The Humanities Council is proud to announce a total of $7,557 awarded through the following four mini grants from our 2019 November grant cycle to organizations working to expand the ways Rhode Islanders engage with culture through music, food, traditional celebrations, and complex histories. Read on for more details.
Organizations
Bryant University, Rhode Island Foodways Project – $1,557
Funds support a program series examining the history and culture of food pathways in the United States and Rhode Island. Through guest lectures and a poetry slam, Bryant University students and the public will connect and discuss our complex and varied relationships with food, especially in relation to issues of access.
Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, Sowams Heritage Day Event – $2,000
To support the development of an annual celebration of indigenous history and culture focused on expanding public understanding of both the contemporary and historic impact of the Pokanoket and Wampanoag on America’s history and culture.
Ponaganset High School, Black History 101: An Inclusion Project – $2,000
To support a school-wide program series connecting students, families, and faculty with African-American history and culture. Through lectures, classroom discussions, exhibits, a traveling museum, and jazz concert, Ponaganset is working to build a school culture rooted in an appreciation of the impact and contributions of America’s diverse communities.
Individual Researcher
Matthew Lawrence, Scandalous Conduct / Newport 1919 – $2,000
Funds support research exploring the Naval Scandal of 1919-20 in Newport, RI that sought to stamp out “immoral” acts of sailors and civilians—members of the city’s gay community. The project culminates in an installation and lecture series uncovering and interpreting the affair’s impact on LGBTQ, Naval, and Rhode Island history and culture.
Upcoming mini grant deadlines for the Humanities Council’s 2020 funding season are May 1, 2020 and August 1, 2019. Find more details about the application process here.
