Collaborating with the Charlotte Street Foundation, the H&R Block Artspace is pleased to present The 2006 Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Awards exhibition, which features new work by five Kansas City artists including three who graduated from KCAI: Anthony Baab (’04, painting), Deanna Dikeman, Justin Gainan (’04, fiber), Elijah Gowin and Aaron Wrinkle (’04, painting).  The exhibition, organized by guest curator, Dr. Maria Elena Buszek, is accompanied by a full-color exhibition brochure with an essay by the curator.

In conjunction with the exhibition, Artspace presents Artspace Friday T.N.T (The Noon Thing), which features a gallery talk with the curator and artists.

Providing financial support, critical recognition and increased exposure to the awarded artists, the Charlotte Street Foundation rewards artistic accomplishment and contributes to continued artistic development. In doing so, the Charlotte Street Foundation seeks to contribute to the vitality of Kansas City’s art community and to enhance Kansas City’s desirability as a place for artists to live and work. Since of the establishment of the awards in 1997, by 2006, the Charlotte Street Foundation had supported 56 local visual artists, with a total of $312,500 distributed.

The Artspace gratefully acknowledges support from The National Endowment for the Arts, the Judith Rothschild Foundation, the H&R Block Foundation, the Richard J. Stern Foundation and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.