For the past year the Grassroots Art Center has been in the process of digitizing Kansas Grassroots Art Environment videos. Staff at the art center have spent 20 years documenting more than 90 self-taught local and Kansas artists and their yard environments.
Thanks to a Heritage Grant from the Kansas Humanities Council 30 of these permanent collection videos that were deteriorating are now stabilized. Patty Nicholas from the Forsyth Library at Fort Hays State University was the Humanities Council consultant and Peter Max Lawrence facilitated the transfers of the video tapes for this archival project.
As an end result the public will now be educated about self-taught, outsider art in Kansas through this video archive. Three of these grassroots art videos will be showcased at the Lid Off Film Festival at Lucas on Oct. 21-23. For more information about the film festival go to www.lidofffilmfestival.org.