Kansas City Office Building Announces New Art Display Downtown in Cooperation With the Urban Culture Project

KANSAS CITY, MO--(Marketwire - June 26, 2008) - City Center Square recently sponsored an installation art exhibit as part of the Urban Culture Project, to transform a window in the downtown office building, providing opportunities for local artists to contribute to the revitalization of downtown Kansas City.

City Center Square selected UMKC assistant professor, Kati Toivanen, through a public request for artist proposals from an extensive list of local artists provided by the Urban Culture Project. She will showcase her design "Commemorating the Everyday, Today." This postal-inspired collection will be on display in the window at 12th and Main at summer's end. "For me, the mail system is a beautiful metaphor for a private exchange trusted to a very public process," said Toivanen. "Postage stamps adorning letters and cards represent a communal celebration of people, places, and events. Because physically sending mail is an increasingly rare choice, sharing sentiments this way is becoming more precious."

See Toivanen's recent work entitled "Domestic Debris."

Phillip Gesue, director of acquisitions and development for Time Equities Inc., the company that owns City Center Square, said the request for artists generated many diverse, creative ideas. "Had we just gone to one artist, the solution would have been limited to their particular aesthetic or viewpoint. In this case, one particular artist came up with a creative solution for what at first seemed like a relatively staid project for the US Postal Service."

City Center Square is an office retail building locally managed by Grubb & Ellis | The Winbury Group. Tenants range from the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association to the Kansas City Business Journal. Office space is available and can be customized to accommodate tenants' needs. Prime location, parking availability and facility upgrades make City Center Square an optimal choice for businesses that want to be part of the new entertainment district. For more information, visit www.citycentersquare.com.

An initiative of the Charlotte Street Foundation, the Urban Culture Project creates new opportunities for artists of all disciplines and contributes to urban revitalization by transforming spaces in downtown Kansas City into new venues for multi-disciplinary contemporary arts programming. For more information, visit www.urbancultureproject.org or email info@charlottestreet.org.

Contact Information: Contact: Valerie Jennings 816-221-1040