Seventeen organizations just got over $106,000 in Mini and Major Grant awards!
Below is a list of the projects that received funding this fall. We are so excited to share!
Every year, Wisconsin Humanities' regular Mini and Major grants support humanities-based activities and diverse organizations that help enrich the state’s cultural landscape. Your project could be next!
We are thrilled to have special money available thanks to the NEH's 'A More Perfect Union' initiative!
We are looking for proposals for projects that explore the history of our nation’s quest for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable society; broaden participation in the documentation and telling of our shared American experience; and deepen the public’s knowledge of and commitment to our nation’s principles of constitutional government and democracy. We encourage applications that tell the stories of the evolution of the American landscape, as well as America’s place in the world. Projects that strengthen Americans’ knowledge of our principles of constitutional governance and democracy are strongly encouraged, as are projects that address the experiences of Native Americans and other underrepresented communities.
PLEASE NOTE: Projects must meet all of our Mini and Major Grant requirements and funds must be encumbered by September 30, 2022.
Announcing Mini Grants Awarded in Bayfield, Columbia, Dane, Milwaukee, and Rock Counties in November 2021
NOTE: The next Mini Grant deadline is February 1st
Eleventh Annual Tony Woiak History Festival
$1,600 to WASHBURN HERITAGE ASSOCIATION
The Washburn Heritage Association and the Washburn Area Historical Association are hosting the Eleventh Annual Tony Woiak History Festival. A grant from Wisconsin Humanities will support a series of four evening lectures in January and February of 2022. The topics and speakers reflect different perspectives on the community’s history. During the pandemic, the organizations began videotaping events and posting them on their websites. This evolution allows the History Festival to reach more people and have an impact throughout the year.
Rooted in Land, Preserving through Generations
$2,000 to ROOTED WI, INC
Rooted Inc. will build a platform to help archive, preserve, and provide opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and people of color to share their stories. A Wisconsin Humanities grant will be used to collect oral histories from the families BIPOC garden community. The focus of the interviews will be on developing a more complete picture of the individual and collective histories and journeys of people who settled in and garden in Dane County. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Community-Wide Read: Divided We Fall
$2,000 to FRIENDS OF THE LODI PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Lodi Public Library will launch its second community-wide read in response to its initial success. This year, with funding from Wisconsin Humanities, patrons in the Lodi area will be invited to read David French's 2020 book, “Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.” The book considers the divisions in our country today in comparison to the polarization during the Civil War. The library will host a book club and an event at a local park featuring experts on the subject. Additionally, the experts will join library staff for a conversation that will be recorded and shared as a podcast. Funding for this grant comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ A More Perfect Union initiative.
Travel Kits
$601 to MILTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
A Wisconsin Humanities grant to the Milton Public Library will help create a new collection of circulating kits. Modeled after other popular kits that can be checked out by library patrons, these kits will include books, DVDs, games, and maps of various ‘travel destinations’ around the world. The library staff will also interview community members who have visited the locations for episodes of their podcast, Check Out MPL. The kits and podcast episodes are meant to share personal experiences, stories, cultural resources, and information in a creative way that creates a deeper understanding and appreciation for the world during a time when travel is limited.
World Languages Day 2022
$2,000 to UW-MADISON
World Languages Day brings hundreds of high school students and educators from around the state to the UW-Madison campus for a conference-like experience. A grant from Wisconsin Humanities goes to support the event, which includes opening and closing sessions for all attendees, as well as break-out sessions focused on world languages, cultures, and the value of multilingualism. The World Languages Day provides a unique opportunity for high school students from different backgrounds to experience a breadth of languages not typically available in high school and provides educators with new ideas to take back to their schools.
Voices of Gun Violence: Resolute, Resilient, Revolutionary
$2,000 to BLACK ARTS MKE, INC
Milwaukee Voices of Gun Violence brings attention to the complex and often unheard narratives of the individuals, families, and communities impacted by gun violence. A grant from Wisconsin Humanities will support a public performance that uses narrative and visual arts to expand public understandings of gun violence in cities like Milwaukee. Audience members will be invited to participate in a talkback immediately following the performance. The talkback panel will include a member of the cast, the stage director, and representatives from the collaborating partners, including Bronzeville Arts Ensemble, Mother's Against Gun Violence, and UWM Art, Dance, Film and Theater Departments. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Announcing Major Grants Awarded in Chippewa, Dane, Kenosha, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Walworth, and Washington Counties in October 2021
NOTE: The next Major Grant deadline is April 15th
We Live in La Crosse: Stories of Belonging
$9,889 to UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN – LA CROSSE
“We Live in La Crosse: Stories of Belonging” is a community exploration of culture, multilingualism, and belonging. A Wisconsin Humanities grant will support the creation of a multi-media exhibit featuring the stories of young people who have migrated to the La Crosse area and are English-learners. The stories about their experiences will be shared using words, images, music, and video to create authentic and original representations. The exhibit will travel and be permanently housed on the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse webpage. Funding for this grant comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ A More Perfect Union initiative.
Living with Lead: Civic Dialogue & Environmental Justice in Milwaukee
$6,288 to MIDWEST ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES
This Wisconsin Humanities grant supports the work of the Coalition on Lead Emergency (COLE) and Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) to create a public humanities tool to tell the story of lead contamination in Milwaukee. The goal is to raise awareness about the connections between lead exposure and housing instability. The Story Map will place audio from interviews with Milwaukee residents onto maps depicting incidents of childhood lead poisoning, lead service lines in older housing stock, eviction rates, housing code violations, and historical redlining. The map will be presented at a series of outreach and civic dialogue events aimed at bringing key stakeholders together to discuss how to address lead contamination in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin. Funding for this grant comes the National Endowment for the Humanities’ A More Perfect Union initiative.
Stronger Together
$9,450 to ARTS WISCONSIN
Stronger Together is a program designed to bring together community members to address the issues of racial disparity in Southeastern Wisconsin. A Wisconsin Humanities grant supports a partnership between Nurturing Diversity Partners and the Germantown Community Coalition to deliver three interactive workshops. The events will provide community members with a historical understanding of the racial disparities that exist today and build a common language for positively affecting change in the community. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Journey the Atlantic [Viajando el Atlántico]
$10,000 to BEMBÉ DRUM AND DANCE
Bembé Drum and Dance creates school-based and community-based programs for the Milwaukee region in an effort to overcome generations of segregation. A Wisconsin Humanities grant supports ‘Journey the Atlantic [Viajando el Atlántico],’ an educational workshop to explore the shared histories between Africa and Latinx regions like Puerto Rico, Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba. Bembé will provide partnering schools with a curriculum that encourages students to explore rhythms specific to these regions with musical instruments, drumming, and dance. A series of culminating events for the community will showcase the students alongside guest performers. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Whose Land? Race, Settlement and Dispossession in Rural and Urban Wisconsin
$10,000 to UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - WHITEWATER
The ‘Whose Land?’ project explores the histories of farming, land, and migration in Wisconsin, with an emphasis on land loss and dispossession. Its purpose is to frame discussions around how land affects Indigenous, Black, white, and Latinx communities today in both rural and urban areas. The Wisconsin Humanities grant supports field work and research collaborations with K-16 students, faculty, and community members. The public will be invited to join conversations with the research teams and to Community Archive Days where oral history interviews will be conducted. A digital repository will include a story map and materials collected during research, all curated to help reveal the intertwined dynamics of settlement and displacement that characterized 19th and 20th century Wisconsin. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Community Land Administration in Vermont Township
$9,985 to BLACK EARTH HISTORICAL SOCIETY
A Wisconsin Humanities grant is being used to develop and test a community-based methodology for making “then” and “now” photograph pairings useful in land use planning. The re-photography project will be used to stimulate reflection and comments about evolving land use, farming systems, and family survival strategies within a broader social and economic environment in the area. The Town Board will be asked to consider the pairs of photos of ten sites in Vermont Township, along with accompanying comments, when updating the Town’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan. It is hoped that this methodology will be useful for other developing land use plans.
YWCA La Crosse Racial Justice Workshops
$10,000 to YWCA LA CROSSE
A Wisconsin Humanities grant supports the YWCA’s racial justice workshops for organizations and individuals in the La Crosse area who have an interest in helping build a stronger and more equitable community. The 3-day workshops, which have previously been offered to employees of La Crosse County government, offer an opportunity for meaningful conversation about racial justice issues and deepen understanding of the unique lived experiences of people from diverse backgrounds. Scholarships will be offered to local non-profit, educational, service-based, or other community organizations. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
READ (Reading Experiences for Amish/Old Order Mennonites by D.R. Moon Memorial Library)
$10,000 to D.R. MOON MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Two public libraries have partners to deliver books to Amish/Old Order Mennonite Community schools that have requested them. The Wisconsin Humanities grant supports the monthly distribution of sets of 30-40 books on a variety of themes and topics per the Amish/Old Order Mennonite leaders’ stipulations. Additionally, the young participants will have supervised field trips to the library and receive free books. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Marcus Garvey Exhibit and Local Impact
$10,000 to WISCONSIN BLACK HISTORICAL SOCIETY/MUSEUM
The Wisconsin Black Historical Society & Museum is launching a new exhibit about “Garveyism,” an ideology based on Marcus Garvey’s movement that centers the unification and empowerment of descendants of enslaved Africans. A Wisconsin Humanities grant will be used to repair an historic photograph and research the stories of the people in the photograph. An accompanying panel discussion and student essay contest will explore contemporary Garveyism. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Who Gets to Vote
$3,000 to KENOSHA PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Kenosha Public Library has selected “The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels” by Pulitzer-prize winning historian Jon Meacham for their “common read” experience. The 2018 best-selling book is also a documentary film that offers insights into the country’s current political and historical moment by examining its past. This Wisconsin Humanities grant supports a partnership between Kenosha and Racine Public Libraries to offer book discussions and a variety of events for community members of voting age. The program will emphasize the importance of voting, of becoming informed on issues and candidates, and on increasing turn-out for local elections. Funding for this grant comes the National Endowment for the Humanities’ A More Perfect Union initiative.
BlackMidwest/Wisconsin
$7,950 to MILWAUKEE FILM, INC.
A Wisconsin Humanities grant to BlackMidwest goes to support a digital documentary of the African American Wisconsin experience. As part of a large research project, BlackMidwest.org, the Wisconsin web pages will feature video interviews with Wisconsin African American history scholars, an interactive “clickable” map of key African American historical events in Wisconsin, and audio documentaries focused on African Americans in the Wisconsin Lead Mines and the Milwaukee Housing Protests of 1967-68. A documentary film for PBS called "The African American Midwest: A 400 Year Fight for Freedom" is being developed as part of the BlackMidwest project. This project meets our focus on race and ethnicity.
Wisconsin Humanities grants help support cultural and educational programs around the state. If you or your organization has never applied for a grant, or you just want some feedback on an idea you aren’t sure about, please contact us to discuss your idea. We may be able to help! It might be anything from brainstorming an idea to connecting your organization with a humanities expert.
