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New Home For Artists Opens In Former Police Building On Kansas City’s East Side

Artist Davin Watne and property co-owner Paul Migliazzo stand inside the entry at Agnes Arts at 1328 Agnes in Kansas City, Missouri.
Laura Spencer
/
KCUR 89.3
Artist Davin Watne and property co-owner Paul Migliazzo stand inside the entry at Agnes Arts at 1328 Agnes Ave. in Kansas City, Missouri.

A vacant building at 1328 Agnes Ave. in Kansas City, Missouri, is being reimagined as an arts community — with studios, a gallery, and arts-related businesses.

Rising rents and property ownership changes have led to a shortage of affordable studios for Kansas City artists. In recent years, artists have been squeezed out of the Crossroads, Midtown and the River Market.

But a new frontier may be opening up on Kansas City's east side — beginning with a space called Agnes Arts, which is scheduled to open this summer.

Plug's dedicated gallery space at Agnes Arts, pictured here with work in progress, is expected to open this summer. Plug, previously known as Plug Projects, is a curatorial collaboration of five Kansas City artists.
Laura Spencer
/
KCUR 89.3
Plug's dedicated gallery space at Agnes Arts, pictured here as work was in progress, is expected to open this summer. Plug, previously known as Plug Projects, is a curatorial collaboration of five Kansas City artists.

On a recent Monday morning, writer and curator C.J. Charbonneau stood inside the white box gallery at Agnes Arts, a former police training facility at 1328 Agnes Ave., just a few miles from Kansas City's downtown.

"I could not be more pleased with how it turned out," she said. "The doors and the height ... you know, everything."

Charbonneau is one of five artists in the Plug Projects collective — known these days as plug. In 2011, it used a Rocket Grant — awarded to visual arts in nontraditional spaces — to move into a storefront in the West Bottoms.

But, as some businesses stayed closed during the pandemic, plug decided to leave that location. And Agnes Arts was looking for someone to take over a new dedicated gallery space.

"It just worked out that the timing was perfect for us and for them," she said. "And so here we are."

Plug's call for proposals for 2021-2022 shows in the space is open through May 31.

Jorge García Almodóvar holds up a black painting in his studio at Agnes Arts. He also runs an art handling company called JGA Fine Art Services.
Laura Spencer
/
KCUR 89.3
Jorge García Almodóvar holds up a black painting in his studio at Agnes Arts. He also runs an art handling company called JGA Fine Art Services.

Just down a hallway, artist Jorge García Almodóvar sliced through layers of plastic wrapped around a small black canvas.

"I know I wrapped these almost too well," he joked, a nod to his art handling business, JGA Fine Art Services.

Almodóvar moved into his studio at Agnes Arts late last year. This studio is about half the size of his previous studio in the River Market. But with the uncertainty amid the pandemic, Almodóvar said he was ready to downsize. And his new space has windows.

"Right now having a space has been so important for me to just be able to have somewhere to go," he said, "and be able to focus on my creative energy."

A view of a hallway with studio spaces at Agnes Arts -- some have doors, some are open, and some have curved walls (at left).
Laura Spencer
/
KCUR 89.3
A view of a hallway with studio spaces at Agnes Arts -- some have doors, some are open, and some have curved walls (at left).

Building co-owner Paul Migliazzo has helped develop artist studios in Kansas City for more than a decade.

There was Kunstraum KC, at 1523 Oak St. in the Crossroads Arts District, which closed when Migliazzo and his brother sold the building. Then Consensus KC, which shares space with a coworking studio at 3238 Gillham Road.

The project on Agnes Avenue offered the chance to redevelop a nearly 50,000 square foot building.

"The building, just the size of the building, offered a new challenge," said Migliazzo, "although we're not using all of it right now."

The first phase, opening this summer, includes one level of the original two-story brick building — with small and large studios starting at about $150 a month, up to $450.

"We're hoping this fills up quickly," Migliazzo said, "and we do the same thing upstairs."

Artist Davin Watne, at center, talks to Paul Migliazzo and Emily Copley, who's part of a three-person panel coordinating the application process, about creating a space at Agnes Arts for artists to read books or look through magazines.
Laura Spencer
/
KCUR 89.3
Artist Davin Watne, at center, talks to Paul Migliazzo and Emily Copley, who's part of a three-person panel coordinating the application process, about creating a space at Agnes Arts for artists to read books or look through magazines.

Artist Davin Watne has taught classes at the University of Missouri-Kansas City since 2002, and he also runs the UMKC Gallery of Art. He's collaborated with Migliazzo on several art studio projects, including Agnes Arts — where he's already moved into a studio.

"So there's a bit of a buzz already," he said, as he walked through the building pointing out some curved walls, larger studios with doors, and smaller starter spaces.

"If this is your first studio," he described, "maybe you're coming out of art school or something like that and you need somewhere to land."

The idea, Migliazzo and Watne said, is to create an artist community — with studios, a gallery, and, down the road, arts-centric businesses.

And plenty of room to just hang out.

"You know, you put a bunch of artists in a box, and they’re going to collaborate, they’re going to talk," Watne said, "and so that’s something we wanted to cultivate a little more here."

Kansas City is known for its style of jazz, influenced by the blues, as the home of Walt Disney’s first animation studio and the headquarters of Hallmark Cards. As one of KCUR’s arts reporters, I want people here to know a wide range of arts and culture stories from across the metropolitan area. I take listeners behind the scenes and introduce them to emerging artists and organizations, as well as keep up with established institutions. Send me an email at lauras@kcur.org or follow me on Twitter @lauraspencer.
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