HUMANITIES/ARTS FORUMS CONTINUE. After March's successful western regional meeting at Hope College in Holland, the "Arts and Humanities: Partners at the Threshold of the 21st Century" public forums move to Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn April 14. The forums are intended to gather ideas and suggestions for collaboration between the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs to advance greater cooperation among cultural institutions of all types in the state of Michigan. The session will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Lovett Hall at the museum; a $10 registration fee covers the cost of the noon luncheon. The forum series, which continues on May 19 at the same time at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, is being sponsored by a joint Arts and Humanities Steering Committee supported with an MCACA grant.
At the Holland forum, MCACA representative Sharon Yentsch outlined as goals of the current partnership between the two state councils and the public dialogue process: "improved coordination of delivery of arts and cultural services statewide; more equitable resource distribution, and development of appropriate mechanisms to effectively use and disseminate arts and humanities resource information." That dialogue will continue at the upcoming forums in southeast and northern Michigan. Representatives of humanities and arts institutions and organizations are particularly encouraged to participate as well as request exhibit space for telling the unique story of their programs and services.
For more information on exhibiting or on the forum program, contact the Central Office at 517/372-7770 or 1/800/837-4532; information and a request form is also available on the Council's web page.
INTEREST IN CULTURAL TOURISM GROWS. National, regional and now Michigan organizations are looking seriously at the potential for cultural programs, places and people to play a part in the state's effort to attract and host tourists and, through them, bring economic payoffs for the state. Whether called "cultural tourism" or "heritage tourism," recognition is growing among both tourism professionals and the cultural community that such programs, personages and sites help give visitors the "sense of place" that more and more of the traveling public desires.
Recently, the Travel Michigan office (formerly the Travel Bureau) included unique "cultural/historical" attributes of the state on a list for planning and potential development to strengthen its tourism initiatives. The Michigan Museums Association's March newsletter, for example, stresses ways in which its constituent facilities -- large and small -- can appeal to visitors during Michigan Week, Museum Day and in their general programming. The Michigan Humanities Council participated in a mid-winter Midwest Regional Cultural Tourism Leadership Forum in Indianapolis at which representatives of arts, humanities, and a wide range of ethnic and cultural groups conferred with tourism industry leaders and state officials about how to bring together their mutual interests.
The Council and its Michigan partners who attended the forum are exploring how to assist historical societies, museums, ethnic communities, arts and historic preservation groups, festival organizers and other cultural groups in communities throughout Michigan to bring forward their unique assets as players in the field of tourism. We'd appreciate hearing your comments, suggestions and word on existing cultural tourism initiatives by your facility or in your region. We'll share them with newsletter readers, on our web site and in our discussion with the tourism industry.
'THE WEST' AVAILABLE FROM RESOURCE CENTER. The Public Broadcasting video series, "The West," has been added to the Council's resource collection, the gift of Gordon Kloostra of PBS Video/Quality Video Programs of Lake Orion. The nine-part PBS series first aired in 1996 and follows the steady expansion of the United States across the continent and the people and events which marked that process. The video program is being made available with a full curriculum package for use by school classes, with library reading and discussion groups and in other public settings. The series was produced by Insignia Films and PBS station WETA of Washington, DC, in cooperation with independent film-maker Ken Burns' Florentine Films. Contact Suzi Kyes in the Council's office to reserve "The West" series and packaged materials that supplement it.
FOUR MINI GRANT AWARDS. The Council has awarded grants of up to $3,000 to assist the following public humanities projects in East Lansing, Holland, Saugatuck-Douglas and Waterford:
The next deadline for Mini Grant support from the Council for community-based public humanities projects is June 15. For more information about how to apply, check out the Council's web page or call the Central Office in Lansing.
IN SEARCH OF SCHOLARS. Scholars are needed to serve as advisors, evaluators, resource persons and presenters for community programming related to the "Produce for Victory" traveling Smithsonian exhibit which will travel to five Michigan communities between September of this year and April, 1998. The scholars will be working with staff at host institutions in Escanaba, Alpena, Port Huron, Grand Haven and Three Rivers. For the World War II production poster exhibit tour, the Council is seeking scholars with expertise in Michigan history during the 1940s and Michigan's role on the homefront during World War II. Contact LuAnn Kern at the Central Office in Lansing for more information.
Scholars interested in participating in other Council funded programs are encouraged to dial up the Council's new web site -- http://mihumanities.h-net.msu.edu -- where they'll find an on-line response form to apply and share their expertise and areas of specialization. The Council has long maintained a database of scholar information to draw on for assisting and evaluating community humanities projects. The term "scholar" also applies to persons who work outside academic institutions and employ interdisciplinary approaches involving the humanities (librarians, museum curators, archivists, etc.) and to certain persons who may not be degreed professionals but possess extensive backgrounds in the humanities, such as traditional culture practitioners. For those without electronic connections, contact the Council office for more information.
WEB PAGE DEVELOPMENTS. Since its debut in early February, the Michigan Humanities Council web site -- http://mihumanities.h-net.msu.edu -- has added electronic versions of much of the Council's program information for access via the Internet. Currently included are: full grant applications and guidelines for downloading; an ever-changing statewide calendar of arts and humanities events with opportunity for on-line submission of information about upcoming events; an interactive form to submit materials for scholar directory listings; catalogue listings for Chautauqua presenters, culture kits and other Resource Center materials; information about the Friends of the Humanities in Michigan; current and back issues of the Council's newsletter, and links to other electronic resources of Michigan cultural institutions and national organizations. Coming soon: electronic discussion groups!
Make the Council's web site a regular spot to visit to see what's happening as we are continually "under construction" to improve this site for users around the state, no matter how isolated or distant. Let us feature your event or program on our web page. We also welcome suggestions for new web site offerings. Contact Suzi Kyes at skyesmihum@voyager.net for general web site information or Nancy Mathews at paomihum@voyager.net about the humanities and arts calendar. Let us know how we can better serve your needs through this new technology.
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS DEADLINE. The Council will be reviewing the first submissions for funding under the new "Collaborative Projects in Communities" grantline this spring, following the April 14 deadline for applications. The new grantline, under the 1997-98 program theme, "Creating Vision for the New Century: The Humanities and the Strengthening of Michigan's Communities," places emphasis on partnership projects which actively involve at least three cooperating community organizations in exploring community issues and concerns. The program has a second deadline Sept. 1.
For more information, contact the Council office for a copy of the program brochure or attend one of two upcoming Program Development and Grant Writing Workshops this spring. The first will be from 10 a.m. to noon May 20 at the Father Marquette Memorial Museum in St. Ignace; the second will be the afternoon of June 5 (1-4 p.m.) at the Library of Michigan and Michigan Historical Center in Lansing. Reserve a spot at one of these workshops and learn more about the Council's interest in assisting cooperative humanities projects in communities throughout Michigan.
NATIVE PEOPLES OF THE GREAT LAKES. The Michigan Humanities Council and a core team of teachers and scholars have begun research and development work on "Native Peoples: Indians of the Great Lakes" as an addition to its multi-media ethnic culture curriculum units. Existing units explore the cultural heritage of African, African-American, Hispanic and Middle Eastern peoples. For this effort to package school resources on a fifth ethnic population of Michigan, the new culture kit materials will be developed around five thematic areas: geography, family life and customs, history, human expression (including art, music, dance, literature and language) and a reference section for teachers.
Persons interested in serving on an advisory board -- which will periodically review materials collected and created for the kits and offer their ideas and suggestions -- are encouraged to contact LuAnn Kern at 1/800/837-4532 or at lkernmihum@voyager.net for information on the project, including its goals and objectives.
For a listing of humanities events happening this Spring see Spring Newsletter Calendar [an error occurred while processing this directive]