Three Lawrence-based artists among recipients of 2024 Rocket Grants
LAWRENCE — The 2024 Rocket Grants have awarded a total of $60,000 for 10 artist projects in the Lawrence and Kansas City area. Three awards support Lawrence-based artists: Fally Afani Ruzik will present a community dabke (circle dance) at the Lawrence Public Library to share Palestinian culture; Aisha Imani Sanaa will lead art-making sessions for parents focused on cultivating wellness; and Alejandro Sabillón will create an immersive experience in a forest that turns trees into DJs using artificial intelligence. Additionally, KU lecturer in visual art Brian Hawkins will create a short animation using oral history interviews recorded in Missouri French.
Rocket Grants, a partnership of Charlotte Street and the Spencer Museum of Art, support innovative, artist-driven projects outside of established arts venues through funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. This year’s selected projects address a wide range of social issues, including food access and environmental justice, immigration and LGBTQIA identity in the Midwest.
The awardees were selected from a highly competitive pool of 77 applications. The jury consisted of four artists and nonprofit leaders: John Engelbrecht, director of Public Space One in Iowa City, Iowa; Kendell Harbin, artist and organizer from Kansas City, Missouri; Katherine Simóne Reynolds, artist and curator from St. Louis; and Jancita Warrington, executive director of Native American affairs for the state of Kansas from Lawrence.
The public is invited to celebrate this year’s recipients at an awards ceremony from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 28 at Charlotte Street in Kansas City, Missouri. This event is free and open to all and is an opportunity for audiences to learn more about each project and connect with the artists.
For more information about Rocket Grants and this year’s award recipients, visit the Rocket Grants website.
A complete list of the 2024 Rocket Grants recipients:
Community Dabke
Fally Afani Ruzik
A free community program on the Lawrence Public Library lawn that includes a presentation on Palestinian culture, learning the dabke circle dance and a shared meal.
Hip Hop in the Garden
Kadesh Flow
A series of all-ages events focused on hip-hop performance and education in community garden spaces.
“It Was a Hell of a Mix-up”
Brian Hawkins
A short animation weaving together nonfiction stories from oral history interviews recorded in Missouri French by sociolinguist Rosemary Hyde from 1977 to 1983.
I Need a Moment of Solitude
Aisha Imani Sanaa
Artmaking sessions for parents to relieve stress and practice self-care while their children spend time in a supervised art space at the Hillcrest Community Center in Topeka.
Glitter!Bunny
April Marie Mai, Hollie Blakeney
A card game specifically designed to be inclusive of autistic players and accessible to everyone.
“1309”
Mazzy Mann
An immersive theatrical production and autobiographical portal into the home of an average Midwestern family grappling with the pressures of suburban working-class society.
“El Arbol de Aguadate” (The Avocado Tree)
Sofiana Olivera-Abalán
A play about the universal story of survival and migrants that will be presented to Spanish-speaking communities in Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka.
One Mic Stand TV
Alex Harris, River Mckenzie
An intimate look into the creative processes of various artists in the Kansas City area including painting, cooking, filmmaking, audio engineering and other topics via 30-minute episodes accessible on YouTube.
Bosque Beats
Alejandro Sabillón
An immersive forest festival where trees and other flora take center stage as DJs using artificial intelligence.
“Adaptive Re-imaginings”
Julia Vering
A documentary project about engaging older adults, people with dementia and residents of long-term care facilities through humor, imagination and multisensory elements.