Art in the Loop

Art in the Loop is a non-profit organization whose mission is to contribute to the visual identity, enrichment, and revitalization of downtown Kansas City through the creation of new opportunities for artistic development and expanding public interaction with this new art. The group accomplishes this through permanent and temporary art installations along the KC Streetcar route in and around Streetcar stop enclosures. From statues, to live music, to video performances, and even visual artist wraps on actual KC Streetcar stop enclosures, the breadth of art alone is spectacular.

For the KC Streetcar stop enclosure art, originally, when an artist’s work was selected to be exhibited through annual submission competitions, the artist themself would need to find and contract a wrap company to install their work on the enclosures. The process was slow, inconsistent, and the installation quality of the wraps varied tremendously.

At about that time, the KC Streetcar Authority introduced Art in the Loop to Signco, their preferred professional wrap company – a company whose track record for quality and fair pricing led them to be the exclusive wrap provider for the KC Streetcars during the previous year. For the Streetcar Authority, after witnessing the expertise of Signco’s designers and installers, they were hooked.

Signco had been converting incredible artworks designed by local artists into a format that could be placed on the streetcars, which was no easy feat. So, the logistical, safety, and visibility requirements for the Art in the Loop Streetcar Stop Enclosure wraps would be somewhat familiar to Signco. The Streetcar Stop Enclosure wraps had many additional restrictions and schedules Signco would need to work around during fabrication and installation while absolutely maintaining the integrity of each of the artist’s work.

According to Ann Holiday, Director of the Art in the Loop Foundation, the overall professionalism and ease of collaboration with Signco was exactly what Art in the Loop was looking for. And, Signco’s commitment to quality, flexibility in timing, and creativity in design and fabrication in producing the many material-diverse wraps exceeded Art in the Loop’s expectations.

According to Holiday, as the Art in the Loop program evolved, Signco was invited to the initial installation meeting with each artist Art in the Loop chose to feature for the upcoming display period. Signco was there from start to finish, helping to accurately plan out the best installation solution for each project and collaborating with the artist on how to make the art look its absolute best once installed.