Four Lawrence-based artistic projects, including a documentary on Trans Lawrence Coalition, earned $6,000 each through this year’s Rocket Grants.
Lawrence recipients include Kay Holland, Tyler Hall and Trans Lawrence Coalition; Brendan McInerney; Jeanne Vaccaro; and Alex Kimball Williams, Leah Evans and Tai Amri Spann-Ryan.
The projects, according to a University of Kansas news release, include:
• Kay Holland, Tyler Hall and Trans Lawrence Coalition: “‘TLC: Building Trans Community’ is an experimental documentary that brings together archival footage, mixed media, professional interviews and public testimonies to portray the multitudes of perspectives, experiences and methodologies that make up Trans Lawrence Coalition’s past, present and future.”
• Brendan McInerney: “‘Land Back to the Future’ is a short documentary film about the cyclical nature of history and the many centuries-long relationship between Native American peoples and the wetland ecosystem on the campus of Haskell Indian Nations University. McInerney will organize an outdoor screening for the Haskell community in front of the Haskell Wetlands.”
• Jeanne Vaccaro: “‘Reading is Transcendental’ is a site-specific public art installation that transforms the bathroom into an intergenerational reading room and community library. Organized by Jeanne Vaccaro, KU assistant professor in the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, with artist Chris E. Vargas, the work will be a printed wallpaper of original drawings representing the real-life bookshelves of Vargas’ community.”
• Alex Kimball Williams, Leah Evans, Tai Amri: “Featured artists from the BLACK Lawrence artist collective will host a public presentation and anniversary celebration of BLACK Lawrence’s community contributions. This project will explore how the work of these artists catalyzes uniquely positive impacts in Kansas and ties their contemporary practices to similar work of historic Black Kansas artists.”
Rocket Grants aim to support artists developing independent projects outside of traditional art galleries, museums and districts. Entries had to demonstrate community impact by bringing art, science and music together, through spoken word, or by providing resources for LGBTQ+ communities.
Additional awardees this year included Camry Ivory, Rachel Krause, Evan Maddox, Miguel Morales, Anthony Rea and Isaac Tapia, and Michael Smith, according to the release.
The 2025 jury included Lisa LaRue-Baker, artist and director of 785 Gallery in Topeka; José Garza, artist and academic programs coordinator at Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis; and Brittany Noriega, co-director of InterUrban ArtHouse in Overland Park. Jury members made selections from a competitive pool of 114 applications.
Ten total projects from the Kansas City area earned $60,000 this year. Funding for the grant is 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.
To learn more about Rocket Grants, visit rocketgrants.org.
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