WKU News

The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) will gather in Bowling Green this weekend for the first 2018 Rural-Urban Exchange Community Intensive. After the most competitive application process the program has seen to date, the RUX steering committee has finalized selection of the incoming cohort, which includes 75 members from 25 counties and every region of the state. The Kentucky RUX network aligns people working across the arts, agriculture, community health and small business to work together towards the transformation of Kentucky’s economies, communities and sense of self.

The Kentucky Folklife Program at WKU is serving as the group’s regional host partner and has planned cultural experiences that showcase our unique culture and assets. The RUX network will visit the Downing Museum at the Baker Arboretum, Lost River Cave, the African American Museum, the Kentucky Museum, the Islamic Center of Bowling Green, the Pushin Building Artist Studios, Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave, Dennison’s Roadside Market in Horse Cave, the Thomas House in Horse Cave, and will be staying at Western Kentucky University. In addition to the organizations listed above, RUX’s Bowling Green and Cave Country Community Intensive is sponsored by the Bowling Green Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, WKU’s Department of Folk Studies & Anthropology, and the Kentucky Folklife Program.

The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange program is known for helping rural and urban Kentuckians discover their common identity, history and culture. Over the two-year commitment, RUX brings leaders in the arts, agriculture, community development, health, and business together over six weeks. During these Community Intensives, we change the context of professional collaboration to help members deepen bonds, inspire stronger accountability, and create the conditions for innovation. The result is a diverse network of culturally competent leaders with both the deep social capital and the collective capacity needed to transform Kentucky’s future.

Our alumni testify that RUX helped them develop meaningful relationships across the state, learn about other Kentucky communities, lend their own expertise, and create an invaluable network. They also say it’s fun and rewarding – personally and professionally.

Now in its fifth year, this partnership between Art of the Rural and Appalshop has earned national acclaim in the Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, and national conferences such as Grantmakers in the Arts and the Community Development Society. The Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange (RUX) has served more than 200 Kentuckians from 42 counties since 2014, and will have been hosted in every region of the state by the end of 2018.

RUX Members will gather in Bowling Green and Horse Cave June 8-10, in Knott County August 3-5, and in Covington Oct. 10-12 for the program’s fifth year. RUX is supported by the Rural Policy Research Institute, regional host partners, and dozens of Kentucky businesses. Current host partners include the Kentucky Folklife Program in Bowling Green, Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, and BLDG in Covington. Past host communities include Harlan, Lexington, Louisville, Paducah, and Whitesburg. To discover more about 2018 Kentucky RUX cohort, visit www.kyrux.org.

• About the Kentucky Folklife Program: Housed in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at WKU, for over 25 years the Kentucky Folklife Program (KFP) has been dedicated to the mission of documenting, presenting, and conserving the diverse traditional culture and heritage of the Commonwealth. http://kentuckyfolklife.org/

• About Appalshop: Appalshop is a non-profit multi-disciplinary arts and education center in the heart of Appalachia producing original films, video, theater, music and spoken-word recordings, radio, photography, multimedia, and books. Their education and training programs support communities' efforts to solve their own problems in a just and equitable way. Each year, Appalshop productions and services reach several million people nationally and internationally.http://appalshop.org/

• About Art of the Rural: Art of the Rural is a collaborative organization with a mission to help build the field of the rural arts and shape new narratives on rural culture and community. We work online and on the ground through interdisciplinary and cross-sector partnerships to advance engaged collaboration and policy that transcends imposed boundaries and articulates the shared reality of rural and urban America.http://artoftherural.org/

• Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange Steering Committee Members: Alexia Ault - Higher Ground at Southeast Community and Technical College (Harlan), Savannah Barrett - Art of the Rural (Louisville), Ivy Brashear - MACED (Berea), Izzy Broomfield - Mountain Tech Media (Corbin), Nick Covault - Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts (Louisville), Jim Guthrie - Hub + Weber Architects (Covington), Mark Kidd - Handbarrow (Whitesburg), Maria Lewis - Western Kentucky University Libraries, Cheyenne Mize - STRIVE (Louisville), Sarah Schmitt - Kentucky Oral History Commission (Frankfort), Gerry James - The Explore Kentucky Initiative (Frankfort), Ada Smith - Appalshop (Whitesburg), Ashley Smith - The Fayette Alliance (Lexington), Richard Young - Community Development Consultant (Lexington). 

• 2018 Kentucky RUX Regional Host Partners: BLDG in Covington, the Kentucky Folklife Program in Bowling Green, and Hindman Settlement School in Hindman.

CONTACT: Savannah Barrett, Art of the Rural, 270-589-7165 | savannah@artoftherural.org