KFW Announces Recipients of Radical Timely and Urgent Grants

In an effort to address recent challenges to democracy, bodily autonomy, racial equity in schools and workplaces, trans/LGBTQIA+ communities and other pressing issues, the Kentucky Foundation for Women offered grants of up to $10,000 to experienced KFW grantees to engage individuals and communities in artmaking that directly advances positive social change for women, girls and gender nonconforming people in Kentucky.

The 2024 Radical, Timely and Urgent grantees focused on feminist issues in their communities that challenge the status quo through risk taking and shifting power dynamics.  The projects use a variety of art forms for participatory artmaking that highlight feminist social change topics including but not limited to: addressing climate change through artmaking; infusing communities with opportunities to be heard through art; centering art by women, trans and gender nonconforming people; responding to the needs of neurodivergent artists; uplifting female musicians; reinstating elders as vital contributors to artistic expression and feminist discourse; exploring issues of bodily autonomy; and engaging young people in democracy and the legislative process.

Eight grants totaling $79,925 were awarded. Recipients include:

Two year grants:

Bobbi Buchanan (she/her) of Cox’s Creek: $10,000 to engage female inmates at the Bullitt County Detention Center in creative writing and art workshops. Peer mentors will be trained to lead the workshops, and a publication will feature the works of participants, including women who are incarcerated, those in addition recovery and their loved ones. The program centers the voices of and supports leadership by some of the most marginalized in our community.

bugz fraugg of Berea: $10,000 to support a pilot project called “Molecular Ecosystems,” a femme, queer, solar punk network of artists who will work together to form cross-sector collaborations and civic engagement. KFW funds will be used to train facilitators to nurture and develop local “eco-art pods,” that will be formed throughout Kentucky. These artist-groups will then engage in collaborative efforts to generate unique, localized solutions to public, municipal, business, non-profit and/or grassroots issues.

Genesis Arts Kentucky of Louisville:  $9,925 to support “Sojourner Circle,” a radical initiative empowering Black female elders, specifically women ages 55 and up, through hands-on art-making activities and community-building. Participants will engage in workshops on creative movement, visual arts, creative writing, and storytelling led by Portia White and Gwendolyn Murphy. The program recognizes aging Black women as vital contributors to artistic expression and feminist discourse.

Kyndred Collective of Southgate: $10,000 to create and implement the media project “Kyndred Collective,” a new artist collective and digital platform for creative community building and mutual support led by and for Kentucky’s gender-diverse, neurodivergent (ND) artists. Created in response to complex, systemic barriers which isolate and disable many ND artists from one another and from viable careers in the arts, the collective’s activities aim to provide a supportive space for neurodivergent women and trans people in Kentucky to connect, confront these challenges, and collectively build a creative community that challenges existing norms and promotes inclusivity.

The Mountain Grrl Experience of Pikeville: $10,000 to pay the artists, performers and presenters at The Mountain Grrl Experience, a 3-day, family friendly cultural event featuring musical performance, dance, art and workshops all led by women.  The event will promote and celebrate the creativity and resilience of Appalachian women in a safe and encouraging environment while bringing attention to the voices of women in the arts as well as the need for advocacy, education and action for social change for victims of domestic violence.

One-year grants:

Christine Kuhn (she/her) of Lexington: $10,000 to support the production of a series of visual art works and workshops focusing on the concept of “personhood” of the fetus and the use of this concept as a tool of political manipulation and control of female bodies. The artworks will provoke discussion around the medical, legal and personal implications of laws that define the fetus as having the same rights and privileges as a child and will encourage frank discussion of personal experience.  The intent is to engage and mobilize voters.

Jessica Mathis aka Divinity Rose (she/her) of Louisville: $10,000 to support a live videotaping of an event titled “Unmasked,” an event featuring storytelling from a diverse group of 12 Kentucky artists related to coming out, neurodivergence, medical choices related to body, and gender identity. The video will be made into a mini-documentary by combining the performances with artist interviews and will be submitted to awards, festivals and screenings, before making the stories freely available online. The project will energize and amplify Kentucky feminist artists’ stories and discussions surrounding these topics in Kentucky and beyond.

Young Authors Greenhouse of Louisville: $10,000 to support The Youth Voice Committee, a new program to deepen youth leadership opportunities in Louisville and acknowledge the expertise of young people in middle and high school who are passionate about the power of writing and committed to addressing pressing issues in our city and country on another level than they had in the past, including engaging with the state legislative process. This would be a way for up to ten young women who previously participated in a book project in their classroom to continue to promote and advocate for their causes on a deeper level alongside their peers.

“These KFW grantees are at the forefront of making our state a better, more inclusive place. These projects will allow participants to make their voices heard. The art created will illuminate issues and awaken a hunger for a more just Kentucky.” said Sharon LaRue, Executive Director of the Kentucky Foundation for Women.