Records of the Kansas Art Commission

Abstract: The vast majority of the records from the Kansas Arts Commission concern grants awarded by the Commission to various state and local agencies, non-profit groups, and individuals working in the arts, demonstrating the types of projects awarded and how such projects were administered. Other records include the administrative working files and research materials of the Commission, correspondence, meeting minutes, and publicity materials.

Administrative History: The mission of the Kansas Arts Commission is to provide opportunities for the people of Kansas to experience, celebrate, and value the arts throughout their lives. The commission serves artists, nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies through grants to support the arts in communities. They also provide seminars, workshops and one-on-one consulting in business development, grant writing, strategic planning, marketing, and other areas of nonprofit arts management.

The Kansas Arts Commission was founded in 1966 under the name of the Kansas Cultural Arts Commission, changing its name in 1973. The KAC was funded through the State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts until June 2011, when all staff were laid off and the budget for the agency zeroed out. The Kansas Arts Commission continued to function through its commissioners. In FY2012 the commission joined with the former Film Commission under the Department of Commerce to become the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission.

[Kansas Arts Commission. "Mission and History." http://arts.state.ks.us/history.shtml (accessed 29 October 2008).]