Kansas Humanities Council Awards Summer Grants

Date: July 16, 2007

TOPEKA - The Kansas Humanities Council recently awarded $47,426 in Humanities and Heritage grants to eight organizations.

HUMANITIES GRANTS

Humanities grants are public programming grants and support those projects that engage the general public with the work of the humanities. Grants awarded in the Humanities Grants category:

Barton County Arts Council, Inc., Great Bend ($9,665) for Oscar Micheaux Memorial Celebration: Rising from the Plains: Black Kansans Telling Their Stories in New Ways. A three-day celebration (October 19-21, 2007) examining Black Kansans’ contributions to entertainment and literature, including Lorenzo Fuller, Jr., Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, and Perry Lowery. Named for pioneering film director Oscar Micheaux. Karen Neuforth, project director.

Bowlus Fine Arts Center, Iola ($10,735) for Buster Keaton and Douglas Fairbanks: Disciples of Teddy Roosevelt’s Philosophy for Pursuing the Physically Strenuous Life Celebration. A two-day festival (September 28-29, 2007) celebrating filmmaker and comedian Buster Keaton. The 2007 theme explores Keaton and Douglas Fairbanks’ work in the context of Teddy Roosevelt’s philosophy of a physically strenuous life. Susan Raines, project director.

Finney County Historical Society, Garden City ($5,792) for As American as We Could Be. An oral history and exhibition about the Mexican immigrants and refugees who settled in Garden City between 1945 and 1975. Mary Catherine Regan, project director.

KPTS, Wichita ($7,826) for Lost Nation: The Ioway. A one-hour documentary recounting the history of the Ioway Indians in Kansas. Kelly Rundle, project director.

Sociedad Hidalgo, Shawnee ($4,500) for XVI – Latin American Cinema Festival of Kansas City. A film festival and discussion series (September 2007) that promotes better understanding of Latin American customs, traditions, and culture. Gloria Bessenbacher, project director.

HERITAGE GRANTS

Heritage projects are in partnership with the Kansas State Historical Society and support the preservation and study of local cultural resources, including oral history projects, basic research, best practices, care of collections, cataloging/indexing, and language preservation. Grants awarded:

Harvey County Historical Society, Newton ($1,908) for Pulpits & Potlucks: A Photographic History of the Churches of Harvey County from 1872-2007. A research, preservation, and exhibition project exploring the history of faith in Harvey County. Debra D. Hiebert, project director.

Leavenworth County Historical Society, Leavenworth ($3,500) for Digital Archiving of the Everhard Historic Glass Photographic Negatives. A project to digitize glass plate negatives of photographs of Leavenworth County residents taken between the 1860s and 1960s. Terry Weakley, project director.

Stafford County Historical and Genealogical Society, Stafford ($3,500) for Gray Studios Glass Plate Negatives Project. A project to clean, catalog, and archive early 20th century glass plate negatives taken at the W.R. Gray Photo Studio in St. John. Michael Hathaway, project director.

A non-profit organization with 35 years experience, the Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities.

For more information about other KHC grants, contact the Kansas Humanities Council, 112 SW 6th Ave., Suite 210, Topeka, 66603, e-mail info@kansashumanities.org or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.

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