rocket grants for 2010-11 announced!
Final selections have been made for the first recipients of Rocket Grants, a brand new funding opportunity available to artists who live within an 80-mile radius of downtown Kansas City, which includes Lawrence, KS. Rocket Grants are specifically intended to encourage work that is inventive and “under the radar”, and that engages or benefits an audience somewhere other than in a museum or art gallery. The long-term goal of the program is to not only encourage emerging and non-traditional art practices in the Kansas City region, but also to contribute to a thriving artists’ community. Selections were therefore evaluated not only on the artistic merits of the proposed projects, but also on their capacity to stimulate further growth in a diverse and supportive art ecology.
Because some applicants requested less than the full $4,000, a total of 12 awards were granted. Click here for the list of selected artists and brief project summaries.
Rocket Grants are supported by a $40,000 regional regranting award from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and are implemented by a partnership between the Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, and the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence. The five-member panel responsible for selecting this year’s recipients from more than 80 applications was composed of national and local interdisciplinary artists and arts professionals, including Mel Ziegler, Adriane Herman, Hesse McGraw, So Yeon Park and Pat Alexander.
Read Kansas City Star article, “Rocket Grants Boost Local Artists…” by Alice Thorson, June 6, 2010.
Read in-depth descriptions of the 12 Rocket Grant supported projects.
June 8th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
First off, congratulations to the artists who received this first round of Rocket Grants. I hope all your projects turn out well…Now, for the other poster who questioned these recipients. I work in the Crossroads and I try to stay in tune to the KC art scene. I noticed on this list at least 16 names that I don’t recognize. The few I do recognize would in no way be described as “well off.” I doubt there is some conspiracy to award grants to “the same folks over and over.” My understanding for these rocket grants is they are awarded to fund specific projects. This is hardly a money-making scheme for the artists. I would bet you that some of these projects will cost more than the award will cover. The artists will have to make up the difference out of their own pockets or find additional funds elsewhere. I congratulate them again on their awards and wish them well as they bring these proposals to fruition.
Mo Dickens
Gallery Assistant
Belger Arts Center