Indiana Humanities awards 31 nonprofits with more than $75,000 in grants
October 12, 2018A total of 31 Indiana nonprofits, including libraries, universities, museums, historical societies, nature centers and other cultural organizations, have received grants from Indiana Humanities this fall. Funding will support projects…
A total of 31 Indiana nonprofits, including libraries, universities, museums, historical societies, nature centers and other cultural organizations, have received grants from Indiana Humanities this fall. Funding will support projects from Whiting to Evansville and include a hands-on workshop about the history, culture and art of Native American beadwork; a celebration of Women’s History Month; a STEM-related exhibition at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum; and documentaries about Indiana pioneers Eugene Debs and Octave Chanute.
Humanities Initiative Grants offer up to $2,000 to support nonprofit organizations that sponsor public humanities programs such as exhibitions, workshops, lectures and reading and discussion programs. In September, Indiana Humanities awarded more than $37,000 in Humanities Initiative Grants to 20 organizations, funding projects that intertwine history, literature, languages and culture with opportunities for public dialogue and conversation. Funding from the Indiana Newspaper in Education Foundation supported a Humanities Initiative Grant awarded to Indiana University’s High School Journalism Institute for a media-literacy workshop for teachers.
Quantum Leap Grants fund projects that align with Indiana Humanities’ two-year Quantum Leap theme exploring the intersection of the humanities and the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. The grants offer up to $4,000 for experimental public programs that fuse formats and methods in unexpected and creative ways. In this fall’s round of Quantum Leap Grants, Indiana Humanities awarded nearly $40,000 to 11 organizations.
“With this final round of grants for 2018, we’ve awarded more than $150,000 to nonprofits across the state this year,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities. “Our grants have helped bring valuable humanities programming to dozens of communities—inspiring residents, enhancing quality of life and spurring economic development. We’re honored to support our grant recipients and are excited about the work they’re doing to make our cities, towns and rural areas better places to live, work and play.”
Humanities Initiative Grant recipients (more detailed information about the projects follows):
- Allen County–Fort Wayne Historical Society, Fort Wayne
- Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative, Whiting
- Brick Street Poetry, Beech Grove
- Classical Music Indy, Indianapolis
- The daVinci Pursuit, Indianapolis
- Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis
- Elkhart County Historical Society, Bristol
- Embassy Theatre Foundation, Fort Wayne
- Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association, Indianapolis
- Indiana Landmarks, Indianapolis
- Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites—Angel Mounds State Historic Site, Evansville
- Indiana Writers Center, Indianapolis
- Middlebury Community Public Library, Middlebury
- North Side High School Alumni Association, Fort Wayne
- Perry Meridian Middle School, Indianapolis
- Purdue University Northwest, Hammond
- Sullivan County Historical Society, Sullivan
- Trustees of Indiana University—Black Film Center/Archives, Bloomington
- Trustees of Indiana University—High School Journalism Institute, Bloomington
- WFYI Public Media, Indianapolis
Quantum Leap Grant recipients (more detailed information about the projects follows):
- Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Indianapolis
- Knox County Public Library, Vincennes
- Lake County Historical Society, Crown Point
- Middlebury Community Public Library, Middlebury
- Saint Mary’s College, South Bend
- Science Central, Fort Wayne
- Trustees of Indiana University—Indiana University South Bend, South Bend
- Trustees of Indiana University—Spirit & Place, Indianapolis
- University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis
- Wesselman Nature Society, Evansville
Humanities Initiative Grant project descriptions:
George R. Mather Sunday Lecture Series, 2018-19
Allen County–Fort Wayne Historical Society, Fort Wayne
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: Oct. 2018–June 2019
The Allen County–Fort Wayne Historical Society will present the George R. Mather Sunday Lecture Series, featuring monthly programs on humanities topics related to history, archaeology, comparative religion, anthropology, folklore and more.
Calumet Revisited: A Monthly Forum on the Calumet
Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative, Whiting
Awarded: $1,925
Timeline: Oct. 2018–May 2019
The Association for the Wolf Lake Initiative will present “Calumet Revisited,” a series of monthly discussions, each led by a guest speaker, which sheds light on the region’s origins, its history and its development.
True Grit
Brick Street Poetry, Beech Grove
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: April–June 2019
Brick Street Poetry will collaborate with the Eiteljorg Museum to develop and implement poetry programs related to the museum’s NEA-sponsored Big Read initiative, which focuses on the novel “True Grit.” Featured activities include the creation and reading of poems inspired by Old West saloon drinks, a children’s poetry workshop and a presentation by North Dakota poet laureate Larry Woiwode.
Indiana Music Maestro Program
Classical Music Indy, Indianapolis
Awarded: $1,975
Timeline: May 2019
The Indiana Music Maestro Program will develop a new digital-learning experience for students. The pilot program will engage upper-elementary-age students in basic knowledge of composers, instruments, musical eras, performers and venues through a free mobile gaming platform.
Media Literacy in the Digital Age
The daVinci Pursuit, Indianapolis
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: Jan.–March 2019
The daVinci Pursuit will provide teachers and educators with training in media literacy, pedagogical strategies and hands-on activities that help students understand the role that journalism plays in providing the public with accurate and ethical information from the field of science.
A Crossroads of Nations
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: Nov. 2018
The Eiteljorg Museum will present “A Crossroads of Nations,” featuring a panel of Native Americans, scholars and an amateur historian/author who will explore the historic and contemporary impact of treaties—particularly the six Treaties of St. Marys—concluded 200 years ago between a number of Great Lakes Native nations and the United States government.
Crossroads Exhibit
Elkhart County Historical Society, Bristol
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: Dec. 2019
The Elkhart County Historical Society will transform three dated, disparate galleries into an updated, innovative and unified exhibition titled Crossroads. The new exhibition will tell the story of Elkhart County, drawing on four broad themes that will carry through each of the three galleries and across time.
Embassy Theatre Study Trips
Embassy Theatre Foundation, Fort Wayne
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: Oct. 2018–June 2019
The Embassy Theatre Foundation will use this grant to host more than 2,000 students on field trips. It will offer three different programs, targeting age groups from preschool to late teens. Each of the programs will teach the students about the theater’s history, efforts to preserve it and the role it continues to play in Fort Wayne’s cultural life.
50th Anniversary IFLTA Conference
Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: Nov. 2018
The Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association will use this grant to host speakers and provide scholarships for its 50th-annual conference in Indianapolis this fall.
Preserving Historic Places Student Charrette
Indiana Landmarks, Indianapolis
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: April 2019
Indiana Landmarks will facilitate a student design charrette to develop adaptive uses for a vacant historic building in downtown Evansville. Students will tour the building, develop working drawings illustrating their proposed uses and present them to the public at Indiana Landmarks’ statewide preservation conference in the spring of 2019.
Cultural Beadwork of Indiana’s Native Peoples
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites—Angel Mounds State Historic Site, Evansville
Awarded: $1,500
Timeline: Nov. 2018
Angel Mounds State Historic Site will present “Cultural Beadwork of Indiana’s Native Peoples,” a hands-on workshop about the history, culture and art of Native American beadwork. Led by award-winning artist Katrina Mitten, the workshop will explore the history and process of traditional beadwork and how Mitten’s heritage as a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma influences her work.
Gender Diverse Narratives
Indiana Writers Center, Indianapolis
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: Jan.–June 2019
The Indiana Writers Center will host a series of workshops that shed light on current gender-identity issues through the use of contemporary literature and writing instruction. The project will culminate in a public reading of participants’ works. The works will also be compiled in an ebook, available to the public for free download.
Visions of the Future: Humans and Technology
Middlebury Community Public Library, Middlebury
Awarded: $763
Timeline: Oct. 2018
The Middlebury Community Public Library will present four films that pose different views on how humans might use technology. Indiana University South Bend professors will facilitate thought-provoking discussions on the topics brought up by the films.
North Side High School Centennial History Harvest
Northside High School Alumni Association, Fort Wayne
Awarded: $1,680
Timeline: Oct. 2018–April 2019
The North Side High School Alumni Association will help to celebrate the school’s centennial by collecting oral histories and scanning photos, documents and other memorabilia during four digitization days at the school. The goal is to put the digitized materials on a website that is accessible to the public.
Project FAR: Falcon Artists and Readers
Perry Meridian Middle School, Indianapolis
Awarded: $1,994
Timeline: Oct. 2018–April 2019
Perry Meridian Middle School eighth graders will read the bestselling novel “Between Shades of Gray,” about the genocide of Lithuanians in the 1940s, and engage in disucssions with the author, Ruta Sepetys. Through a series of guided art experiences based on the main character’s artistic talent and interest in Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, the students will create their own portfolio inspired by the novel.
#Women’s Voices: A Celebration of Women’s History
Purdue University Northwest, Hammond
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: March 2019
Purdue University Northwest will host a two-day festival honoring Women’s History Month in an effort to increase awareness about—and promote discussion of—political movements and personal perspectives central to female’s experiences in the 20th and 21st centuries. Activities include a feminist film festival and an interactive panel discussion on the topic of women’s social and economic equality.
Fourth-Grade Local-History Activities Book
Sullivan County Historical Society, Sullivan
Awarded: $1,956
Timeline: Nov. 2019
The Sullivan County Historical Society will make an activities booklet for fourth graders highlighting local history. It will cover the period from around the 1500s to modern times and will feature anecdotal stories, games/activities, photographs and stories of the events, places and people that have influenced Sullivan County history.
FOCUS: Black America 1968—Film, Race, and Campus
Trustees of Indiana University—Black Film Center/Archive, Bloomington
Awarded: $1,504
Timeline: Oct. 2018
Indiana University’s Black Film Center/Archive will revisit and reexamine the content, archival material and public reception of “FOCUS: Black America,” a yearlong program of screenings, lectures and courses that IU faculty and students organized in 1968. The 2018 FOCUS will produce a temporary exhibition, blog series, film screening and post-film roundtable discussion that will feature original FOCUS planners and current IU scholars, archivists and librarians as well as student leaders.
Media Literacy in the Classroom
Trustees of Indiana University—High School Journalism Institute, Bloomington
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: June 2019
The High School Journalism Institute will present a three-day workshop for secondary educators to help them collaborate in using media tools to create educational content. The goal is to show them how to develop a deeper and broader understanding of media literacy and how to incorporate media literacy into curricula at their schools. Indiana Humanities is funding this program through the support of the Indiana Newspaper in Education Foundation.
Eugene Debs: Citizen of the World/A Dangerous Man
WFYI Public Media, Indianapolis
Awarded: $2,000
Timeline: May 2019
WFYI will produce “Eugene Debs: Citizen of the World/A Dangerous Man.” The 60-minute documentary will examine Debs’s life and work and bring to light the correlations to today’s America.
Quantum Leap Grant project descriptions:
Atomic Movie Nights
Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis
Awarded: $3,000
Timeline: Jan.–Oct. 2019
The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites will host “Atomic Movie Nights” in 2019. This multi-film series will make science and culture more relevant to Hoosiers by bringing together public audiences, humanities scholars and scientists to discuss how these films have influenced science, technology and pop culture.
Museum in the Classroom: Where Mechanical Meets Historical
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Indianapolis
Awarded: $4,000
Timeline: April 2019
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum will use the legendary Offenhauser engine as the foundation for STEM and humanities educational opportunities, creating enhanced exhibit interpretation and learning resources for its youngest visitors and developing educational curriculum materials for K–5 schools. The programming will tie history, competition, collaboration and innovation into a cohesive story.
Making a Monster: Frankenstein, Mad Science, and How REAL Medicine Works
Knox County Public Library, Vincennes
Awarded: $2,936
Timeline: Oct.–Nov. 2018
The Knox County Public Library will lead a three-week programming block that focuses on the history, ethics and impact of medical sciences on its community and the world. The programs will be aimed at two groups: children and teens, with content and themes designed for each group.
Chanute Documentary
Lake County Historical Society, Crown Point
Awarded: $4,000
Timeline: Oct. 2019
The Lake County Historical Society will produce a documentary about the life and achievements of Octave Chanute, an accomplished civil engineer who pioneered aviation in the Indiana Dunes. The LCHS will distribute DVDs of the documentary to area schools and hopes to broadcast the program on PBS stations across the state.
Scientists and Inventors: Transforming the World, Transforming Us
Middlebury Community Public Library, Middlebury
Awarded: $2,638
Timeline: Oct.–Dec. 2018
The Middlebury Community Public Library will explore STEM-related topics as part of its annual “Let’s Talk about It” series. Participants will read three books that connect STEM to the humanities. A scholar will then present on the topics explored in the book, and small groups will discuss questions raised by the scholar.
Digital Humanities Research Institute
Saint Mary’s College, South Bend
Awarded: $4,000
Timeline: Jan.–May 2019
Saint Mary’s College and the University of Notre Dame will collaborate to host a Digital Humanities speaker series and a four-day Digital Humanities Research Institute during May 2019. The institute will introduce participants to fundamental computational methodologies that are being increasingly employed in research conducted within humanities fields and promote the digital humanities across the region by creating an invigorated network of digital humanities practitioners.
FrankenBrew
Science Central, Fort Wayne
Awarded: $4,000
Timeline: Oct. 2018
Science Central will host FrankenBrew, a celebration that explores the relationship between science, literature and history. Participants will use microscopes to see yeast dust turn into living organisms as part of the beer-making process. They’ll explore concepts behind electricity and its history, including its association to the Science Central building (a former power plant). They’ll also learn about literary aspects of “Frankenstein” and interact with an educator portraying author Mary Shelley.
Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice, and Sustainability
Trustees of Indiana University—Indiana University South Bend, South Bend
Awarded: $3,993
Timeline: Oct. 2018–March 2019
“Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice, and Sustainability” is a six-week discussion series. Using writings by Thich Nhat Hahn, Donella Meadows, Desmond Tutu, Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, Howard Zinn, Annie Leonard and others, the series will help participants to recognize and respond to the interconnected systems of the modern world. Participants will receive weekly readings and gather two hours per week for facilitated discussion on the topic of each reading.
Spirit & Place Festival 23rd Annual Public Conversation with Zeynep Tufekci
Trustees of Indiana University—Spirit & Place, Indianapolis
Awarded: $4,000
Timeline: Nov. 2018
Spirit & Place will bring techo-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci to Indianapolis to explore the intersection between technology, authority and civic society in the closing event of the Spirit & Place Festival.
Data in the Humanities: Humanities in Data
University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis
Awarded: $4,000
Timeline: Oct. 2018–April 2019
The University of Indianapolis will host three interactive workshops designed to explore productive connections between humanistic inquiry and STEM fields, particularly represented in paradigms such as digital humanities, cultural analytics, data science and data mining. The workshops will create a space for participants to think about and experience how the interaction between humanities and STEM disciplines has been fundamental in our current digital world.
Connecting Our Story to Nature
Wesselman Nature Society, Evansville
Awarded: $3,430
Timeline: Jan.–Dec. 2019
The Wesselman Nature Society will conduct a series of 13 sessions in which participants will reflect and act upon emotions they experience while exposed to nature. With the help of humanities and natural-science scholars, they’ll journal the experience, helping to see science through a humanities lens and bolster their bond to the natural world.
