Koch Family Foundation

Happy Fourth of July weekend! The Wichita Symphony is grateful for the support from two institutions who have shown generous leadership in supporting our America 250 celebration this year, Textron Aviation and the Koch Family Foundation.

Our patriotic concerts this year have included:
- our Young People's Concert, Postcards Across America, performed in January to standing ovations from thousands of Kansas kids
- Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue (Feb 22, 2026)
- Byron Stripling's America the Beautiful (May 9, 2026)
- Symphony in the Gardens: American Landscapes in partnership with Botanica, the Wichita Gardens (May 15, 2026)

Textron Aviation and the Koch Family Foundation understand how important music is to our community as our nation celebrates 250 years. Thank you for your support, and enjoy a safe, celebratory Independence Day!

From a Mark Arts exhibit that celebrated the places and stories that connect us, to teacher development seminars and classroom resources, July showcased the many ways A250 is inspiring learning and engagement across the country. Koch Family Foundation is proud to support programs that help educators, students and communities explore the history, principles and experiences that continue to shape America. 🇺🇸

Featured here is Nathan Novack's “Above All” art piece from Mark Arts’ Land That I Love exhibition which celebrated America’s landscapes, wildlife and communities.

For more than 20 years, Koch Family Foundation has partnered with in supporting educators and expanding opportunity in the classroom. At the recent Presidential Decisions Throughout History workshop, teachers explored defining moments across presidencies and how those decisions continue to shape our country. 🇺🇸
 
Through hands-on sessions and practical resources, educators left with new ways to help students think critically about history, leadership, and the principles that have driven progress over time. As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, it’s a reminder that understanding the past helps people build what’s next.

📚Through Reality U® program, local students participated in a financial literacy simulation, making real life decisions, choosing careers, budgeting monthly expenses, navigating trade-offs. Not a lecture. Not a worksheet. Real choices with real consequences.

That’s empowerment, the conditions that let you build your own judgment. Autonomy to choose. Structure to learn from. 

The Koch Family Foundation is proud to support this hands-on experience and the schools, volunteers, and partners who make it possible!

🖌️✨ Art takes as many forms as there are ways to see the world. On World Art Day, we’re celebrating the artists who don’t wait for permission to test a new idea, they create, learn what works, adjust, and create again.

The Koch Family Foundation, believes every person is capable of achieving extraordinary things. For nearly four decades, we’ve supported artists as they discover and develop their innate gifts — through KCT grants, arts initiatives, and programs that give them the freedom to experiment. That’s Experimental Discovery — learning through making, not waiting to know the answer first.

Happy World Art Day to everyone experimenting with what art can do. 🎨

📚 A legacy of learning begins with contribution—helping people gain the knowledge and skills to create value for others and themselves.

For Fred and Mary Koch, that took root in Wichita in the early 1930s, where they built a life grounded in curiosity, creativity, and a deep commitment to the arts and education.

Today, the Koch Family Foundation carries that vision forward—creating opportunities for individuals to grow, contribute, and make a lasting impact. A legacy not just remembered, but continuously built.

Exhibitions like this help spark curiosity, inspire creativity, and deepen appreciation for the arts in our Kansas community!

The Abstract National Exhibition at is on view through March 21🎨🖌️