Not Provoke, But Invite: RubiX’s First Year

Haley Kostas remembers prepping her collaborating dancers behind the curtains directly before they walked out for the first RubiX performance back in September. The other members of RubiX—Sarah [...]

RubiX preps for its first performance

  RubiX is an experimental performance outlet that brings together musicians, dancers, performing artists, visual artists and writers to collaborate on transformative events. Today on the [...]

RCMA: Preserving Marginalized Histories

I met up with Kendell Harbin in the nearly empty parking lot of the Midwest Genealogy Center. We sat on the curb and chatted for a few minutes, waiting for the library to officially open. Today [...]

Reflecting on Ten Years of Rocket Grants with Julia Cole

To talk about the ten year anniversary of Rocket Grants is to understand the way that the arts landscape has changed in Kansas City throughout that time. In 2009, “social practice” frequently [...]

Mahaska-White Cloud Community Mural has begun!

The painting of the White Cloud Community Mural has officially begun!   After a series of brainstorming and design meetings we finalized our idea and on May 17, 2019 we started outlining the [...]

I Heart Local Music Presents: Pride for the Masses at Granada!

Based out of Lawrence, KS, I Heart Local Music Magazine‘s mission is to celebrate the local scene, giving attention to a diverse range of artists. On June 8th, they will be hosting the [...]

2019 Award Winners Announced!

The Charlotte Street Foundation and Spencer Museum of Art at KU are delighted to announce the winners of 2019 Rocket Grants Awards: Eleven innovative and public-facing projects were chosen from [...]

Trip Afield: Catching Up With Field Trip Publishing

Field Trip Publishing, funded by a 2011 Rocket Grant, was a collaborative project founded and staffed by Eric Dobbins and Kelly John Clark. The two worked with artists to create limited-edition [...]

Progress update: White Cloud Community Mural

Called to Walls Documentary Screening & First Community Meeting Our team screened Called to Walls, a documentary about the making of four community murals in the Midwest, followed by a [...]

Kansas City: The Center of the Universe

In 2016, Maura Garcia (non-enrolled Cherokee/Mattamuskeet), a 2015 Rocket Grant recipient, launched her project Center of the Universe in conjunction with the Kansas City Indian Center. The [...]