Congratulations to our newest mini grant awardees! The Council is pleased to announce 5 awards totaling $10,000 to the following public humanities projects.
Mini Grants to Public Projects:
Friends of Hearthside, Inc., $2,000 to The Decade that Roared: A 1920s Rhode Island Experience. Funds support exhibits and attractions linking the historic and cultural developments of the roaring 20s to modern American society. Local scholars, performers, and experts share material culture, music, dance, song, fashion, and food to enliven and connect 1920s Rhode Island to the revolutionary developments of the larger nation.
School One, $2,000 to Write Rhode Island. Funds support the development of a statewide creative writing competition for students in grades 8-12. As part of the contest, free workshops in community libraries across the state connect educators and professional writers with participating students. Winning students’ works are published in a professional anthology.
Salve Regina University, $2,000 to “Ideas into Actions:” Uncovering Lessons from Claiborne Pell–Planning Project. Funds support the development of an oral history project examining the legislative techniques of Rhode Island’s long-standing senator, Claiborne Pell. Compiled oral histories of Senator Pell’s legislative team, fellow federal representatives, and colleagues, help inform citizens and public leaders about Pell’s effective means of creating bipartisan agreement.
Mini Grants to Individual Researchers:
Marc Levitt, $2,000 to Triple Decker: A New England Love Story. Funds support a research project on the cultural impact of southern New England’s iconic triple-decker houses. Triple-deckers, prevalent throughout Rhode Island, hold an iconic status as the historic homes of many immigrant and working-class families and often reflect the stories of those who have struggled, and prospered, inside their walls.
John Tschirch, $2,000 to Mapping the Newport Experience. Funds support research on how cultural identity is embedded in the streetscapes of Newport as reflections of multiple overlapping historic and economic communities. Utilizing maps, images, and written descriptions in archives, research culminates in the creation of an online illustrated essay and two new walking tours.
