3RD FLOOR)
7:00 PM Christina Silvius, .silvius - Garden Sound Meditation

IN THE BLACK BOX (1ST FLOOR)
4:00 PM Arianna Hughlett (.hughlett) with Jaeden Johnson () Kelley Gant () and Henry Scamurra ()
4:30 PM Tara Leigh Burgat, .choreography - “Impulses / Industrial Love Complex”
5:30 PM Anna Boehm, - “middle of”
6:00 PM Sam McReynolds (GreyaRea) ( / ) - excerpt from “C Yu” with Óscar Trujillo ()
6:30 PM Katie Brennan - “Scripted”, “National Waterdance” recap, and “Invisible Structures” short dance film
8:30 PM Isaiah Petrie,
9:00 PM Agrekulture,
9:30 PM Paris Williams,

📍 Charlotte Street (3333 Wyoming St, KCMO 64111)
🗓 Saturday, April 25, 3–10 PM

04/22/2026

Meet Charlotte Street’s Studio Residents: Writers! 

Join us this Saturday for Open Studios and hear from Charlotte Street’s writer residents as they share new and in-progress work. Across genres and forms, these readings offer a window into each writer’s voice, process, and current explorations.

Writers will hold a Writer’s Block at 5:00 PM in the Charlotte Street Kemper Library this Saturday for Open Studios.

WRITERS (First Year, 2025-2027)
Audrey Allen, .art
Iris Appelquist,
Anthony Procopio-Ross,

WRITERS (Second Year, 2024-2026)
Elaine Elizabeth Clifford, .clifford
Alej Martinez-Munoz,
Nasir Anthony Montalvo,