The Greater Owensboro Leadership Institute (GOLI) has been awarded a grant to support a new local arts initiative aimed at fostering community connection and belonging.
The $1,200 Intercultural Microgrant comes from the Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX), through the Kentucky Foundation for Women (KFW) funding pool. The grant will support two key projects — the Artist Mixer and the Portrait Project — both designed to bring people together through creativity.
The Artist Mixer will provide networking opportunities for Owensboro-Daviess County artists, encouraging collaboration and partnerships that benefit the community. The Portrait Project will highlight the stories and faces of 12 local residents, celebrating the area’s diverse identities and experiences through individual portraits and personal narratives.
“We believe art has the power to bring people together across lines that can sometimes divide us,” said Maria Clark, who leads the GOLI Art Team. “This initiative creates space for people to see and hear one another in new ways. When we lift our community’s stories through creativity, we strengthen our sense of belonging and can move forward together.”
The Art Team is one of four formed through GOLI’s collaboration with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, part of a broader effort to spark community-led change. Each team is focused on addressing local concerns while helping strengthen the civic culture of Owensboro-Daviess County.
The RUX Microgrant Program awarded $23,200 in total funding this year to support collaborative projects that connect Kentuckians across geographic, cultural, and political lines. Since its founding in 2014 by Art of the Rural and Appalshop, RUX has grown into a statewide leadership network with more than 325 alumni from 65 counties.
Learn more about the program and its recipients at kyrux.org.
By: John Kirkpatrick The Owensboro Times