“Public art billboards reflecting the creative spirit of the Crossroads neighborhood”
About This Call
The Crossroads Artboards were launched in Fall 2008 as a partnership between Charlotte Street and Missouri Bank (now BOK Financial), and is currently supported in part by the Crossroads Community Association. The Artboards are exterior, double-sided billboards located at 125 Southwest Boulevard featuring new, commissioned works by Kansas City-area artists approximately every three months. From April 2027 through March 2028, new, commissioned images by Kansas City area artists will be presented and rotated approximately every three months.
Selected artists are chosen through a competitive process, and receive artist stipends of $1,000 each for completing and delivering print-ready images for one set of side-by-side billboards. Over 100 artists have been featured on the Artboards to date.
Content of the Artboards/Selection Criteria
The Artboards exist in public space, to be a platform for artists’ voices and work in the center of the Crossroads, a neighborhood whose character has been very influenced by and connected to the arts community. Jurors will select artworks that are dynamic, engaging, and inspiring to the public; striking and aesthetically strong; and authentic to the creative spirit of the Crossroads neighborhood for display on the billboards.
Primary Proposal Components
- At least 2 JPEG images or PDFs documenting your proposed Artboards. Note: Artists choosing to submit multiple options for the Artboards may do so, but should include description of all options/variables in the narrative portion of the proposal. If submitting sketches rather than finished images, sketches should be as specific as possible, and the narrative proposal and additional support materials should provide a strong indication of the appearance of the final work proposed.
- A short narrative proposal describing your concept for the Artboards (no more than 300 words)
- Resume, CV, and artist bio, including history of exhibitions, contact information, and website address if applicable.
The selection process will be conducted as follows
- 3 jurors are selected to review Artboards applications. The jurors are professional artists in a variety of media, curators, educators, critical art writers and cultural activists – all from the Kansas City region with at least one juror who lives or works in the Crossroads district. The process for the Artboards selections takes place in two stages:
- First, jurors score each application based on submission images.
- Second, jurors review first round application scores. The top scored applications receive a more in-depth review of their materials and a group evaluation. At this stage the jurors vote again and make final selections.
- After the jury has selected finalists, artists will be notified of the status of their proposal. A public announcement of winning proposals will be posted via Charlotte Street's newsletter and social media channels.