Art of the Rural

Congratulations to the KY RUX Artists Respond grant cohort! 🎉 These grantees' projects will take place in every corner of Kentucky, using creativity to foster rural-urban connection and solidarity. The grantees include: HOBA House Community Arts Organization (Cloverport, KY, Breckinridge Co.) Shooting Stars Youtheatre & Hindman Settlement School (Lexington, KY, Fayette Co. / Hindman, KY, Knott Co.) Project Speak Life (Paducah, KY, McCracken Co. / Statewide) Malcolm Davis & Affrilachian Arts Institute (Berea, KY, Madison Co. / Louisville, KY, Jefferson Co.) Hotel Metropolitan (Paducah, KY, McCracken Co.) Ceirra Evans (Bath Co. / Statewide) Louisville Youth Choir & 4-H Treble Chorus (Louisville, KY, Jefferson Co. / Hardinsburg, KY, Breckinridge Co.) Carla Gover & Cowan Community Action Group (Lexington, KY, Fayette Co. / Whitesburg, KY, Letcher Co.) Rheonna Thornton & Lipstick Wars (Berea, KY, Madison Co.) Belle Townsend & Backwoods Literary Press (Louisville, KY, Jefferson Co. / Henderson Co. / Statewide) On The Move Art Studio (Paris, KY, Bourbon Co. / Statewide) We are deeply grateful to our partners, including the Creative Change Coalition (led by Springboard for the Arts), Kentucky Arts Council, and Fund for the Arts, for making this grant program possible. Learn more about the grantees' projects: https://lnkd.in/e639p2tk #KYRUX #KYRUX2024 #RUXat10 #ruralurbanexchange #kentuckyartists #kentuckyproud #creativeleadership

Applications are now OPEN! 🎉 The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX)’s 2024 Intercultural Microgrant Program invites the RUX alumni & members to submit cross-sector project proposals for up to $2,000! An informational webinar will be held on Thursday, August 15, at 11am Central via Zoom. Apply by September 2 at 11:59pm Central. This year, we’re proud to partner with Fund for the Arts, Kentucky Foundation For Women, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Monument Workshop at the University of Kentucky, and individual donors to offer multiple grant pools. They include: 🎶 Josh May Memorial Fund Microgrant 🫂 Kentucky Foundation for Women Microgrants 🌱 Civic Health Microgrants 🎨 Artist-led projects that generate Economic Impact in Eastern Kentucky 🌊 Kentucky Waterways Alliance Microgrants 🏛 The Monument Workshop at UK Microgrant Learn more about this opportunity, apply, and register for the webinar at kyrux.org/microgrants

Congratulations to Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) Co-Founder & Art of the Rural Exchange Director Savannah Barrett, who was recently featured at the National Endowment for the Arts Virtual Convening on Fostering Empathy and Mutual Understanding through the Arts! We are deeply grateful for RUX to have been highlighted alongside incredible organizations & artists showcasing the power of creative leadership while working across difference throughout the United States. Show your support and sustain RUX's work in our Commonwealth: https://kyrux.org/donate #KYRUX #KYRUX2024 #RUXat10 #ruralurbanexchange

"Hannibal's Invisibles is more than a book. It is an invitation to know us as we truly were. As Congressmen John Lewis, a standard-bearer of the civil rights movement and of equity in this country, said, ‘The movement without storytelling is like the birds without wings.’” -G. Faye Dant, artist and author of Hannibal's Invisibles and the Executive Director of Jim's Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center Congratulations to G. Faye Dant and Jim’s Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center on a fantastic gathering late last month for the launch of Hannibal’s Invisibles! We were honored to be part of the celebration of this outstanding publication that shares the story of the Black community of Hannibal, MO, with hundreds of vintage photographs collected by Dant and Hannibal residents. In Hannibal’s Invisibles, hear first-hand accounts from those who survived enslavement, faced racism after emancipation, endured Jim Crow, and contributed to the triumphs of the civil rights movement. These are the stories of Black doctors, entrepreneurs, and teachers who helped uplift the community, and remembrances of the countless individuals who gave richness and meaning to Hannibal’s everyday life. The vintage photographs and historical documents collected here are a celebration of these resilient people who built and sustained this corner of the Midwest, despite the immense obstacles they met at every turn. Get your copy through Belt Publishing, independent booksellers through Bookshop.org, or major retailers. https://lnkd.in/eArJMTf7

For 10 years, the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) has shown that arts create the conditions to open minds, listen, and overcome bias. Today, we are excited to launch a new opportunity to support artists to do this work in their own communities, in partnership with the Creative Change Coalition, a new national coalition (led by Springboard for the Arts) of place-based organizations that center people, creativity, and equity working together to create a stronger ecosystem for communities and artists. "Artists Respond: Community, Culture, and Commonality in the Commonwealth" will offer grants for up to ten artists and/or teams to develop creative work that addresses rural-urban connection, interdependence, or solidarity in Kentucky. We aim for this work to uplift the power of arts and culture to address problems and combat a national narrative that too often centers on division and divides, especially in election years. Applications close on July 22. To learn more about this opportunity and to apply, visit the application at https://lnkd.in/eW-cd5aV

📰 Hot off the press! Read our latest issue of the Broadsheet newsletter to learn more about what we've been up to so far this summer, and learn about upcoming gatherings & opportunities from the field. Read & subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/dJ9XYvC7

Learn about the transformative impact of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX)! A partnership between Art of the Rural and Appalshop, Inc, this creative leadership program strengthens professional and intercultural competencies while building connections across racial, economic and geographic divides. Since its start in 2014, RUX has hosted eight cohorts in 13 communities, and has since expanded to a network of almost 300 Kentuckians and Minnesotans from all backgrounds, including artists, educators, farmers, elected officials, entrepreneurs, nurses, and more. 🎨🩺📚 🤝 From connecting diverse leaders to 💬 fostering community dialogue, learn how non-profit organizations around the country are bridging divides to make a difference and building stronger local communities. 📰 Read more in a recent article from The New York Times: https://lnkd.in/ehyUYesT

Thank you to our friends at the McKnight Foundation for their enduring support for Art of the Rural and the Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) over the years. We can't wait to continue our collaborations!

Earlier this week, the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) was featured in The New York Times! Thanks to everyone who has already commented and shared (thanks, President Obama!). We are grateful that this article begins to tell our decade-long story of collaborative work bridging difference & distance across our Commonwealth. Today, we ask you to make RUX accessible to more Kentuckians by donating & sustaining our work. Head to kyrux.org/donate to learn more and give. Thank you for your support - and your commitment to Kentucky’s shared future! Read the article without paywall: https://lnkd.in/edyKjQnk

Join the Minnesota Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) for Coffee & Connection this Friday, June 14, from 9-10am Central! Coffee & Connection is an online series for anyone wanting to grow social capital and cultivate relationships across racial, economic and geographic divides. Register & attend via Zoom: https://lnkd.in/ePvyegyT