The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities is pleased to announce $15,600 in mini grant awards from the August 2023 application cycle to support public humanities projects. Read on for more details.
Awards to Individuals
Martha Koch, $2,000 to Deep mapping Providence’s artist-run collectives and land-use regulations
Supports archival research, interviews, and geospatial analysis exploring how Providence’s arts collectives have interacted with government land-use codes and real-estate markets to shape the city’s built environments over the last 30 years.
Sophia Richter, $2,000 to Rhode Island Fisheries Oral History Project
Supports the annotation and indexing of over three hundred community oral histories on the Rhode Island fishing industry. The printable index and digital annotated histories will be published and presented in collaboration with the South County Museum.
Ben Sisto, $2,000 to Reinsulator
Supports archival research on the history of insulators (a telecom device), the insulator collecting community, and publications celebrating and preserving insulators. The research will be shared via a public lecture and project website.
Awards to Organizations
The Empowerment Factory, $2,000 to Creative Squad After-School Programming for Underserved Elementary Youth
Supports research, curriculum development, and design of a bilingual workbook for “Nature Drawing,” a distance-learning virtual after-school program.
Newport Art Museum, $2,000 to ¡Qué Vivan los Muertos! A Day of the Dead Celebration
Supports three all-ages storytelling workshops related to the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday, the Museum’s participation in Conexión Latina’s Latino Festival, and a culminating community celebration at the Museum.
Norman Bird Sanctuary, $1,600 to Arts & Humanities Residency at Norman Bird Sanctuary
Supports an interdisciplinary lecture series and affiliated residency in celebration of the organization’s 75th anniversary. Arts & Humanities Resident Nina Elder will develop her place-based project, Sedimental; present a lecture; and invite the public to explore the complex relationships between humans and the environment.
Providence Art Club, $2,000 to Building Bannister Panel Discussion
Supports the “Building Bannister” panel discussion during the Fall 2023 Celebrating Bannister series, following the unveiling of a memorial to African-American artist Edward Mitchell Bannister. The live panel discussion, featuring a sculptor, historian, and Bannister collector, will be presented to a hybrid audience of in-person and virtual attendees.
Tikkun Olam Productions, $2,000 to Breakin’ Away
Supports research, planning, and development of a 10-minute proof-of-concept film on three Rhode Island-based BiPoC professional breakdancers who seek to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
