AJO infuses arts and community into Kansas City offices

Beginning in April, A Joint Operation (AJO) will transform its Kansas City offices into The Joint Gallery, creating a unique space for artists to showcase their work during First Fridays. Kansas City Crossroad’s First Fridays draw thousands of art enthusiasts to the energized downtown area from March through October. 

The space, set conveniently above the Homestate Dispensary in the Kansas City Crossroad District, serves as corporate headquarters for AJO in Kansas City, separated from the dispensary itself. The AJO offices, now known as The Joint Gallery, are used for company training, satellite workspace, meeting space, and to host special programming events, such as gallery shows and product launches.

AJO’s first event in the space comes this weekend as the company hosts an industry happy hour to celebrate the Greenway Best of the Industry award recipients. The Greenway and Cannvocate Best of The Industry concert tour, featuring Styles P, will take place just three minutes away at the historic Gem Theater in the iconic 18th and Vine District, on Sunday; doors at 6:00 p.m., show at 7:00 p.m.

“Not only does opening our AJO offices as a gallery – The Joint Gallery – support the store and the neighborhood, but it also allows for additional marketing and partnership opportunities for the cannabis industry, as well as increased participation in the area business community and creating a platform for inspired awareness,” said AJO Chief Development Officer Rachael Herndon. 

“Since our inception, AJO and Homestate have been intentionally set on making an impact within our organization, with our guests, and in our cannabis and local communities. The Joint Gallery is an incredible opportunity to further that goal through collaboration with others who share our passion,” Lauralee Holmes, General Manager of Homestate Kansas City told Greenway.

On Friday, April 7, the Joint Gallery will host its first showcase: AJO and Friends, spotlighting the art of the AJO family and the cannabis industry.

Homestate Assistant General Manager Dominick Williams, a local photographer, will be one of the featured artists at the first installment. 

Each First Friday show will be from 4-8 p.m. in the gallery, running parallel to a vendor pop-up event called Lit in the Lot, which is also recurring, located at an adjoining property. 

Artists and brands seeking inclusion or partnership are invited to reach out to Joint Gallery operations here. 

Future plans include a Cinco de Mayo-themed showcase in May and a service-themed September showing.

“The Joint Gallery will be a vital conduit in supporting Homestate Dispensary and AJO product partnerships as we all seek to fulfill our commitment to those who have been hurt by the prohibition of cannabis and to those who cannabis helps,” Herndon said. “I am over the moon that AJO is creating one more natural opportunity to elevate the industry. Not only can we create (truly and compliantly) elevated experiences for the industry to showcase and promote, we have now created the opportunity to engage with customers and partners intentionally and professionally. 

“Additionally, the gallery will serve as a constant reminder of why we choose every day to participate in Missouri’s regulated market. We do this for the faces of the customers, the feelings of their experiences, and the way that cannabis can elevate their quality of life – but what we’re all doing as a team is in itself historic. We are the first generation to truly create – not disrupt or develop – a new market overnight in almost a century. The headaches we experience daily were experienced over decades with the prohibition of alcohol – and the onset of the information age only speeds this industry’s speedy growth. We’re trailblazers and we have to keep blazing (in every way).”