Charlotte Street Visual Awards

The Visual Artist Award, established in 1997 by Charlotte Street, is a longstanding regional arts grant designed to support exceptional visual artists in the Kansas City area. With a total of $751,500 distributed to date, the program has awarded unrestricted cash grants to over 100 artists. These competitive awards aim to promote artistic excellence and promise, provide critical exposure, and support professional development for local artists. The program not only addresses immediate financial needs but also contributes to the long-term sustainability of Kansas City’s creative community. Each year, Charlotte Street selects three artists to receive a $10,000 unrestricted grant. These artists also benefit from a curated group exhibition at a recognized nonprofit arts institution in Kansas City, such as the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art or H&R Block Artspace. Accompanying the exhibition is a professionally produced brochure that includes full-color artwork reproductions and a commissioned critical essay, offering awardees a platform for both regional and national exposure. The award is open to visual artists residing in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area, which includes Jackson, Platte, and Clay counties in Missouri, as well as Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. Applicants must have lived in one of these counties for at least one year prior to applying and must not be enrolled as full-time students. This regional limitation reflects Charlotte Street’s focus on uplifting artists embedded within the Kansas City arts ecosystem. Applications are reviewed by a rotating selection panel composed of both local and nationally recognized arts professionals. Since 2004, Charlotte Street has included “Visiting Curators” from outside the region in the selection process. These curators, each serving two-year terms, bring fresh perspectives and enrich the evaluation process with insights from the broader contemporary arts field. Winners of the Visual Artist Award are announced annually. In 2025, the selected fellows were Noelle Choy, Hùng Lê, and Merry Sun. The selection panel for this cycle included professionals from institutions such as the Spencer Museum of Art at KU and the Seattle Art Museum. This diversity in panel representation reinforces the award’s reputation for fairness, transparency, and artistic excellence. For more information or application inquiries, applicants may contact Charlotte Street at [email protected] or call 816.221.5115. The organization is located at 3333 Wyoming Street, Kansas City, MO 64111.