Kansas City, Missouri – Kansas City is once again asking local artists to help determine the future of the historic 18th and Vine District. The city has reopened its invitation for professional visual artists or artist teams to make a permanent public artwork for the upcoming 18th & Lydia Parking Garage through its One Percent for Art Program.
The chance comes after the city decided to look at the selection process again because of comments from the community. Now, qualified artists will have another chance to send in their credentials for review.
There will be between two and five semifinalists selected from the pool of applicants. These semifinalists will then continue on to the Request for Proposals phase, where they will create and submit formal design ideas. The maximum amount of money that can be spent on the commissioned painting is $165,000.
The art project will be part of a bigger initiative to change the 18th & Vine Jazz District. The $20 million garage project will take the place of the current surface parking lot at the corner of 18th Street and Lydia Avenue.
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It is an important part of Revive the Vine, a big project to put more than $400 million back into the community. The project will not only improve the parking infrastructure, but it will also help Grayson Capital’s plans to build new multi-family housing surrounding the garage site.
The city will have two virtual question-and-answer sessions with the public art administrator to help artists better understand the project and what is expected of them. The dates and times for these sessions are Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. and Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. The Call for Artists page on CaFÉ has all the information you need and links to get to it.
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Eligibility is limited to professional visual artists or artist teams who are at least 18 years old and based within the Kansas City Combined Statistical Area. This includes several counties in both Missouri and Kansas. Artists who want to apply must send in their materials through the official online platform.
You must send your questions to the KCMO Public Art Administrator by email by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
Eligible artists can apply here.
