Rhode Island Humanities is excited to announce five mini grants from the February funding cycle, totaling $9,973, which will support three public projects and two individual researchers. Recipients include: Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Friends of the Pokanoket Tribe, The Manton Avenue Project, Julie Adams Standberg, and Tracy Johnson-Laboy. Read on for details.
PUBLIC PROJECTS
Farm Fresh Rhode Island, $1,973 to Cultivating Conversations: Bridging the Past and Present in Agriculture and Sustainability
Funds support a discussion series about the local food system in collaboration with humanities scholars and community partners. Event topics include the heritage of Indigenous land management and food production practices, the history of cultivation in Rhode Island, and exploring ancient and modern food preservation techniques.
Friends of the Pokanoket Tribe, $2,000 to Pokanoket Heritage Day
Funds support the development and production of a fourth annual celebration of Indigenous history and culture. The celebration focuses on expanding public understanding of the contemporary and historic impact of the Pokanoket people on America’s history and culture.
The Manton Avenue Project, $2,000 to The “Solito” Partnership
Funds support playwriting and script development for 4th grade students inspired by the Reading Across Rhode Island selected book Solito. In partnership with Living Literature and the Rhode Island Center for the Book, participants will develop scripts inspired by a Reader’s Theatre adaptation of Solito, which will then be performed, with a talkback, by the Wilbury Theatre Group and toured to libraries statewide.
INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS
Tracy Jonsson-Laboy, $2,000 to Practice Based Research: For Flax Sake
Funds support research on the history of linen production with parallel practical research through the cultivation of flax in Rejmyre, Sweden and Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The project will create an implementable toolkit for the production of homespun, small-scale linen textiles and an annotated bibliography of resources for small-scale flax growing and linen production.
Julie Adams Strandberg, $2,000 to Collecting, Transcribing, Documenting, and Sharing Authentic Voices of Elders
Funds support the collection and transcription of oral histories on the theme of water from residents at the Hattie Ide Chaffee Nursing Home. The stories, and projects inspired by those stories, will be shared with the public through a published volume; an interactive workshop; and a panel discussion.
