CT Humanities Awards $40,042 in Quick Grants to 11 Cultural Nonprofits for Humanities Programs

Dr. Michael Groat, Silver Hill Hospital, consults with Ordinary People cast members Cooper Smithers of Redding, CT (R, as Conrad Jarrett) and Chandler Hall of Darien, CT (C, as Karen Aldrich)

For Immediate Release
January 9, 2023

Contact: Aimee Cotton Bogush | abogush@cthumanities.org | 860-937-6648

CT Humanities Awards $40,042 in Quick Grants to 11 Cultural Nonprofits for Humanities Programs

MIDDLETOWN, CT (January 9, 2023) – At their December meeting, the board of directors of CT Humanities (CTH) awarded $40,042 in humanities project grants from the CT Humanities fund.

This round of Quick Grant-funded programs includes:

Fairfield Museum and History Center (Fairfield, $4,905),
Creating a Web Resource and Database on the History of Fairfield’s Enslaved People
Funding supports the creation of a comprehensive web-based exhibition, searchable database, and primary research portal tentatively called Enslaved Fairfield that will bring together decades of research on the history and genealogy of Fairfield’s African American community, from enslavement through resistance and the creation of resilient communities.

Pequot Library Association (Fairfield, $4,999),
Alphabets, Bedtime Stories, and Cautionary Tales: Children’s Books and the Shaping of American Identity
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, America witnessed new attitudes toward children and education as it cast off royal authority and emerged as a fragile young democracy. From February 18 to May 4, 2023, this exhibition and programming will explore how an explosion of children’s books in this era of immense political and social change reflected American adults’ hopes and anxieties about their country—and how those sentiments persist in the culture wars around children’s books today.

Layavinyasa (Glastonbury, $4,999),
Facets of Indian Culture
Facets of Indian Culture is an educational dance performance followed by a discussion scheduled for May 2023 at the Greenwich Historical Society. A series of cultural artifacts will augment the dances connecting material culture surrounding performing arts, spirituality, community festivities, and themes of the Indian and growing South Asian diaspora.

Capital Community College Foundation (Hartford, $2,800),
Encounters: Historic Black Journalism and its Legacy
The culminating event of the 2023 Pennington Lecture is an Encounters community conversation on the topic of Historic Black Journalism and its Legacy on February 18th from 10 am to 12:30 pm. The conversation centers on excerpts from historical Black newspapers curated by Dr. Fiona Vernal (UConn), with input from this year’s Pennington Lecture speaker Dr. Jelani Cobb (Columbia University & New Yorker magazine). Participants will engage in moderated table conversations around these documents and will reflect together on their legacy today.

Town Players of New Canaan (New Canaan, $4,900),
“Ordinary People,” talking about being ordinary people
As our community emerges from the pandemic, life’s challenges increasingly stress relationships and individuals. It’s uncomfortable to talk about it. We can’t find the right words. There’s a stigma. We don’t know where to get help. This compelling stage performance of Ordinary People seeks to bridge these gaps. With professionally moderated talkbacks, thoughtful marketing, and community partners, audiences will find a safe environment to explore what it means to be ordinary – to be human.

Connecticut Choral Artists (CONCORA) (New Britain, $3,193),
American Spiritual: Seeds and Songs
CONCORA presents a panel discussion on the American spiritual ahead of their winter concert, Feel the Spirit – The Legacy of Moses Hogan, on Saturday, February 11, 2023, at South Church in New Britain. Moses Hogan composed and arranged over 80 spirituals before his death at age 45.  Panelists will discuss his music and their experience in performing and interpreting the spiritual – the most original form of American music originating with enslaved Africans and the Black church.

Lyman Allyn Art Museum (New London, $4,580),
Traditional Art in a Modern World: A Conversation with Porfirio Gutiérrez
In February, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum will host Traditional Art in a Modern World: A Conversation with Porfirio Gutierrez, a public program exploring Gutierrez’s work as a contemporary indigenous Oaxacan artist using traditional textile methods. The program engages children and adults and complements the exhibition Chromatopia: Stories of Color in Art (running through March 5, 2023), which reveals the rich history of pigments and dyes and their impact on art and culture.

Eastern Connecticut State University Foundation (Windham, $4,999),
Eastern Visiting Writers Series – Spring 2023
The Eastern Visiting Writers Series is a forum for poets and fiction writers of national prominence to read and discuss their writing, share their views regarding the craft of writing, and interact with the Eastern and local communities. The series is free and open to the public and features Grace Lin, Teressa Messineo, and Marilyn Nelson this spring.

Keeler Tavern Museum (Ridgefield, $1,679), Reinterpretation-Informed Update for Colonial Life School Program
Informed by their recent National Endowment for the Humanities-funded reinterpretation and Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion training, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center is revising their popular Colonial Life school program to create a more historically accurate and inclusive experience for the many children who participate in the program annually.

Yellow Farmhouse Education Center (Stonington, $1,578),
“The Secret History of Home Economics” Community Reads Project
The Yellow Farmhouse’s 2023 Dandelion Series is a Community Reads Project centered on the book The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live by Danielle Dreilinger. Programs include a virtual interview with the author on the history of home economics, a cooking class facilitated by culinary teachers, and a moderated panel where culinary students and teachers discuss the value of home economics and their vision for its future.

Windham Textile & History Museum (Windham, $1,410),
Here All Along: African Americans in Northeastern Connecticut Before the Great Migration: An Exhibit
Funding supports a museum exhibit (both analog and virtual) that explores African Americans’ presence, experiences, and contributions in northeastern Connecticut from the colonial period, through industrialization, until the Great Migration of the 20th century. The exhibit will open in February and run until August 2023.

For information on Quick Grants eligibility and application due dates, visit cthumanities.org/grants/quick-grants.

About CT Humanities
CT Humanities (CTH) is an independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH promotes civic engagement and 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.

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