Our Approach
We are recognized as a model for rural-urban interdependence.
RUX enables proactive conversations about Kentucky’s most complex challenges by building relationships across difference and uplifting a Kentucky story that is as exciting, diverse, and complex as Kentuckians. A story that all Kentuckians can recognize themselves in. As a result, our framework has become recognized a creative leadership model for building social capital and bridging the geographic and societal divides that separate members from one another.
RUX has been celebrated by the Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, NPR’s 1A, The New York Times, CityLab, Huffington Post, Stateline, and NonProfit Quarterly. We’ve been featured at the Kennedy Center’s Arts Summit and the National Rural Assembly, and in studies by the National Governors Association and Americans for the Arts. RUX is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and recently launched in Minnesota with support from the McKnight Foundation and the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation.
With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Living with Complexity Case Studies and Currency of Connection Handbook tell the story of the first seven years of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange, and the Kentuckians who have been impacted.
Publications
Case Studies: At the Speed of Trust (2025)
At the Speed of Trust: Stories from the First Decade of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange celebrate RUX’s 10th year through new stories from alumni, partners, and supporters.
Learn about our nationally-celebrated initiative's approach and impact through interviews, conversations, and a deep dive into the timeline of RUX’s first decade, the Currency of Connection curriculum, and our nationwide partnership network.
At the Speed of Trust was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and follows a set of case studies published in 2020 (see below) that chronicle the first 5 years of RUX’s impact.
The contents of At the Speed of Trust were developed through interviews conducted by Tyler McDaniel, written by Belle Townsend, edited by Savannah Barrett & Taylor Killough, and designed by Jess Stevens of Alight Marketing Agency.
Case Studies: Living With Complexity (2019)
The Living with Complexity Case Studies share the impact of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange through the stories of twelve Kentuckians who have engaged with the program over it’s seven year history. The interviews are organized in the context of the three components of the RUX Currency of Connection Framework: People, Place, and Partnership.
The Living with Complexity Case Studies are supported by a 2019 ArtWorks-Multidisciplinary category award from the National Endowment for the Arts. They were written by founding RUX Steering Committee Members Ivy Brashear and Richard Young. Ivy and Richard also conducted the interviews. The concept for the Case Studies was developed by the Rural-Urban Exchange Expansion team, and additional editing was provided by Taylor Killough, Mark Kidd, and Savannah Barrett.
Exchange Handbook: Currency of Connection
The Currency of Connection Handbook shares the framework and approach of the Rural-Urban Exchange. This document also tells the story of our learnings and impact while tracking the history of the program’s development from our pilot in 2014 and through the first five years of the full program 2015-2018.
The Currency of Connection Handbook was written by the Rural-Urban Exchange Expansion Team, and reflects the contributions of Savannah Barrett, Ivy Brashear, Nick Covault, Stefani Dahl, Gerry James, Mark Kidd, Ada Smith, Sarah Schmitt, Tanya Torp, Richard Young. This work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the McKnight Foundation, and our founding partners at Art of the Rural and Appalshop.
2022 Knowledge Building Webinars
Hosted live on June 30th, this RUX Knowledge Building webinar featured MN RUX Steering Committee members Salma Ahmed Ibrahim, Joseph J. Allen, Anna Claussen, Cheryal Hills, and Kathy Mouacheupao. They joined us to talk about adapting the Currency of Connection framework to the Minnesota context, building new relationships across the state, and launching the MN RUX cohort.
MN RUX launched in July, 2022 and has been hosted in St. Paul, Mahnomen, and the White Earth Reservation.
This video captures a knowledge building webinar from June 7, 2022 featuring alumni and Steering Committee members of the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange. You'll learn about the Currency of Connection framework and hear from Alexia Ault, Michael George, Amelia Martens, and Mitzi Sinnott about their real-life examples of how the program has changed what it means to be a Kentuckian. Panelists will also share examples of how the RUX program has influenced their professional work through partnerships, projects, and networks.
