Three Lawrence-based artistic projects, including a Palestinian cultural dance organized in the community, have earned $6,000 of funding each through Rocket Grants.
With the grant, Fally Afani Ruzik will host a community dabke, or circle dance, to celebrate Palestinian culture. Afani Ruzik said she’s planning to bring in an all-female dabke group from Washington, D.C., Queens of Dabke, to perform at the free Lawrence event.
Afani Ruzik’s full first name is Falestine, named after Palestine. She’s proud of that, she said.
“I was at an Arabic book store over the summer and couldn’t find any resources on Palestine that didn’t involve death and genocide,” Afani Ruzik said via email. “So I wanted to highlight all the beautiful aspects of our culture. We have food, dance and fashion aspects of our culture just like anyone else. Palestinian culture holds so much joy and I want to share it with everyone.”
Rocket Grants aim to provide funding to artists developing independent projects outside of traditional art galleries, museums and districts. This year’s recipients amplify various social issues, such as food access, environmental justice, immigration and LGBTQIA identities in the Midwest, according to a University of Kansas news release.
Other Lawrence-based projects earning Rocket Grants include art-making sessions for parents hoping to cultivate wellness, led by Aisha Imani Sanaa, and an immersive experience that turns forest trees into DJs using artificial intelligence, created by Alejandro Sabillón.
Additionally, KU visual art lecturer Brian Hawkins will create “A short animation weaving together nonfiction stories from oral history interviews recorded in Missouri French by sociolinguist Rosemary Hyde from 1977 to 1983,” according to the release.
In total, $60,000 is being awarded to 10 projects across Lawrence and the Kansas City area, according to the release.
Grant recipients were selected from a competitive pool of 77 applications, according to the release. Four artists and nonprofit leaders formed the jury: 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, of Lawrence, executive director of Native American affairs for the state of Kansas.
The community dabke event is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont. St. It’s free to attend, and Afani Ruzik said there will also be food and a large Palestinian flag balloon.
Visit the community dabke Facebook event page for more information and to stay updated.
Funding for the grants comes through Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the program is a partnership between Kansas City’s Charlotte Street and KU’s Spencer Museum of Art. See other grant recipients at this link.
To learn more about Rocket Grants, visit rocketgrants.org.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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