Providence, RI – A humanities program focused on Indigenous cultural practices, a documentary film about the Armenian-American community in RI, a civics program at a historic house museum for adult english speakers of other languages, and a middle- and high-school writing program that uses graphic novels to explore identity, isolation, exclusion, and mental health are among the 12 projects awarded a Rhode Island Humanities major grant in 2024.
Ranging from just over $7,500 to $12,000, grants have been awarded to documentary films and public projects that showcase the power of the humanities to connect communities, expand knowledge of our collective past and present, and celebrate the rich cultural diversity in our state. In total, RI Humanities awarded $134,795 in the annual major grant cycle. This year, RI Humanities was only able to fund a quarter of received applications, making this cycle one of the most competitive in the organization’s 50-year history.
“These grant projects will tell Rhode Island’s many stories in compelling ways and ensure that more people learn about our diversity of heritages and experiences. In a year with so many strong applications, it’s notable that awards have been granted to organizations that range from entirely volunteer-led operations with annual budgets under $50,000 to those with large professional staff and annual budgets of over $2.5 million. This wide spread of grantee and project types is vital to the cultural and civic health of our community, and we’re proud to support their innovative approaches to public humanities work,” said Elizabeth Francis, Executive Director.
Rhode Island Humanities’ grant review committees are made up in part by members of our Board of Directors and in part by community reviewers, who are all Rhode Island-based humanities professionals. Each committee has a diversity of identities, locations, subject matter expertises, and professional backgrounds represented. Committee recommendations are then reviewed and approved by the full Board of Directors.
Read on for a full list of this year’s major grant projects.
Project Descriptions
DOCUMENTARY FILM AND MEDIA GRANTS
Armenian Historical Association of Rhode Island, $12,000 to Armenian Chronicles: A Living History
Funds support the production and post-production of a documentary film preserving and presenting the story of the Armenian-American community in Rhode Island, including the impact of the 1915 Armenian Genocide on immigrants and descendants. Designed to be incorporated into Rhode Island’s Holocaust and Genocide Education Curriculum, the film will have multiple segments and will be accompanied by a teacher’s guide and other resources.
Fractured Atlas, $12,000 to Scandalous Conduct: A Fairy Extravaganza
Funds support a multi-channel musical documentary reconstructing the 1919 Newport Navy Sex Scandal. The experimental video installation unravels themes of homophobia and surveillance, and pairs primary-source historical documents and archival photography with recreated excerpts from Jack and the Beanstalk, a 1919 vaudeville production staged by the Navy in Newport.
Tikkun Olam Productions, $12,000 to Breakin’ Away
Funds support the production of a feature-length documentary film on four Rhode Island-based BIPoC professional breakdancers who seek to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics. The project includes producing a 10-minute proof of concept video, a community feedback series, and a publicly available archive of interviews.
West Broadway Neighborhood Association, $12,000 to Superman: A Building and Its City
Funds support production/post-production of a 90-minute documentary film on the history of and current civic discourse around the redevelopment of the Industrial Trust Building, popularly known as the Superman Building, in downtown Providence.
PUBLIC PROJECT GRANTS
Dirt Palace Public Projects, $12,000 to Letterpress Printers and Printing in Providence, 1762 – 2024
Funds support an exhibition and accompanying panel discussion highlighting the robust history of newspapers, stationers, and other forms of commercial printing in Rhode Island. The exhibition will reveal the various roles of craftspeople in the letterpress printing process from journeymen, typesetters, compositors, and printers, and delve into the techniques and equipment still used by printers in Providence today.
Little Compton Historical Society, $12,000 to The Sakonnet Mishoon Project
Funds support a series of free program days and public events showcasing the cultural and historic significance of the Wampanoag mishoon (dugout canoe) in the traditional homelands of the Sakonnet Wampanoag People (the area now called Little Compton). The public events will feature the traditional burning of the Wampanoag mishoon, a mishoon launch ceremony on the Sakonnet River, and a lecture and essay by master mishoon maker and traditional artisan Jonathan James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag). The mishoon will ultimately become part of a permanent exhibition on the history of the Sakonnet people.
Newport Historical Society, $12,000 to “A Name, A Voice, A Life: The Black Newporters of the 17th-19th Centuries” Exhibition
Funds support the production of the “A Name, A Voice, A Life” exhibition, which explores the lives of five Africans and African Americans who lived in Newport between 1639 (the year of the city’s founding) and 1842 (the year slavery was banned in Rhode Island). Researched through the BIPoC History Database Project, the project will also inform a series of blog posts and walking tour content.
Preserve Rhode Island, $8,845 to Lippitt House Museum Civics Program for Adult English Language Learners
Funds support the Lippitt House Museum’s Civics Program, a series of civics lessons and field trips in partnership with organizations providing services and support for adult English speakers of other languages (ESOL) studying for the United States Citizenship & Immigrant Services (USCIS) Civics exam. The program will culminate in a Civics Celebration Open House for the public and a video sharing immigrant stories.
Providence Public Library, $12,000 to Washed
Funds support a series of programs and participatory events exploring the sea as a dynamic space of ungovernability, constant motion, and unfixable indeterminacy. Through interdisciplinary engagement with histories of slavery, conceptions of queer identity, and climate change, the project investigates how fluidity has made the sea a generative space of literal and metaphorical transformation, dissolution, washing away, and renewal.
Queer.Archive.Work, $12,000 to Queer/Trans Zinefest (QTZ) 2024
Funds support an independent small works publishing festival and associated programming showcasing the work of queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming writers, poets, cartoonists, independent publishers, zine makers, and unaffiliated scholars.
School One, $10,150 to Write Rhode Island’s Pictures with Words: Comic and Graphic Novel Program
Funds support a year-long program for students in grades 7-12 that uses graphic novels to explore themes such as identity, isolation, exclusion, and mental health. The program will include discussion groups, craft workshops, author and scholar talks, and a public exhibition of student work.
Wanderground Lesbian Archive/Library, $7,800 to Exploring the Archives: Sharing Stories/Building Connections
Funds supports a series of exhibits, pop-up events, recordings of oral herstories, workshops, and community conversations engaging with the Wanderground Lesbian Archive/Library, as well as physical and digital documentation of the project’s findings. The archive/library is a curated selection of Rhode Island, regional, national, and international publications, artifacts, and personal memorabilia demonstrating the diversity of vibrant Lesbian communities, cultures and spaces from 1950-2000.
###
Rhode Island Humanities seeds, supports, and strengthens public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders. As the only dedicated source of funding for public humanities in Rhode Island, we are proud to support museums, libraries, historic sites, schools, preservation and historical societies, community and cultural organizations, individual researchers and documentary filmmakers to bring Rhode Island’s stories to life and to amplify the state’s many diverse voices. A private nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, RI Humanities is supported by federal funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as by individuals, corporations, and foundations. Visit www.rihumanities.org for more information.
