Image: Hazlett Henderson and Skyler Adamson planting fruit trees (April 6, 2024)
Kansas City, MO, May 13, 2024: Charlotte Street and the Spencer Museum of Art are pleased to announce the 2024 open call for Rocket Grants, with applications accepted through June 24.
With support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Rocket Grants provide direct funding to artists in the Kansas City region who are creating exceptional, under-the-radar, and artist-centered projects in public spaces. Artists, curators, collectives, and collaborative groups residing within an 80-mile radius of the Kansas City metropolitan area are eligible to apply.
The Rocket Grants program awards project-based grants of $6,000 to individuals or artist groups for projects that exist outside established venues such as museums, galleries, theaters or arts districts. Artists are encouraged to address the community at large, or choose a smaller, targeted audience. The long-term goals of the Rocket Grants program are to encourage emerging and non-traditional artistic practices in the Kansas City region; to contribute to a thriving arts community; and to build bridges between geographic and cultural communities.
It was so inspiring to see all of the Rocket Grants come to fruition this year – and to have the Fruit Tree Community Choir be a part of this endeavor to grow public art in our region. Rocket Grants is so important for this work of funding local artists and nurturing a creative ecosystem.
-Hazlett Henderson, a 2023 Rocket Grant recipient
2023 Recipients included:
Fruit Tree Community Choir | Hazlett Henderson and Skyler Adamson
Flew The Coop Sessions | Cody Boston
Kawsmouth River Carnival | Jac Danger, Matthew Lloyd, Kimmon Smutz
The KC Queertet Live Video Series | Adee Dancy
On Born Children and Ghosts | Timmia Hearn DeRoy
Poetry Takes (P)residence | Rhiannon Dickerson
Seasons and Cycles | Kyle Jones and Paul Berlinsky
Kansas City’s Removal Act: The Reckoning of Andrew Jackson Monuments | Neysa Page-Lieberman
The Black Farmer’s 2 Dilemmas | Ryan Tenney
The Trendsetters: Teen Fashion Showcase with Social Impact | Remy Wharry
Rocket Grants projects encompass a broad range of visual art, performance, film, video, new media, writing, public programming, social practice, and interdisciplinary work. The Rocket Grant Blog includes an online archive and documentation of past projects.
Rocket Grant projects are selected by a jury of four arts professionals, working both locally and nationally. Each proposal will be evaluated on criteria including innovation, thoughtful context, feasibility and meaningful impact.
To apply, artists must submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) online by June 24, 2024. The LOI should include a project summary, the artists involved, the intended audience, the specific context of the work, budget needs, and relevance of the project. The jury will assess the Letters of Interest and invite selected projects to complete a full application in July 2024. Rocket Grants recipients will be announced in September 2024.
For any questions regarding the application, please contact Kimberly Kitada, Gallery and Programs Manager, at [email protected].
Rocket Grant FAQ Sessions
The public is invited to attend in-person information sessions that will answer questions about the application and jury process.
May 23, 2024 | 6 PM to 7 PM at the Spencer Museum at KU
1301 Mississippi Street, Lawrence, KS 66045
June 14, 2024 | 6 PM to 7 PM at the Charlotte Street Kemper Library
3333 Wyoming Street, Kansas City, MO 64111
ABOUT THE SPENCER MUSEUM OF ART
The Spencer Museum of Art, located on the University of Kansas Lawrence campus, explores the intersection of art, ideas, and experiences. With a diverse collection of more than 48,000 works, the Spencer is the only museum in Kansas with contemporary and historic artwork in all mediums from cultures across six continents. The Spencer Museum facilitates arts engagement and research through exhibitions, artist commissions and residencies, conferences, performances, lectures, children’s art activities, and arts and culture festivals. Admission to the Spencer Museum of Art is free.
ABOUT CHARLOTTE STREET
Charlotte Street centers Kansas City’s most forward-thinking visual artists, writers, and performers—acting as the primary incubator, provocateur, and connector for the region’s contemporary arts community, and its leading advocate on the national stage. Since 1997, Charlotte Street has distributed over $2.5 million in awards and grants to artists and their innovative projects, and connected individual artists to each other and to the greater Kansas City community. For more information about Charlotte Street, its awards, programs, and initiatives, visit www.charlottestreet.org.
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