CT Humanities’ Board of Directors recently approved 10 new Quick Grant awards totaling $43,172 in funding from the State of Connecticut.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Cyndi Tolosa, ctolosa@cthumanities.org 860.986.6704
Middletown, CT (November 13, 2025) – This round of grants supports organizations across Connecticut that offer initiatives and projects rooted in community, history, and diverse stories.
One project, “Stories of the Land,” is a collaborative program between Fairfield University’s Center for the Arts & Minds, New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre, and members of the Mohegan Tribe featuring a dramatic reading of Mohegan stories followed by a panel discussion. Other funded projects include community conversations around queer Black history; identity, fashion, and cultural resilience of the African Diaspora; and an America 250-themed exhibit on the role of taverns in the American Revolution.
“CT Humanities is excited to support these programs to showcase the breadth and depth of culture in our state that local communities can enjoy and learn from,” said Becky Vitkauskas, Grants Officer at CT Humanities. “The rich history that Connecticut has to offer is evident in the stories being shared in this recent round of grants awarded.”
The full list of funded programs are:
CAPACITY GRANTS:
American Mural Project (Winchester, $2,899)
Connecticut at Work: Stories of Labor and Life
Connecticut at Work: Stories of Labor and Life (March–October 2026) brings together workshops, performances, exhibits, films, and lectures to mark the U.S. 250th. With topics spanning the Flood of ’55, unions, and the Civilian Conservation Corps, AMP engages communities in remembering, reflecting, and reimagining the role of workers in Connecticut’s past and future.
Artists Collective, Inc. (Hartford, $4,999)
Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and Diasporic Identity: A Community Conversation with Dr. Monica L. Miller
The Artists Collective will host a symposium and moderated discussion featuring Dr. Monica L. Miller, author of Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity on February 21, 2026. The event will engage students, adults, and educators in dialogue on identity, fashion, and cultural resilience in the African Diaspora. Dr. Miller, a renowned scholar of contemporary African American literature, brings world-class cultural programming to Hartford.
CCSU Foundation, Inc. (New Britain, $4,999)
Understanding Latino Identity and Self Expression Through Art
The CCSU Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Center will host a one-day conference to help the Connecticut public develop a more nuanced understanding of the place of Latinos in the United States through an exploration of Latino art. The conference will be supplemented with a display of art books at the New Britian Public Library where Latino patrons will be invited to create art themselves. Among the speakers will be sociologist Dr. Gilberto Cardenas, a founder of Latino Studies in the U.S.
Fairfield Museum and History Center (Fairfield, $4,554)
Eat, Drink, and Start a Revolution: Fairfield’s Tavern Traditions and the Birth of Democracy
To kick off its year-long commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Fairfield Museum will present the exhibit “Eat, Drink, and Start a Revolution: Fairfield’s Tavern Traditions and the Birth of Democracy”, which will explore how colonial taverns served as vital social networks for revolutionary ideas and incubators of democracy. The exhibit will run from November 15, 2025 to May, 3 2026.
Fairfield University/Quick Center for the Arts (Fairfield, $4,999)
Stories of the Land
“Stories of the Land” is a collaboration between Fairfield University’s Center for the Arts & Minds, New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre, and members of the Mohegan Tribe. This dramatic reading will explore stories that have been passed down for generation in Mohegan families, culminating in a panel discussion with Mohegan tribal members and Fairfield University faculty and the community participants.
Hartford Chorale (Hartford, $1,575)
Shenel Johns: Hartford’s Legacy in Song
Shenel Johns: Hartford’s Legacy in Song is a free lecture-recital on January 26, 2026, at Asylum Hill Congregational Church. Internationally acclaimed vocalist and Hartford native Shenel Johns will share her journey from local roots to global stages, blending performance with storytelling. The program highlights Hartford’s cultural heritage and its role in shaping artists whose voices reach the world.
Journey Writers Inc. (Hartford, $4,999)
Queer Black History 2026: Our Own Heroes Sheros and Queeros
Queer Black History 2026 will educate, entertain and raise consciousness about the accomplishments, challenges in the lives and loves of living and deceased Black LGBTQ people who lived and live in Connecticut. The dramatic readings bring to light the intersectional issues of race, homophobia and transphobia. A panel discussion following the readings will delve into the historical and contemporary challenges, victories and opportunities of Black LGBTQ people.
Maurice La Grua Center, Inc. (Stonington, $4,950)
On Our Minds/Good Stories Well Told Lecture Series
La Grua Center’s 2026 “On Our Minds/Good Stories Well Told” series: Jan 23: Sara Sherman, Resonant Minds (how mindful listening and musical choices build memory/connection); Feb 18: David Hendley, Emotional Landscapes (reading photos for place and change); Mar 11: Joseph Luzzi, The Innocents of Florence (Renaissance art, care, civic life); Jun 24: Robert Baldwin, Art & Gardens (how designed landscapes encode values). All events will be free, moderated Q&A, and recorded for our YouTube channel.
Racial Advocates for Cross-Cultural Education (Waterbury, $4,965)
Community Letter-Writing Project
RACCE’s Community Letter-Writing Program provides workshops open to the public that center personal and written narratives of current and formerly incarcerated youth of Connecticut. Workshops are a space for knowledge sharing and building new histories on the impact systems of carcerality have on Connecticut youth while also providing social connections to justice impacted youth that otherwise would impossible. RACCE is requesting funding for (6) workshops November 2025 thru April 2026.
Salisbury School (Salisbury, $4,233)
Courageous Together: Litchfield County Teachers’ Workshops
Courageous Together is a series of professional development workshops for Litchfield County teachers whose students participate in the annual Troutbeck Symposium. Scheduled for winter 2026, (tentative dates: 1/22, 2/10, 19, 25) and led by Creative Futures LLC, these workshops will focus on ways to help expand traditional classroom history teaching, exploring long-overlooked local and regional stories, while building empathetic classrooms, and engaging in ethical public history.
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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.
