For Immediate Release
May 9, 2024
Contact: Dana Barcellos-Allen | dbarcellos-allen@cthumanities.org | 860-937-6648
CTH Awards $36,025 in Quick Grants to 8 Organizations for Strong Humanities and Cultural Projects
MIDDLETOWN, CT (May 10, 2024) – The board of directors of CT Humanities has awarded $36,025 in humanities project grants from the CT Humanities fund to eight nonprofits.
The latest rounds of Quick Grants cover a wide variety of programming. This includes a project in Vernon that highlights perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) during the Civil War; a video showcasing accomplishments of immigrant laborers at a Branford quarry; and a series of field trips to museums and historical sites for formerly incarcerated individuals through the Hang Time Mobile program.
Michele Litt, executive director of HangTime, says, “Hang Time Mobile seeks to help fill instructional gaps that exist for many formerly incarcerated individuals due to spending many of their formative education years in prison as well as other limitations. Our intent is to remove barriers to accessing the humanities and to teach our members to embrace diversity, history, and the myriad learning resources that are available in our own backyards. Additionally, it is our goal for participants to realize the ease and accessibility with which they can access the knowledge and creativity that exist locally.”
CT Humanities most recent Quick Grant funded programs include:
Career Resources (Bridgeport, $4,999)
Hang Time Mobile 2024
Hang Time Mobile is an initiative designed to address formerly incarcerated individuals’ lack of exposure to the humanities, art, history, and culture through a series of collaborations with Connecticut Museums. 2024 planned collaborations include the Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine, Yale University Art Gallery, the Ruby and Alvin Fletcher Museum of African American History, the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Mattatuck Museum, and Mystic Seaport Museum.
City of New London (New London, $4,999)
New London Black Heritage Trail
Embark on a transformative journey through history with the New London Black Heritage Trail, spanning 300+ years of Black resilience. Rooted in Pequot/Indigenous history, it intricately weaves narratives of recognized Black figures, forgotten heroes, and New London’s Black community. Each site features a bronze marker with a QR code for online exploration, offering enlightening insights that provide context to an overlooked chapter of our shared history.
Elm Shakespeare Company (New Haven, $4,620)
2024 Building a Brave New Theatre Series – Facets of Gender
Elm Shakespeare’s 2024 series, “Building a Brave New Theatre – Facets of Gender,” examines gender in Shakespeare’s works. Highlights include “Women of Will” in May, a panel “Blk Grrrls and the Bard,” “Shakespeare & the Alchemy of Gender” on June 6, and “TRANSforming Shakespeare” on June 29, offering a mix of performances and discussions to engage audiences with critical dialogue.
Greenwich Historical Society (Greenwich, $1,500)
Telling A Fuller History: Shining A Light 2024 Lecture Series
The Greenwich Historical Society seeks to elevate and amplify underrepresented voices in local history through their annual “Shining a Light” lecture series in spring 2024, highlighting stories, research, and people who are dedicated to interpreting, restoring, and preserving these histories. By telling a fuller history of the local area and the history of the nation more broadly, this series shares new perspectives with a broad audience, challenging traditional narratives and offering new insights.
New England Civil War Museum (Vernon, $4,980)
Perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color During the Civil War
This project will renovate the New England Civil War Museum tour experience to be more inclusive, interweaving personal perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) from the American Civil War era. With the close collaboration of descendants and influencers of BIPOC genealogy and research, this project will feature new visual interpretation and exhibit material for a sustainably inclusive tour framework, opening on the museum’s annual Living History Day September 28.
New Haven Symphony Orchestra (New Haven, $4,999)
Harlem Renaissance and New Haven Renaissance: A Celebration of Black Creativity
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with local cultural activists and curators Sha McAllister, Zanaiya Léon, and Juanita Austin, presents a series of free community events celebrating the vibrancy and social impact of the Harlem and New Haven Renaissances. Programs will highlight the roots of these important cultural movements, their historical impact, and how they inspire continued creativity and social expression.
Stony Creek Museum (Branford, $4,999)
Historical Video of the Stony Creek Quarry in Branford Connecticut
The Stony Creek Museum is producing a video of the 150-year history of the Stony Creek Quarry and the thousands of immigrant laborers who provided granite for hundreds of iconic buildings and landmarks around the country including the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge etc. The video uses the expertise of a local historians, a Yale geologist, and local oral history of life in the quarry.
TheaterWorks (Hartford, $4,929)
Community Partnership Programming During SANCTUARY CITY
Working with a number of community organizations and policy experts in the area of refugee and immigrant populations and services, TheaterWorks is offering two panel discussions and two TalkBacks during the run of SANCTUARY CITY. The panel discussions are being curated by TWH and the World Affairs Council of Connecticut. Other partners include The American Place at Hartford Public Library, Connecticut Institute of Refugees and Immigrants, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, Long Wharf Theatre, Capital Community College, Central Connecticut State University, and UCONN Hartford.
For information on Quick Grants eligibility and application due dates, click here.
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Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.
