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 Summer 2008 Michgan Humanities
Council Newsletter
Review Touring Program Applications
Reviewers are needed to assist the Arts & Humanities Touring Program’s next adjudication of applications and materials from performing artist and humanities interpreters seeking inclusion in the 2009-2012 Michigan Arts & Humanities Touring Directory. Reviewers are selected by program staff based on their expertise in the various disciplines represented in the directory. Adjudication is scheduled for January 2009 in Lansing.
Richard Ford, Jim Harrison, and Thomas McGuane return to Michigan for July 10 event
On July 10, 2008, the Michigan Humanities Council will host a Michigan Author Homecoming with critically acclaimed authors Richard Ford, Jim Harrison, and Thomas McGuane at the Wharton Center at Michigan State University (MSU). The three authors, icons of contemporary American literature, are also MSU alumni and will meet together in public for the first time. The event will be a moderated discussion among the literary giants. It will commemorate the conclusion of the 2007-08 Great Michigan Read. It is free and open to the public. The discussion will begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by a book signing. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m.
Last time to see The Great Michigan Read exhibit, in Flint now through July 7
The Michigan Humanities Council announces that the exhibit, Up North with the Hemingways, is currently on public display at the Alfred P. Sloan Museum (1221 E. Kearsley St., Flint) through July 7, 2008. The exhibit is part of The Great Michigan Read, launched in July by the Michigan Humanities Council to help address the decline in reading literature. The exhibit’s tenure in Flint is the last of 29 site visits in the state of Michigan over the last year.
Listen to March, May, and April 2008 Arts & Humanities Radio Reports
Each month, Michigan Public Radio produces arts and humanities radio features broadcast across the Michigan Public Radio network. Recent features include: an audio about The Great Michigan Read and Valerie Hemingway, author Jeanne Leiby short stories about downriver Detroit communities, and how Michigan is helping South Africa talk about their democracy.... The features are archived on the MHC website... Tune in!
Limited Time Offer: Free Arts & Humanities Touring Directories
This is the last year for the 2006-2009 Arts & Humanities Touring Directory and copies are still available. As we begin the process of producing a new directory, we want to distribute the remaining inventory to anyone interested in obtaining a copy. For a limited time only, we are waiving the shipping and handling fee. To request a directory, please call (517) 372-7770 or e-mail your request along with your name and address to contact [at] mihumanities.org.
$8,050 Awarded to Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for Humanities Project
(from left): Jan Fedewa, executive director of the Michigan Humanities Council, presents a check for $8,050 to David Jarl, past president of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA), and Jim Bridenstine, executive director of the KIA. The check was presented on June 6, 2008, for the project, Perspectives on Place. |
The Michigan Humanities Council today awarded a $8,050 grant to the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for the project, Perspectives On Place. The grant will support a comparison between two exhibits at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts that will help explore the impact of deindustrialization on Midwest communities. The two exhibits are Corporate Wasteland: Photographs by David Lewis (May 31 – July 26, 2008) and Perspectives on Place: Artists’ Visions of Michigan’s Land and Lakes (June 6 – September 6, 2008).
$136,000 Awarded for 13 Humanities Programs
The Michigan Humanities Council recently awarded $135,774 for 13 public humanities programs. The grants were awarded for programs in two different categories: 9 awards for Michigan People, Michigan Places … Our Stories, Our Lives; and 4 awards for The Great Michigan Read.
Charles White, 2008 POL winner, Forest Hills HS (Grand Rapids) |
Charles White Advances to Poetry Out Loud National Finals
Michigan's 2008 Poetry Out Loud winner, Charles White (Forest Hills Central High School, Grand Rapids) successfully advanced as one of 12 finalists in the national Poetry Out Loud competition. Charles did not win the championship, which concluded on April 29. The winner represented the U.S. Virgin Islands. Charles advanced to the championship round as one of four finalists from the Midwest Region; there are three geographic regions, and four from each region advanced to the national finals. A total of 52 students competed: one from every state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Judges evaluate each student performance on criteria including physical presence, articulation, evidence of understanding, level of difficulty, and accuracy. Students choose three poems to recite from the Poetry Out Loud print and online anthologies (www.poetryoutloud.org). The championship round will be held at 7:00 p.m. on April 29, 2008, at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC.
Valerie Hemingway Six Stop Michigan Tour
Valerie Hemingway, author of Running with the Bulls, a memoir of her years as Ernest Hemingway’s secretary and her later marriage to his son, Gregory Hemingway, will tour six cities in Michigan from April 23-29, 2008 (Lansing, Hamtramck, Grand Rapids, Marquette, Traverse City, Saginaw). The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) brings Valerie Hemingway to Michigan to celebrate The Great Michigan Read, a statewide literature reading program featuring Ernest Hemingway’s The Nick Adams Stories.
Valerie Hemingway Opens To Capacity Crowd in Lansing
Valerie Hemingway kicked off her Michigan Tour with a full crowd at the Michigan Library and Historical Center in Lansing on April 23. In addition, the Michigan Humanities Council presented a unique, limited edition framed poster of The Great Michigan Read artwork to Nancy Robertson, the State Librarian.
$49,772 Awarded for Arts & Humanities Touring Programs
The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) recently awarded $49,772 in Arts and Humanities Touring Program grants to Michigan organizations to support 142 artistic and cultural presentations in 28 counties between April 1 and September 30, 2008. The touring program, funded in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, consists of a wide variety of cultural programs from school assembly musical performances to library storytellers.
Watch the "Songwriters Retreat" arts & humanities video
A new clip is available featuring the Songwriters annual retreat in Northern Michigan. Fifteen videos reflecting Michigan's diverse arts and cultural
programs are available for download. Link,
watch, and enjoy.
Steelcase Foundation Awards $10,000; Frey Foundation Awards $5,000 for The Great Michigan Read
The Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) is the recipient of $15,000 to support The Great Michigan Read. The Steelcase Foundation awarded the MHC $10,000 and the Frey Foundation awarded the MHC $5,000. Both foundations are based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The funds will be used for The Great Michigan Read collaborating organizations and events located in Western Michigan.
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"Bijou
Orchestra" Video Short Named Best Video
The Michigan Association of Broadcasters named the "Bijou Orchestra" video (click here for video clip)as the 2007 Best video for Cultural and Performing Arts in the Public Television Category. The "Bijou Orchestra" video is one of many in Matrix: Michigan Arts & Humanities video project The criteria included: "A single program or series featuring cultural and performing arts. May include no more than three excerpts from a series. Criteria: subject portrayal, creative writing, entertainment value, effective use of audio, video and editing medium." The award was presented on March 12, 2008. Previous awards of videos produced as part of the project include: "Shipwreck Museum & Shadow Towns" (2006 Merit award for Mini-Documentary or Series), "Howell Opera House" (2006 Best Feature/Use of Medium), "Matrix: Michigan Arts & Humanities" (2005 Merit award for Cultural and Performing Arts).
Humanities council awarded $60,000 for PRIME TIME reading program in Detroit, Saginaw, and South Haven
The MHC received a $60,000 award to implement the PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME ® program at four Michigan libraries: Butman-Fish Branch, Saginaw; Campbell Branch Library, Detroit; Hoyt Public Library, Saginaw; and, South Haven Memorial Library, South Haven. It models and encourages family reading and discussion of humanities topics, and aids parents and children in selecting books and becoming active public library users. Each library chosen will implement PRIME TIME programs between February and November of 2008.
Directory
of Humanities Professionals
The directory is a free on-line database of qualified professionals available
to project directors and program coordinators to help them locate Michigan
resource persons to assist in developing public humanities programs
Touring
Program Awards Listing By Date
On-Line
NEH Grant Guide
Check out the National Endowment for the Humanities on-line application
guide to all of its grant programs at: www.neh.gov/grants/
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