For Immediate Release
June 27, 2023
Contact: Dana Barcellos-Allen | dbarcellos-allen@cthumanities.org | 860-937-6648
CT Humanities Awards $70,542 in Quick Grants to 18 Cultural Nonprofits in 1st Half of 2023
MIDDLETOWN, CT (July 27, 2023) – At their April and June meetings, the board of directors of CT Humanities (CTH) awarded $70,542 in humanities project grants from the CT Humanities fund to 18 nonprofits.
The latest rounds of Quick Grants cover a wide variety of programming. This includes community storytelling at the Russell Library; monthly presentations on inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) topics at the Carousel Museum; programs at museums for formerly incarcerated individuals; and exhibits using archaeology to expand the narratives told within the Henry Whitfield State Museum.
Dr. William Farley, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Southern Connecticut State University says, “Archaeology is an immensely powerful tool for discovering and telling the stories of those who have traditionally been left out of the historic record. The Connecticut Humanities Quick Grant will make it possible to expand the narrative at the state’s oldest museum, making it a more inclusive and exciting place to visit.”
“With about half of these recipients being first time grantees with CT Humanities, we continue to expand access to public humanities and reach new communities,” says Executive Director Jason Mancini. “We’re excited to forge new relationships across the state.”
CT Humanities most recent Quick Grant funded programs include:
Afro Caribbean Cultural Center (Waterbury, $4,999)
Nuestras Abuelas de Waterbury: Empowerment and Legacy
Nuestra’s Abuelas Waterbury is a community developed and curated photography and bilingual text exhibition honoring grandmothers through the eyes of their living grandchildren. The exhibit runs September 10-October 31 and shifts the narrative of Latina women in history, showcasing family, challenges of women, and societal and gender expectations.
Ball & Socket Arts (Cheshire, $4,999)
Ball & Socket Arts Public Historical Signage
Ball & Socket Arts will design, create, and install two large-scale pieces of interpretive historical signage at each of the main pedestrian entry points to campus in winter 2023. These signs will educate visitors on the industrial past of the region and the site’s landmark buildings.
Career Resources, Inc. (Bridgeport, $3,220)
Hang Time Mobile
Hang Time Mobile is a project designed to address formerly incarcerated individuals’ lack of exposure to the humanities, art, history, and culture. The site visits include an exhibit on African Americans in CT at the Westport Museum for History and Culture, an interactive immersion series in modern art with MoCA Westport, and exposure to varying cultures and indigenous peoples with the Sikh Art Gallery and Pequot Museum.
Charter Oak Temple Restoration Association (Hartford, $3,750)
Charter Oak Cultural Center’s Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz Justice Institute Summer Program
This institute on August 11 is a virtual workshop by Dr. Melisa Borja for Latinx women on current oral history view. Participants will utilize what they learn to then go out and interview Latinx women about lo cotidiano, their everyday lives, their struggles, and their faith.
Elizabeth Park Conservancy (West Hartford, $1,650)
Poetry in the Park 2023
Elizabeth Park Conservancy hosted “The Friends & Enemies of Wallace Stevens” for their annual Poets in the Park reading the third weekend in June. Invited poets gave a 30-45 minute reading from their work, usually from their most recent poetry collection, followed by a Q/A session with the audience.
Guilford Performing Arts Festival (Guilford, $3,000)
GreenStage Guilford: Live Arts! Educational and Community Outreach Programs
Guilford Performing Arts Festival is a biennial, multi-day event that features live performance and public and in-school education supplemented by outreach projects that use the performing arts to shed light on the diversity of human experience, build community and directly improve lives. The 2023 festival is September 17-24.
HartBeat Ensemble (Hartford, $4,775)
Encounters: Processing Harriet
In October, HartBeat Ensemble will present the Connecticut premiere of Possessing Harriet by Kyle Bass, a new work that explores the themes of race, identity, and equality. Guided conversations and collaborations will take place between the Mark Twain House, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, UConn’s Dodd Human Rights Center, and HartBeat Ensemble.
The Mark Twain Memorial (Hartford, $4,866)
The Trouble Begins Lecture Series: Exploring Leisure, Class, Gender, and Performance in Mark Twain’s America
The Trouble Begins 2023 is a free lecture series. The summer vacations of Mark Twain’s family provide jumping off points for examining the intersection of class, public health, and the growing leisure market in 19th century America, as well as the social role of leisurely activities, connecting the issues of Twain’s world with those of today.
New England Carousel Museum Inc. (Bristol, $3,640)
Thursday Evening Lecture Series
The Carousel Museum and Museum of Fire History are hosting a lecture series monthly on select Thursday evenings between July and December of 2023. These programs will use the lens of the Museum’s unique collections to address diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and celebrate communities often left out of the Museum’s narrative.
Organization of Chinese Americans – Fairfield County Chapter (Stamford, $3,970)
The Legacy of Vincent Chin – Healing Asian Hate Since Vincent Chin
“The Legacy of Vincent Chin” exhibit at the New Canaan Library during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month honored Vincent Chin, a young Chinese man who was racially assaulted in public by two white auto workers. A panel discussion explored ways the community at large can help reduce racial bias and encourage inclusion.
Partnerships in Learning and Creative Exploration Inc. (Cheshire, $3,500)
P.L.A.C.E. on the Go Trolley & The Welcome Project: Short Film Festival Telling Digital Stories
Short Film Festival-Digital Stories-The Welcome Project will screen three University of New Haven student films focused on diversity, inclusion, and belonging. The screenings in West Haven and North Haven include a discussion with community members, filmmakers, interviewees from each film, and University of New Haven professors.
Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra (Ridgefield, $3,500)
Heritage in Motion: Identity Through Music
This three-day music and history-based collaborative program with the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra and Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center will be September 15-17. Each day features a performance by CT-based musicians and an interactive experience designed to explore the evolution of cultural heritage and the part music plays in our identity.
Russell Library Company (Middletown, $4,350)
Find Your Voice Storytelling
Find Your Voice is a community-based storytelling project that will bring together Middletown’s many voices. Workshops will encourage people to explore their personal histories, cultural identities, and connection to Middletown to create stories along with encouraging cultural conversations.
Simsbury Public Library (Simsbury, $1,284)
Craving Preservation: Simsbury’s Edible History in Landmark Buildings Panel
On October 17, Connecticut Public’s Seasoned podcast host, chefs Chris Prosperi and Tyler Anderson, and food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson will focus on three historic landmark buildings and, through culinary storytelling, explore the building’s histories and examine their journeys to the restaurants they are today.
Southern Connecticut State University Foundation Inc. (New Haven, $4,995)
History Beneath Our Feet: Expanding Narratives with Archaeology at the Henry Whitfield State Museum
This exhibit highlights the hidden historical narratives of the Henry Whitfield State Museum recently revealed by archaeological excavations. The semi-permanent exhibition opened in July and brings attention to the site’s 5,000+ years of Native American presence and the house’s many post-Whitfield occupants.
New London Landmarks (New London, $4,055)
Documentary:¡Estamos Aquí! We are Here!
In mid-October, New London Landmarks will host a screening of a new documentary about Puerto Rican migration to New London from the early twentieth century to the present day, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A at Church of the City in downtown New London. After the screening, the film will be freely available on YouTube.
The University of Hartford (West Hartford, $4,999)
Minoo Emami: Under My Veil
Themes of resistance and resilience cut through the multidisciplinary work of Iranian artist Minoo Emami. The exhibition highlights work from the artist’s early career as a self-taught painter, alongside recent experiments in a range of artistic mediums. Held at the Hartford Art School Galleries at the University of Hartford from September 21-December 16.
Windsor Historical Society (Windsor, $4,990)
Windsor History Inclusion Project
Windsor Historical Society is updating the museum’s two permanent exhibition galleries to more fully tell the stories of Windsor’s many Black and brown residents over 400 years of town history. New features include inspiring stories of people like Dr. Primus Manumit, Windsor’s first Black doctor, and 20th century educator Dr. Ethna Winston.
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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.
