ADVANCING LIVES THROUGH THE ARTS
WHO WE ARE
Photo: Dancer
ArtsKC is a nonprofit arts organization that provides support for the regional art and culture community through programs, advocacy, and investment.
Our Mission
Advancing Lives Through The Arts
Photo: Kansas City Repertory Theatre
Photo: Mesner Puppet Theatre
Photo: Vi Tran
WHAT WE DO
Photo: Bernadette Esperanza Torres
Learn more about our organization's work to make the arts in the community more accessible to all.
ArtsKC is the only arts service organization that has a dedicated strategic focus to promote, support and advocate for the arts in the metropolitan region.
ArtsKC’s programs and services are designed to “advance lives through the arts.” This includes programs for the arts community, and those engaged with the arts in the Kansas City region. Additionally, ArtsKC works with local government and civic leadership to advocate for the arts.
ArtsKC Grants are investments in people, programs, and projects that make the arts more accessible, sustain a vibrant arts community, and recognize excellence, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the arts. Disciplines include visual, dance, music, theater, poetry, and interdisciplinary art.
The Now Showing program partners local visual artists and businesses by providing opportunities for local businesses to transform their conference rooms, lobbies and office spaces into revolving galleries. Artists receive a stipend for their quarterly exhibitions, paid by ArtsKC, and 100% of proceeds from any sales.
ArtsKCGo’s organization directory currently houses over 380 organization listings and over 500 profiles in the artist directory. A variety of arts and culture events are submitted to the events calendar daily.
Connect with the arts on ArtsKCGo.com.
ArtsKC utilizes its social media channels to amplify the voices of arts organizations and individual artists through features and collaborations.
During the pandemic, ArtsKC coordinated seven Arts Marketers Network Classes virtually to help meet the marketing support needs of local arts organizations.
A basic tenet of ArtsKC’s mission is to serve as the voice of the nonprofit arts and culture sector of the Kansas City region. Our advocacy work includes education, writing policy, data collection, community engagement, and resource development.
Our investment
Each year, ArtsKC programs directly benefit more than 437,000 people and indirectly benefit more than 1.8 million people through ArtsKC-supported organizations.
Your gift to ArtsKC makes an impactful difference, making it possible to:
Award more than 100+ grants annually to arts organizations, individual artists, and arts programs of every shape and size.
Launch arts promotional platforms like ArtsKCGo.com free of charge, so artists can share their talents with larger audiences, and organizations can keep programs affordable and accessible.
Continue to advocate for arts education initiatives, creative place-making efforts, and arts infrastructure projects, by telling the stories of the arts economy’s impact and job-creation in our region and on both sides of State Line.
Photo: City in Motion
ArtsKC diversity
ARTSKC IS COMMITTED TO INCLUSIVITY AND ACCESSIBILITY.
ArtsKC seeks to achieve diversity and cultural equity in its leadership, partnerships, grant making and programs. ArtsKC seeks to be a supporter and model for all arts organizations in the region, particularly in areas of board make-up, staffing, training and communications practices.
ArtsKC carries out its region-wide mission with proactive efforts to embrace differences of culture, ethnicity, race, religion, international origin, sexual orientation, physical abilities, socio-economic status, age and gender. Its goals will be achieved when:
All individuals and organizations that make up our region have fair access to the information, financial resources and opportunities vital to full cultural expression;
All share the opportunity to be represented in the development of arts policy and the distribution of arts resources;
All cultures are expressed in thriving, visible arts organizations of all sizes; and,
Programming reflects the experiences of all cultures, communities, age groups and abilities.
All counties, municipalities and arts genres have a proportional voice in region-wide arts planning and resource allocation.
Photo: Mid America Freedom Band
OUR TEAM
Photo: ArtsKC Building
ArtsKC seeks to achieve diversity and cultural equity in its leadership, partnerships, grant making and programs. ArtsKC seeks to be a supporter and model for all arts organizations in the region, particularly in areas of board make-up, staffing, training and communications practices.
The ArtsKC team is comprised of individuals from various walks of life. We are proud of the various perspectives, expertise and passions each team member brings to the table.
WORK WITH US
Who Needs Art’ is an awareness campaign that was born after witnessing the devastating impact the pandemic had on the arts. The objective of the campaign is to boost engagement in the arts as the arts community reopens its doors to audiences. We also want to remind our elected officials, civic leaders, and our audiences about the importance of the arts. The campaign was built alongside an advisory group of organizations and artists and is solely in support of the arts community. The campaign will communicate the transformative influence the arts have on each of us individually, our social well-being, and our economic prosperity.
“Who Needs Art” aims to humanize the arts and remind our community that the arts are essential.
Photo: Quixotic Entertainment
