$101,379 Awarded for Humanities Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- November 24, 2008
CONTACT: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer,
shirko [at] mihumanities.org, 517-372-0029 ext. 25
Seven public humanities programs in Lansing, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Jackson, and Marquette
(LANSING)-----The Michigan Humanities Council announces seven organizations from across Michigan will receive $101,379 to help support public humanities programs. The grants are part of the Council’s Michigan People, Michigan Places … Our Stories, Our Lives program which emphasizes collaboration among cultural, educational, and community-based organizations.
“Each of the seven programs have a common theme of sharing their unique stories using a wide variety of ways to interact with people in their communities,” said Janice Fedewa, executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council. “The Council is pleased to support these efforts to engage the public in programs to enhance cultural understanding.”
The Library of Michigan Foundation (Lansing) will receive $15,000 to support the 2009 Michigan Notable Books program. Each year, a juried panel selects 20 fiction or nonfiction titles set in Michigan or in the Great Lakes, or written by a Michigan author. This award will fund a tour of the authors to up to 55 libraries in Michigan in April and May 2009. Judith Moore, executive director of the Library of Michigan Foundation, stated: “Michigan Notable Books offer compelling titles that provide a meaningful connection to our state and raise awareness about the milestones, people, and ideas that have shaped the Michigan we know today.”
Advent House Ministries (Lansing) will receive $15,000 to support Your Story and Mine: A Community of Hope. Advent House will reach out to at-risk individuals as participants to produce a multidimensional exhibit of stories, poems, art, and photography through oral and personal history, artifacts, and historic documents. Activities include: a mural of the personal histories created in Spring 2009; an educational guide produced by Fall 2009; a traveling exhibit from November 2009 – July 2010, beginning and ending at the State Capitol rotunda; and, personal DVDs on individual histories.
The Irish Hills Girl Scout Council (Jackson) will receive $11,698 to partner with various Native American tribes in The Gathering, a unique resident camp program for girls to explore and celebrate diversity. Participants will learn about naming, the history of tribes, the role of women in Native American society, Native crafts, and more. The project culminates in The Honoring Our Sisters Pow Wow. The project will occur from June 18-21, 2009.
The Grand Rapids Community Media Center will receive $14,681 for a Community Story Tree, an oral history project in Grand Rapids using local television, radio, and the Internet to connect diverse communities. Stories captured with digital technology will premiere at the Wealthy Theatre in Spring 2009; an online gallery of all stories will launch soon thereafter. Laurie Cirivello, executive director of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, stated: “The Community Story Tree project is using media tools to collect, share, and preserve the important small stories of ordinary people in our neighborhoods.”
The Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation (Detroit) will receive $15,000 to support Volunteering in Detroit: Seniors Keep the Motor City Running. This project will collect oral histories of senior volunteers and broadcast on radio and the Internet, as well as collected for a touring exhibit. Details on the broadcasts and exhibit will be announced in March 2009. Pamela Halladay, senior program officer for the Hannan Foundation, stated: “this grant will help the Hanna Foundation work with the Detroit Griot Initiative partners on a new project identifying and recording the stories of older Detroiters who have served the community as volunteers.”
Pewabic Pottery (Detroit) will receive $15,000 to help create a 500-square-foot permanent exhibit about Mary Chase Stratton’s life and her impact in Michigan. The exhibit will be installed in July 2009.
Northern Michigan University (Marquette) will receive $15,000 to help support Stories in the Wood, a traveling exhibit about the storytelling tradition of folklorists and scholars in the Upper Peninsula. The exhibit will open at Northern Michigan University in September 2009 and complimentary K-12 school programs will supplement its display through April 2010. The exhibit will tour the U.P. from 2010 through 2014. Dan Truckey, Director of the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center, stated: “In 2010, this exhibition will begin a three-year swing through the entire Upper Peninsula, teaching a new generation about the culture of the U.P. and hopefully inspiring them to carry on the region’s oral traditions.”
The Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is a private, non-profit organization, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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