The Rocket Grants program has named ten artists and collectives across the Kansas City and Lawrence region as its 2026–27 awardees, each receiving $6,000 in project funding. The announcement, published by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts on 5 October, brings the total distributed this round to $60,000. The grants support artist-driven projects that might otherwise struggle to find institutional backing. The funded projects span craft, film, music, theater and public space. Grace Ambrose will develop 'From Log to Stool,' a green woodworking project, while Lourdes Kalusha-Aguirre produces 'Forward, Together,' a documentary film. Melissa Ferrer-Civil and Calvin Arsenia collaborate on 'Melanated Measures,' and Kim Riley stages 'The Reckoning,' an immersive play. Jared Horman is building a website chronicling the history of Kansas City drag artists. Other recipients turn to journalism, cinema and community ritual. Bryan Stalder's 'The Front Page Project' centers on the Northeast News, a local paper; Sean Kenealy's 'Pocket Cinema Project' takes film to new audiences; and Marian McClellan's 'Reflected' carries Playback Theater into women's shelters. The Waiting Room and Harrison Street DIY will mount 'Site Four,' an outdoor exhibition at a skate park this October. Rocket Grants has long functioned as a launchpad for early-career and experimental artists in the region, with past rounds seeding projects that later traveled nationally. The program's model — modest sums, artist-led selection, minimal bureaucracy — has made it one of the Midwest's most closely watched small-grant schemes. This year's cohort continues that emphasis on work rooted in neighborhood life and collective memory.