For Immediate Release
December 13, 2022
Contact: Aimee Cotton Bogush | abogush@cthumanities.org | 860-937-6648
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CT Humanities Awards $939,025 in Grants to Support Statewide Collaborations with Humanities and Arts Organizations
MIDDLETOWN – At their October meeting, the CT Humanities (CTH) board of directors awarded $939,025 from the CT Cultural Fund to further support statewide collaborations with humanities and arts organizations. The CT Cultural Fund is administered by CT Humanities, with funding provided by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.
According to Dr. Jason Mancini, executive director at CTH, “CT Humanities is grateful to the CT General Assembly and Governor Lamont for the funding central to developing our state’s cultural infrastructure. We’re thrilled to partner with CT Explored and the CT Digital Archive, two organizations integral to organizing, sharing, and preserving Connecticut’s rich cultural heritage.”
The organizations receiving two-year partnership grants are:
Connecticut Explored (West Hartford, $190,314), Exploring the Future of Publicly Engaged History and Humanities, and the University of Connecticut Foundation/Connecticut Digital Archive (Storrs, $173,711), My Town, My Story.
CT Humanities’ renewed partnership with Connecticut Explored will strengthen the strategic goals of both organizations by increasing support for historical research and writing, public history projects, and K-12 history, social studies, and humanities education statewide.
“Connecticut Explored’s partnership with CT Humanities will enable us to expand our outreach to individuals and organizations across the state. In turn, we can provide content for ConnecticutHistory.org, CT Humanities’ online history encyclopedia, and Teach It, their program connecting educators to Connecticut history resources,” says Kathy Hermes, Publisher for CT Explored. “Our editorial assistant, Arianna Basche, and education specialist, Kristen Levithan, look forward to generating deeper engagement with our joint resources. We are also planning for the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War, and we’ll be working within our new partnership to develop enhanced resources. We’re excited to work closely with CT Humanities in this transformative partnership.”
CT Humanities is committed to cultivating projects and partners that generate humanities content representing the breadth of Connecticut’s people and the range of their stories. The partnership with the Connecticut Digital Archive, a program of the University of Connecticut Library, will work with public libraries across the state to build digital collections of their local history by encouraging individuals and community groups to contribute to the shared memory of their town.
“The focus on building and preserving Connecticut’s collective history is an important initiative of the UConn Library,” states Anne Langley, Dean of the UConn Library. “Our work through the Connecticut Digital Archive is one way we share UConn’s commitment to build and strengthen partnerships across Connecticut and beyond. Our partnership with CT Humanities will enable us to make a bigger impact in communities across Connecticut.”
The regional arts alliances receiving one-year funding are:
Cultural Alliance of Western CT (Danbury, $50,000), Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (Norwalk, $50,000), Greater Hartford Arts Council (Hartford, $50,000), Northwest CT Arts Council (Torrington, $50,000), Shoreline Arts Alliance (Madison, $50,000), the Arts Council of Greater New Haven (New Haven, $50,000), the Arts & Culture Collaborative (Waterbury, $50,000), Southeastern CT Cultural Coalition (Norwich, $100,000), and the statewide CT Arts Alliance (Waterbury, $125,000).
Elizabeth Shapiro, Director of Arts, Preservation & Museums for the state, says, “CT Office of the Arts and CT Humanities know that our arts, cultural, and humanities organizations perform the daunting task of helping to make the world make more sense, to encourage civil conversation, to ignite creativity, and to tell stories both familiar and new with truth and nuance. These organizations sustain and give life and vibrancy to the people of Connecticut, and we are thrilled that the legislature has given us the means to support their critical work.”
About Connecticut Explored
Connecticut Explored Inc. publishes Connecticut Explored (formerly Hog River Journal), a quarterly magazine devoted to the state’s history, and produces Grating the Nutmeg, a podcast on Connecticut history. Connecticut Explored Inc. published an array of social studies resources about Connecticut for grades K through 12, along with several books. A non-profit organization, Connecticut Explored, Inc. celebrates its 20th anniversary beginning in the Fall of 2022 with various special programs and stories under the organizing theme 20 for 20: Innovation in Connecticut History. For more information, visit ctexplored.org.
About the University of Connecticut Foundation
The University of Connecticut Foundation is an independent non-profit organization that operates exclusively to promote the educational, scientific, cultural, research, and recreational objectives of the University of Connecticut and UConn Health.
About Connecticut Digital Archive
The Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA) is part of the Digital Preservation Repository Program at the University of Connecticut Library. Serving the entire state, the CTDA is dedicated to the maintenance, delivery, and preservation of a wide range of digital resources for educational and cultural institutions and state agencies in Connecticut.
About Designated Regional Service Organizations
The Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) partners with Regional Service Organizations (DRSOs) that serve as local field offices to constituents and citizens. The statewide network of DRSOs plays a key role that is mutually beneficial to the state’s residents and creative economy, the regional arts and cultural infrastructure, and COA’s goals, programs, and services. DRSOs support Connecticut’s economy by providing arts and cultural leadership at a regional level.
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. For more information, visit CTHumanities.org.
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