TopArts Grant Recipients (2016-2023)

The TopArts Grant Program is funded by the City of Topeka and administered by ArtsConnect. There are two tracks for this program, one which funds increased access to arts education and activities and another which supports the creation and maintenance of public works of art. ArtsConnect commissioned an economic impact survey of the arts which was published in 2014. This began a series of strategic efforts to inform and educate city stakeholders about the importance of the arts in our community. We have been the organization offering key advocacy on this issue which has resulted in the establishment and maintenance of this funding. In 2016-2023 combined, more than $200,000 has been granted into the community, reaching thousands of Topekans directly. The program has been funded again as part of the city budget and we look forward to another round of critical support for the arts in Topeka. Below, you will find a complete list of all TopArts grant recipients from 2016-2023.

2023 TopArts Grantees

  • Do Pi Ka Project by artist Lisa LaRue-Baker

  • Robinson Middle School (USD 501) - Robinson Mural Project

  • Sunflower Music Festival, Inc. Focus on Black Female Composers

  • AileyCamp for Topeka Youth - Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (KCFAA)

  • Honorariums for Authors @ Kansas Book Festival

  • Summertime Blues by Topeka Blues Society

  • Topeka Youth Orchestras by Topeka Symphony Orchestra

  • Latin Jazz Workshops in Topeka by Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra

  • ReStore Container Mural by Topeka Habitat for Humanity

  • Serenity Arts Panels in Redbud Park

  • Ballet Stars at Capper Foundation by Kansas Ballet Academy

  • Sunflower Bee Mural Repairs by Robert Tapley Bustamante

  • Advantage Clay Classes at Fire Me Up Ceramics

  • Topeka Cello Collective Membership Expansion

  • It Takes a Village 2023 Summer Camp

  • NOTO Arts and Entertainment District Crosswalk Pilot Project

  • Ultramotion Studios “Freedom Speaks!: A Trunk Full of Treasures” Tour Show

  • Pirates of Penzance Sing-A-Long by Joseph DeSota

  • Art from the Heart by TARC, Inc.

2022 TopArts Grantees

  • 24-Hour Play Festival by American Regional Theatre Society, Inc.

  • Sun-Hero Magazine by Dané Shobe

  • FSCG Art Day at Home by Family Service & Guidance Center

  • Ballet Stars program by Kansas Ballet Company

  • Kansas Book Festival

  • AileyCamp Topeka by Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey

  • Kansas Drum Days by the Kansas Percussive Arts Society

  • Family Wellness Event by Lighthouse TCO Foundation

  • Advantage Clay Class by Fire Me Up Ceramics

  • Student outreach by On Stage Live

  • Carol Long Ceramics Workshop

  • KODA Project by Riley Voth

  • The Sunflower Music Festival

  • 2022 Season by Sunrise Theatre Company

  • Painting lessons by Topeka Art Guild

  • Summertime Concert Series by Topeka Blues Society

  • Senior Art Classes by LULAC Senior Center

  • Strings for Success by Topeka Symphony Society

  • Healing Through the Arts by Valeo Behavioral Healthcare

  • WU Total Percussion Camp by Washburn University

  • Alley Mural at 823 N Kansas Ave

  • College Hill Alley Murals

  • NOTO Arts & Entertainment District Rotating Sculpture Program

  • Shawnee County Health Department Mural

  • Jay Shideler Mural Project

2021 TopArts Grantees

  • Artistic Expressions Healing Arts Initiative by artist John Sebelius

  • Backstage TPAC @ Topeka Performing Arts Center

  • Ballet Folklorico De Topeka: Mother's Day Presentation

  • Keeper of the Plains Mural @ Gil Carter Initiative by artist Alexander Lancaster

  • Black Lives Matter Mural-Building Community @ Topeka Habitat for Humanity by artists Jordan E. Brooks & C. Dylan Barker

  • Train Bridge Mural @ 45th & Topeka Blvd by Bring Back the Boulevard

  • Expanding Topeka Area Art Education Opportunities by Topeka Art Guild, Inc.

  • Expressive Therapies for the Uninsured and Underinsured by Valeo Behavioral Healthcare

  • FSGC Art Day at Home by Family Service & Guidance Center with artists Lila Bartel, Tina Brackman, Anne Kufahl, Gwen McClain, Jancy Pettit and Janet Zoble

  • Handel's "Messiah" performed by the Spire Chamber Ensemble by Great Spaces Art & Music Series @ Grace Cathedral

  • Ballet Stars by Kansas Ballet Company

  • KCFAA Topeka by Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey

  • Mindfulness Through Native American Art by artist Lisa LaRue-Baker

  • Multicultural Community Art Project by Greater Topeka Partnership featuring artists Jamie Colon, Mona Cliff and George Mayfield @ Topeka Habitat for Humanity

  • Youth Outreach by On Stage Live with pianist Thomas Pandolfi & Thalea String Quartet

  • Profiles of Courage II by Heavenly Visions Foundation with photographer Yolanda Taylor

  • Sculpture Art in NOTO @ NOTO Arts & Entertainment District

  • Summertime Blues In the Park by Topeka Blues Society @ Gage Park

  • Artistic Support for Sunflower Music Festival

  • Sunrise Theatre Company 2021 Season

  • Online Symphony Performances - Topeka Symphony Orchestra

  • Ukulele Extension for COVID Protocols - Scott Dual Language Magnet School

  • Welcome To Fabulous North Topeka mural by artist Robert Tapley Bustamante

  • Survivor Art Group - YWCA Center for Safety & Empowerment

2020 TopArts Grantees

  • Art Barrier (Sculptural Gates and 'Caged Bone Pile' Pillars)

  • Gil Carter Initiative Mural Project

  • Evergy Downtown Rainbow Towers

  • Involvement I & II

  • LULAC Senior Center Moonflower Mural

  • "An evening with US..." Performance and Tour

  • Aaron Douglas Art Fair

  • Arc of Hope Veterans Art Program

  • Backstage TPAC

  • Carnival of the Animals: A Partnership Between Kansas Ballet, Topeka Zoo, and Boys & Girls Clubs

  • Dime Store Mysticism by Luke Rocha

  • FSGC Art Day Artists in Residence

  • High School Advantage Clay Classes

  • Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey

  • Topeka Latin Artists Showcase

  • Poetry For Personal Power (P3)

  • On Stage Live Student Outreach--Concert Year 2020-2021

  • Summertime Blues

  • TopCity Swing 2020

  • Topeka Symphony Youth Programs

  • Two Block Chalk Walk

  • Tyson Williams' Stage Play "Extortion: The Misfits"

  • YWCA Survivor Art Group

2019 TopArts Grantees

  • ¡Más adelante! - 1st Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Poetry Spotlight and Outreach

  • 2019 Aaron Douglas Art Fair

  • TARC: Art From the Heart

  • Boys & Girls Club: Art program for at-risk youth

  • John Sebelius: Artistic Expressions

  • Topeka Performing Arts Center: Backstage TPAC

  • Bee Mural @ Zimmerman & Zimmerman near 9th & Quincy

  • Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority: Brown v. Board of Education Mural bus wrap

  • On Stage Live: Classical and Contemporary Music Outreach for Children

  • Clover Gear NOTO Beautification and Extension Project

  • CX1DJS "Building in Music" Work Shop

  • Valeo: Expressive Therapies for the Uninsured

  • Family Service & Guidance Center: Art Day Artists in Residence

  • MURAL: Kansas Ballet's #IAmABalletStar Mural

  • Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey Topeka

  • NOTO Utility Box Murals

  • Poetry for Personal Power: Resilience Message Events

  • Tyson Williams: Smoke Behind Closed Doors

  • Sun Moon Mountains by Robert Tapley Bustamante @ 17th & Adams

  • Sunflower Music Festival

  • Topeka Symphony Youth Ensembles

  • YWCA: Survivor Art Group

  • Last Minute Folk: Folk Music for Seniors

2018 TopArts Grantees

  • Artistic Expressions Healing Arts Initiative @ Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center

  • Great Spaces Music & Arts Series @ Grace Cathedral

  • KC Friends of Alvin Ailey – AileyCamp 2018

  • Summer Ballet with Kansas Ballet @ Boys & Girls Club

  • Aaron Douglas Art Fair @ Aaron Douglas Art Park

  • The Art of Healing @ YWCA Center for Safety & Empowerment

  • Opossum Where Art Thou @ The Topeka Zoo

  • Works of Heart Artists in Residence @ Family Service & Guidance Center

  • Topeka Faces Murals by Patrick Rocha

  • ArtReach @ Topeka Rescue Mission

  • Cruzline Contenders @ Scott Dual Language School, Williams Arts & Science Magnet School, and Topeka High School

  • Topeka Habitat for Humanity Mural

  • Postcard from NOTO Mural

  • Sheffel Theatre Clinic and Schooltime Theatre Series @ Topeka Performing Arts Center

  • Haunted Hotel: Theater of the Mind @ KTWU

  • Senior Outreach Concert Series with Last Minute Folk

  • Brown v. Board Mural Project

2017 TopArts Grantees

  • Brooksfest - Gwendolyn Brooks Centennial Celebration

  • YWCA Survivor Art Group

  • Topeka Community Concert Association Youth Outreach

  • Artistic Expressions Healing Arts Initiative with artist John Sebelius @ Veterans Administration

  • Kansas Ballet Summer Program

  • NOTO ArtReach with artist Patty Kahn

  • Lutheran Fine Arts Council

  • Ballet Folklorico

  • Family Service & Guidance Center

  • Boys & Girls Club of Topeka

  • Capital City High School Mural

  • Lighting the Historic Topeka Water Tower

  • Valeo’s Creations of Hope Gallery

  • Performing Arts for Children

2016 TopArts Grantees

  • Mulvane Art Museum – Art After School

  • The Craftivists – Weekly Art Groups for Women & Girls

  • Patty Kahn & Quincy Elementary School – NOTO ArtReach Art Education Program

  • Tonantzin Society – Artist Residency

  • Grace Cathedral – Great Spaces Music & Art Series

  • Kansas Ballet – Early Start Performing Arts @ State Street Elementary

  • Aaron Douglas Art Fair – Interactive Art Activities

  • Last Minute Folk Concert Series – Expanded Outreach & Community Engagement

  • Topeka Symphony Society – Youth Ensembles Scholarship & Tuition Support

  • TARC, Inc. – Art from the Heart

  • Topeka Community Concert Association – Outreach & Community Engagement

  • Lutheran Fine Arts Council of Topeka – Theater Workshop at Topeka Civic Theatre

  • Chesney Park Neighborhood Improvement Association – Great Mural Wall of Topeka

  • The Lighting of Topeka’s Historic Water

  • Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority – Art in Transit Redux @ Quincy Street Station