CALL TO ARTISTS

CHARLOTTE STREET CULTURAL PRODUCER GRANT APPLICATION DEADLINE: MAY 8, 2026 AT 11:59PM CST

Charlotte Street is excited to announce the 6th year of the Cultural Producer Grant Program, with $25,000 in total funds available for low-budget grassroots arts organizations and artist-run projects in Kansas City. 

Kansas City has long enjoyed a thriving and diverse ecology of small artist-run spaces, collectives, groups and organizations, which have sometimes suffered from lack of support needed to establish sustainability. While each may be small, the collective impact both to our arts community and to our city have been enormous. Whether permanent or temporary, these groups nurture and grow artists creatively and become powerful engines of community. Financial backing for these organizations often goes “under the radar” for larger institutional support. Charlotte Street's Cultural Producer Grants aim to both draw attention to these critical elements of our arts ecosystem as well as direct some much needed support their way.

GOALS

• To encourage a rich, flourishing, and diverse Arts and Culture ecosystem in the five county region surrounding the Kansas City metro area including Jackson, Platte, and Clay counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
• To contribute to the sustainability of low-budget artist-run organizations, collectives, groups, projects, and initiatives.
• To provide support for small arts and culture grassroots organizations and artist-organizers building larger scale projects that have an important impact on Kansas City’s arts and Culture scene, despite smaller budgets and less access to capital. 

CRITERIA

For applicants applying as an organization:

• This opportunity is open to: Artist-run initiatives and arts and culture operations, or fiscally-sponsored artist collaborative, collectives, or companies (can include art spaces, festivals, LLCs, nonprofits, ongoing operations, or one-off events) 
• Applicants must have at least 24 months of operating history if applying as a collective, organization, or company. 
• Organization cannot have an annual operating budget over $50,000 or own assets worth over $50,000

For applicants applying as an individual with a proposed project:

• Individual artist-organizers and culture bearers may be eligible if pitching projects that have been in operation for at least 24 months and provide opportunities for a number of artists beyond the primary organizers of the project. 
• The budget for the project cannot exceed $50,000 annually

For ALL applicants:

• Primary contacts must be an artist of any discipline and over 21 years of age as of the application deadline on May 8, 2026.
• Primary contacts cannot be currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program, and must have completed their studies at least 1 year prior to application deadline (on or before May 8, 2025).

This opportunity is open to: 

• Applicants located in the 5-county region of the Kansas City metro area including Jackson, Platte, and Clay counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
• The following disciplines: visual art, film, dance, theatre, spoken word/performative poetry, multidisciplinary, new media, new/experimental music, social practice, arts publications/arts writing, conceptual or social design projects, craft-based practices, and others. If you are uncertain as to whether your discipline qualifies, please contact info@charlottestreet.org. 
• Applicants who have been funded two years in a row and waited the required year to apply again.

This opportunity is not open to:

• Current Charlotte Street studio residents
• Rocket Grantees who have not completed final report
• Applicants who have been funded two years in a row 
• Projects or programs that take place on Charlotte Street’s campus

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants should prepare a concise proposal no longer than 3 pages that addresses the areas listed below. Proposals uploaded as a single PDF document are encouraged.

• Project narrative 
• Mission if applying as an organization, or artist statement if applying as an individual artist-organizer
• Project or program history that includes details on its size / scope, duration of activities, contributors, and staff or volunteers
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility
• Partners and collaborators 
• Participating artists  
• Logistical plan that addresses how you will accomplish your proposed project or program
• Calendar or timeline of proposed events
• Operating budget if applying as an organization or project budget if applying as an individual artist-organizer
• Portfolio, documentation, or project images 
• For those applying as an individual artist-organizer, attach a CV demonstrating successful history of creative projects.

SELECTION PROCESS 

• Eligible applications are assessed on four areas: Risk, Collaboration, Openness, and Excellence. 
• Jurors review all applications and rank each one in Submittable. Once the jury completes its review, they will meet to discuss the top ranking proposals and and create a shortlist of finalists for in-person interviews.
• Finalists are given the opportunity to present in front of the jury for 20-minutes on Friday, June 12, 2026. Those applicants selected to present will be given detailed instructions before the in-person interviews. 
• Jurors will make final decisions about chosen applications and funding amounts by Friday, June 12, 2026. 
• Applicants will be notified of status by end of day on Monday, June 15, 2026.
• 100% of funds will be awarded in support of organizations whose mission and leadership will positively impact the advancement of BIPOC, LGBTQIA, or Disabled communities in recognition of the oppression of those communities in the art sector and the gap that has created particularly in the Kansas City art scene. 
• A total of $25,000 in funding is available in 2026 with the aim of funding 3-5 applicants. 

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 $2.5 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.