RUX announces support From the National Endowment for the Arts!

Louisville, Kentucky—   Art of the Rural and The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange have been awarded a grant of $20,000 from The National Endowment of the Arts via their Grants for Arts Projects category. The award will go to support further planning, development, and capacity building of the RUX program as we prepare for a 2022 Learning Cohort. This support will also give us the opportunity to share our approach and framework more broadly.  

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from Art of the Rural and our partners at Appalshop,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange is among the arts projects across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.” 

The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange is a creative leadership program designed to build confidence, grow social capital, and bridge divides to unite Kentuckians. RUX’s 240 alumni represent 42 counties and include community development leaders, visual artists, entrepreneurs, city council members, farmers, organizers, poets, lawyers, a Mayor, and more.  The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected for funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category. 

“The Rural-Urban Exchange offers Kentuckians the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships, explore the distinctive culture and amenities of local communities, and engage in proactive conversations about Kentucky's most complex challenges” said Savannah Barrett, Exchange Director of Art of the Rural. “We’re grateful to the NEA for recognizing and supporting this important work.”

Now in its eighth year, this partnership between Art of the Rural and Appalshop has earned national acclaim in the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and national conferences such as Grantmakers in the Arts and the Kennedy Center Arts Summit. To learn more about the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange, visit www.kyrux.org. For more information on this National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.