InterUrban ArtHouse Organization Summary Organization Name: InterUrban ArtHouse, Inc. Primary Contact: Angi Hejduk, CEO Street Address: 8001 Newton Street City: Overland Park 66204-3465 Phone: 913-283-7091 Email: info@interurbanarthouse.org EIN: 45-3049864 DUNS: 0783635220000 UEI: EUK4GESP82T4 Website: http://www.interurbanarthouse.org/ ArtWorks Program website: https://www.artworkskc.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InterUrbanArtHouse/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/interurbanarthouse/?hl=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7TKJOpWRBoP54OLWhzduIA InterUrban ArtHouse is a certified non-profit 501(c)(3).
Mission Statement The mission of the InterUrban ArtHouse (IUAH) is to enrich the cultural and economic vibrancy of the community by creating a place where artists and creative industries can work and prosper in an affordable, sustainable, and inclusive environment.
IUAH Core Objectives 1. To offer a non-profit owned place where artists and creative industries can make and support art in a stable and affordable environment. 2. To fully integrate arts and cultural activities within the community by creating an open atmosphere through engagement, inclusivity and diversity. 3. To promote and facilitate the successful entrepreneurism of the creative industries by sharing resources, building connections and supporting collaborations. 4. To support growth and sustainability of the arts and culture through education and professional and artistic development.
Organization History The ArtHouse was founded by local community artist Nicole Emanuel. The release of several reports - including The “Status of Artists in Kansas City,” “The Suburban Arts Business Plan,” “Arts & Economic Prosperity Study IV,” and “Local Arts Index” - provided hard evidence that pointed to a need for a cultural and creative hub at the Southwestern end of the Metro Arts Corridor, a region spanning the state line from downtown KCMO. Research also identified the programs needed in such a facility.
In late 2012, InterUrban ArtHouse became a 501(c)(3) organization. Our community-wide survey identified six primary needs among creatives regionally. The first need was for permanent, affordable, accessible space for artistic, cultural, and creative businesses. This became InterUrban ArtHouse’s ArtSpace program. Our other programs (described below) include ArtSmart, ArtWorks, ArtHeals, ArtMatters, and ArtsConnect. By 2019, InterUrban ArtHouse had purchased and renovated the old post office in downtown Overland Park, which now provides permanent, affordable, accessible space for artistic, cultural, and creative businesses while simultaneously providing programming for approximately 12,500 unduplicated individuals annually.
IUAH Purpose and Programming Since its nonprofit incorporation in 2012, InterUrban ArtHouse has provided Kansas City Metro artists and residents with arts services and multicultural experiences of the very highest caliber. The purpose of the ArtHouse, as framed by its Mission and Core Values, is to empower local and regional artists (particularly those from under-represented populations) to thrive, and in so doing, to enrich the lives and communities of the Kansas City region through the arts across media and cultures. The ArtHouse achieves this through 1) the provision of affordable studio space and inclusive exhibition space to local artists, 2) the delivery of our research-based arts programs (described below), 3) its focus on cultural representation and social justice in the arts, 4) its work in the field of Creative Placemaking throughout the region and 5) its commitment to place-based partnerships to provide the greatest possible impact of our work. The ArtHouse’s PROGRAMS, developed in direct response to KC Metro research: ArtSpace is InterUrban ArtHouse’s physical location, a nonprofit-owned arts and cultural hub providing affordable space for artists and community in a 10,000 sq. ft. former USPS sorting facility. Renovated and occupied in 2017, IUAH’s property includes 11 single-artist studios, 3 shared studios accommodating 9 multidisciplinary artists, a 3,500 sq. foot gallery/exhibition and event space, a donation-based coffee bar and kitchen, and an on-site art-therapy practice. The outdoor space includes a performance stage loading dock and seating for 50 guests, as well as room enough to accommodate 28 festival tents. In addition, IUAH houses partner arts-nonprofit Art As Mentorship’s studio recording space for emerging young musicians (The LAB). ArtsConnect represents the community Creative Placemaking and arts advocacy work done by IUAH. Our Creative Placemaking engages regional artists, community members, local businesses, representatives from municipalities, and other key community stakeholders in equitable, representative, arts-centric community development and design, including public art, public gathering spaces, community-wide festivals and public-facing performances. Our
advocacy work is in communicating the importance of the arts to local and regional economies, community livability, and quality of life to city, county, state, and national representatives to increase public funding for - and so public impact of - the arts. ArtSmart provides pre-K through 12th grade students in Title-1 schools - the majority of whom are economically disadvantaged - with arts enrichment and curriculum integration for enhanced learning. IUAH pays KC metro regional artists from diverse backgrounds and artistic practices to bring the arts to students most sorely in need of it. By connecting with local artists, young people are inspired through dance, story telling, music, poetry, painting, sculpture, mural design, field trips and more. Numerous studies provide hard evidence of the positive outcomes for students who engage in and are engaged by the arts, which students from economically disadvantaged homes have less opportunity and exposure to. ArtWorks - delivered at InterUrban ArtHouse, partner locations, and via Zoom - affords opportunities for entrepreneurial development training to creatives to become professional, self-sufficient small businesses. Through ArtWorks, we aim to support innovation by enabling growth, advancing business skills and providing training for the creative sector. ArtWorks includes topics such as strategic planning, marketing & communications, grants writing and fundraising, budgeting, accounting & tax planning, project management and legal practices. All classes are offered at low cost or no cost and no one is turned away because of their ability to pay. The program is in collaboration with Springboard for the Arts (curriculum) and Kansas City Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (legal and accounting consultations). ArtMatters provides opportunities for artists of all levels wishing to advance their artistic skills, learn new studio methods, participate in discussions and critiques, connect with other creatives, and exhibit their works through the ArtHouse’s 6 annual open exhibitions. ArtMatters programming includes events such as open studio “work” sessions, live model drawing meetups, dance classes, painting classes, musician “jam sessions,” critiquing events, and exhibition receptions. ArtMatters offers presentations and workshops by visiting and established artists, discussions, and artist mentoring. For artist instructors, ArtMatters provides artists with paid teaching opportunities to share their skills, enhancing the community through artistic learning and expression. ArtHeals provides arts-based mental, emotional, physical, and community health programming and events to the public, including a 6-week annual exhibition dedicated to issues of community and individual health and wellness. ArtHeals seeks to provide a safe environment for sharing, creating and healing, and strives to promote the exploration of self, culture, and identity through purposeful art activities. IUAH includes an on-site art therapy practice - Heartland Art Therapy. Additionally, IUAH organizes and hosts annual, region-wide Health and Wellness Roundtables, during which cross-sector representatives of arts and healthcare organizations discuss community needs and best practices for addressing issues of community health through the arts. In all that we do at InterUrban ArtHouse, diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of our work. The goal of our programs is to provide a platform from which the underrepresented and marginalized can be seen, heard and recognized.
Place-Based Partnership Approach By forging place-based partnerships with individuals and organizations across the Kansas City metro region, InterUrban ArtHouse strives for systems change. We believe that it is only by working in concert toward common goals that such change can be truly affected. Among the goals we work to realize through these partnerships: ● affordable, accessible arts enrichment for communities of all ages across the region ● equity and inclusion for ALL through the vehicle of the arts ● quality of life and income for artists and Creative Industries Professionals ● community mental, physical and cognitive health and wellness through the arts ● public funding for the arts to enhance accessibility and impact across communities Place-Based Partners include: ● the City of Overland Park, ● Johnson County Public Libraries, ● Shawnee Mission Public Schools, ● Advocacy and Awareness Group Johnson County, ● Kansas City Artists Coalition, ● Black Space Black Art, ● The Whole Person, ● No Divide KC, ● Art As Mentorship, ● Heartland Art Therapy, ● the UMKC Women’s Center, ● Kansas City Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, and a host of others from across the Kansas City metro.
Achievements and Awards As a Creative Placemaking community driver, the ArtHouse has: ●
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Raised funds to purchase Downtown Overland Park’s 10,000 sq. ft. Industrial Post Office sorting facility, with common-space for exhibitions, classes, private events and programming, as well as outdoor space for artists’ marketplaces, performances, and community cultural festivals (2016) Led merchants, nonprofits, residents and City staff through a multi-year collaboration to form the I.D.E.A. (Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurial and Arts) District and annual creative programming in Downtown Overland Park, including the City’s dynamic Public Art Master Plan (2017) Initiated, organized and raised funds to complete 7 Downtown Overland Park Public Art murals by local muralists; facilitated the production of 6 mosaic public benches by local artists; Coordination with BikeWalk KC to install artistic public bike racks across Downtown Overland Park (2019)
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Organized (in partnership with Art As Mentorship and AT&T/Believe Kansas City) 130 middle/high school student mural design submissions to our “Images of Hope & Healing” exhibition, raising awareness around the issue of teen suicide (2020). This project is still in progress due to COVID-19 interruption and will result in 2 mural finalists being selected for public mural display. Launched “The ArtHouse @ Your House” virtual programming in immediate response to COVID-19. Since then, AH@YH content has been seen by over 90,000 viewers (2020) Expanded its essential ArtWorks programming to artists and Creative Industries entrepreneurs in the KC metro through partnership with the Kansas City Artists Coalition, Springboard for the Arts, and generous funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (2021)
We are honored to be recipients of many awards that continuously enhance the national reputation of Kansas, including: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
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Two-time National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” grant recipient (2012 and 2017) “Making a Difference Award,” City of Overland Park (2017) “Service Business of the Year,” City of Overland Park (2018) “Community OutReach Award,” Crescent Peace Society for multicultural public murals (2019) “Innovation Award,” ArtsKC (2020) Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation “Heartland Challenge” Awardee (2021-2024) Multiple grant awards from: ArtsKC, Francis Family Foundation, Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Muriel McBrien Kauffman Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts Recent first-time awards from: Estelle and Robert Long Ellis Foundation, Hall Family Foundation, Harry Chapin Foundation, Lowe’s Hometowns, Mazuma Foundation, Morse Foundation, Patterson Family Foundation, REACH Healthcare Foundation, Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Rotary Club of Overland Park South, and Verizon “2021 Arts Champion,” Poetry for Personal Power
Service Area/Beneficiaries InterUrban ArtHouse serves the Kansas City metropolitan area, a bi-state, 14-county metropolitan area, straddling the border of Missouri and Kansas. As of 2019, the KC metro area supports a population of 2,155,068. Our annual exhibitions include community engagement activities highlighting artists of color, women and non-binary femme artists, LGBTQIA+ persons, veterans, people with physical and cognitive disabilities, and religious and ethnic minorities. InterUrban ArtHouse contracts with Creative Industries practitioners who represent the diverse communities we include in our programming.
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ArtSmart provides arts enrichment to students in Title-I schools, 62.8% of whom come from economically disadvantaged homes. 15.8% of the student populations in these schools identify as black, 41.4% identify as Hispanic, 9% identify as other race/ethnicity, 11% are students with disabilities, and 25% are English language learners. This program employs artist-instructors from the Kansas City Metro who represent these student populations. IUAH incorporates youth-education programs/instructors that promote diversity, multiculturalism, and equity/inclusion. ArtWorks provides no-cost and subsidized small business training for all, regardless of income. Many beneficiaries are women (60%) and minority (42%) artists and Creative Industries workers who historically lack access to quality professional development training and capital. ArtHeals uses the power of the arts to address mental, emotional, physical and cognitive obstacles in BOTH our general public as well as in special communities, including veterans, health care workers, incarcerated, physically and cognitively disabled.
Of the clients served directly by the ArtHouse, approximately 60 percent are from low-to-moderate income areas.
Accessibility Our facility is 100% ADA compliant. Handicap parking is provided, and will be expanded upon as part of our current outdoor renovations. IUAH will be seeking funds to construct an additional accessibility ramp on our north side, as well as to install automated doors. Bi-lingual programming and language translation, including sign-language interpretation, are made available upon request. Our website includes accessibility features for persons with disabilities through UserWays Accessibility Widget. For more information, see InterUrban ArtHouse’s Accessibility Statement (https://www.interurbanarthouse.org/accessibility). ArtWorks is available online on the ArtWorks KC website (https://www.artworkskc.org/) and via Zoom as well as in person. Many of our exhibitions and performances are live-streamed through, or recorded and posted to, our Facebook page and YouTube channel for access regardless of income or geographic location. CC and language translation available on most YouTube content.