King Thomas Moore is setting the bar for children his age in the arts community. At ten-years-old, son of internationally acclaimed poet, Jessica Care Moore, has become the youngest recipient of the Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge Award, challenging him to raise $15,000, in matching funds, to help spread the idea of artistic engagement in inner cities.
Growing up with his famous mother, Moore noticed that poetry open mic nights, for children ages twelve and under, did not exist. “Teenagers, they get a lot of stuff,” Moore commented in a recent interview. “They have a lot of activities, but elementary kids, they don’t have a lot of activities to do.” So, that’s when he set out to bring about change, launching his award-winning 12 & Under Super Cool Poetry Open Mic Series, so that children his age can experience the benefits of self-expression through poetry.
As a result of this endeavor, The Knight Foundation took notice and awarded Moore $15,000 of matching funds with the condition of him raising $15,000 in addition to his awarded sum. “The total of $30,000 will allow [King] to cover workshops, the poetry anthology, and a large culminating performance,” commented Moore’s mother. Both mother and son feel that raising funds, in addition to the awarded sum, will help provide capital needed for not only domestic poetry tours but to also help launch an international initiative as well.
Congratulations, King! We cannot wait to see more from you in the future! Check out the video below to get a sense of Moore’s poetry flow. Additionally, if you like what you see, to learn more about Moore’s poetry fun, check out his website here.
The Knight Foundation is a national entity that provides arts enrichment to urban communities. In 2017, they plan on giving away a total of $7.8 million to fund ideas in four cities: Akron, Oh, Detroit, MI, Miami, FL, and St. Paul, MN.
