Opportunity Grants Awarded in 2024

Opportunity Grants open the door for smaller organizations that are building healthier communities one public program at a time.

Wisdom Talks: A Oneida Perspective Podcast

$4,000 to Skanikulat, Inc.

Skanikulat is a burgeoning Oneida, woman-led non-profit. They received an Opportunity Grant to develop four conversational podcast episodes dedicated to bridging the gap between Oneida and other Indigenous traditional knowledge and contemporary issues and challenges. By exploring topics through personal experiences and humor, the women hosts and guests will investigate resilience, community building, Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, Oneida language, matriarchy, and climate justice. The podcast aims to empower individuals with insights that inspire critical thinking and a deeper appreciation of Indigenous values.

Hinkigowi We Feast Together

4,000.00 to Central Rivers Farmshed

“To have community we must share a meal.” Hinkigowi, We Feast Together brings this core value to the forefront in this Native foodways project. They received an Opportunity Grant to bring native and non-native communities to the table to share a meal completely sourced from Native food producers and harvesters. Native American students and community members will be involved in prepping and cooking the dinner, while Rubina Martini, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation as well as Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, researches and visits central Wisconsin Native producers to gather ingredients. Participants will not only deepen their understanding and appreciation of Native foods but also learn how to explore food from their own local communities to learn more about their own identities. Two panelists that work in Native agriculture will also share their cultural connections and answer questions about growing food.

EA Slow Fashion Project Curriculum Development

$3,876.00 to ArtWorks for Milwaukee

ArtWorks for Milwaukee was awarded an Opportunity Grant to research and create a new and innovative environmental arts curriculum for their teen internship program. The impacts of clothing production, consumption, and disposal are major drivers of climate change and labor violations across the world. Using a topic that teens can readily relate to, this new curriculum will be informed by top leaders in the slow fashion movement as well as a Milwaukee slow-fashion activist, tailor, and designer. The resulting curriculum will empower teens to repair and restore garments through tailoring and sewing skills while shifting behaviors and attitudes around what inspiring and sustainable fashion can be.

Stories of the Past: The Balsam Lake Oral History Project

$1,000.00 to Polk County Historical Society

Polk County Historical Society was awarded an Opportunity Grant to start a small collection of oral histories from people who grew up or spent a significant amount of time in Balsam Lake in the 20th and early 21st centuries. This oral history project will allow the Polk County Historical Society to gather a deeper history of Balsam Lake, as their existing collection of material is surprisingly sparse. These oral histories from different racial and ethnic residents will form the basis of a future display to showcase the host town of the Polk County Museum. The oral histories will focus on changes that happened to the town, how it grew, how businesses changed hands, and how the demographics of people coming and going might have influenced how Balsam Lake became the “lake” town it is today.

Midwest Video Poetry Fest 2024

$3,850.00 to Arts & Literature Laboratory (ALL)

An Opportunity Grant will support the Arts + Literature Laboratory’s 2024 Midwest Video Poetry Fest, a growing Wisconsin festival with an international community and one of only four in the United States. The festival features the best video poems from the Midwest and around the world, including past adaptations of works by poets such as Emily Dickinson and Federico García Lorca, breathtaking animations, experimental and surrealist works, dynamic spoken word performances, and much more. Each evening will feature live video and performance collaborations followed by screenings of short poetry films from around the world. The festival removes poetry from being a solitary endeavor and instead shows how poets can collaborate with visual images and words to inspire curiosity and empathy.

QT-BIPoC Days at Wild Path

$3,960.00 to Wild Path Collective

Wild Path Collective was awarded an Opportunity Grant for a range of culturally meaningful programming that increases access, re-connection and familiarity of QT-BIPoC people with rural land stewardship. Using storytelling and dialogue, in addition to myth, poetry and nature sightings, Wild Path Collective facilitators and culture bearers will guide participants through educational experiences in regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, medicinal plant work, land walks, and skillshares. A Queer Farmers Convergence will also create space for 60+ emerging Queer, Trans, and BIPoC farmers and land stewards to gather around the specific intersections of racial, gendered, and sexuality-based obstacles to land access, as well as the joys of building networks together.

Major Grants Awarded in 2024

1871 Peshtigo Fire Documentary Film 

$10,000.00 to Peshtigo Historical Society 

The Peshtigo Historical Society has partnered with Fourth Wall Films to tell the story of the 1871 Peshtigo Fire and explore environmental stewardship lessons that are still relevant today. Despite being the deadliest fire recorded in North American history, the Peshtigo story is less well-known than the “Great Chicago Fire,” a smaller fire that took place on the same day in 1871. Combining archival materials and vintage art with eye-witness accounts and perspectives from present-day scholars and Peshtigo local historians, the film will address the land stewardship practices that set the stage for the inferno, as well as changes made to industries following the fire to depict a community that literally rebuilt itself from the ashes. When the film is completed, it will be showcased at a free public event in Peshtigo that includes a discussion and Q & A with the filmmakers, local historians, and additional scholars.  

 

Milwaukee Historical Mapping Platform 

$9,988.00 to the Race and Place Coalition 

A major grant supports the Milwaukee Historical Mapping Platform, a digital humanities project from the Race and Place Coalition. The project is an outgrowth of the Northside Milwaukee Community Archives Project, Phase 1, a planning grant sponsored by a 2023-24 Wisconsin Humanities award. The mapping platform is specifically designed to facilitate community input of place-based memories and personal archival documents and images while integrating place-based data sourced from official records and institutional archival materials. This multi-phased project begins in Northside Milwaukee and will work closely with four Metcalfe Park residents and community leaders to gather focus-group level feedback about the map prototype. The integration of memory (the past) and imagination (the future) is a primary goal of the mapping tool to make community-based history actionable.  

 

What is the Hmong Xim Xaus? 

$9,990.00 to The Hmong Institute, Inc. 

The Hmong Institute (THI) will use a major grant to invite Hmong and non-Hmong community members to learn about a rare traditional instrument called a Xim Xaus. They are working with expert player, Chong Moua Thao, to catalyze interest and inspire young Hmong musicians in areas from Green Bay to Eau Claire and beyond. Mr. Thao will perform and speak at libraries state-wide and visit five Hmong cultural centers to introduce the two-stringed instrument, explain how it is made, and educate audiences on its connection to the tonal language, traditional courtship roles and New Year’s festivities. Since limited Xim Xaus resources are available online, Mr. Thao will also record an introductory video to the instrument during his visit as part of this project, which will be made available for free on THI’s YouTube channel.  

 

Justice for All: The Life and Legacy of Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson – A Documentary 

$10,000.00 to Wisconsin Historical Foundation 

A major grant supports a feature-length documentary from the Wisconsin Historical Foundation about Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, who served as the first woman justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court as well as the longest-serving justice in the Court’s history. The film will bring her story to life using her own words and voice taken from the oral-history archive. Segments will delve into the obstacles Abrahamson faced as a woman in a male-dominated field and include a broader analysis of the court system—its mechanisms, the role of politics, and its critical function in upholding justice. This film will share Abrahamson’s inspiring story with a new generation and build upon her lifelong mission of educating the public about the judiciary branch. 

 

Residency with Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble  

$9,400.00 to Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts Inc 

The Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts Inc received a Major Grant to support a multidisciplinary exploration of how Afro Latin Jazz and Magical Realism can strengthen personal, communal, and cultural identity. The project will bring world-celebrated pianist, composer, and cultural ambassador Arturo O’ Farrill to middle school communities. Events will include a moderated pre-performance talk about the cultural impact his music has made. Additionally, an exhibit produced by The Macando Project will be on site in the weeks surrounding the musician’s school visits to harmonize with themes in his work. 

 

Non-carceral newsletter: Keeping supporters and advocates informed 

$10,000.00 to The Community, LTD 

A group called The Community was awarded major grant funds to produce a newsletter to support, inform and engage the families, friends and advocates of incarcerated individuals, as well as formerly incarcerated individuals. The digital and print newsletter will highlight successful reentry stories as well as poetry, art, and essays that highlight the importance of community support, resilience, and the transformative power of second chances. Articles will also explore the complex realities of navigating the criminal justice system and explore innovative solutions proposed by communities and policymakers. 

 

Discovering Hmong Roots Through Traditional Clothing: Reminiscing the Diaspora from Laos to the United States

$10,000 to Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association Inc. 

A Major Grant will support an exhibit that spurs conversations between Hmong youth and elders, strengthens intergenerational connections, and provides opportunities for Hmong individuals to identify their roots. Through traditional clothing displays and descriptions of corresponding dialects and traditions associated with the article of clothing, participants will be encouraged to identify the clothing worn by their families and to consult with parents and elders for insight. With a map of Laos, attendees will be invited to mark their region and facilitate data regarding the geographical distribution of Hmong individuals in the Chippewa Valley. With the return of the Eau Claire Hmong New Year celebration after a pandemic-induced four-year hiatus, the project and exhibit provides a cultural educational opportunity for non-Hmong visitors to the long-awaited Hmong New Year celebration.  

 

The Driftless Region’s Dia de Muertos Celebration (4th edition) A Mexican cultural and educational event to honor our loved ones who have passed away 

$10,000 to Driftless Curiosity Inc. 

A Major Grant will support a cultural and educational public event in a place where the organizers acknowledge that until now there has been little space for the Mexican (and Latino) community in Richland County to celebrate Día de Muertos. In a predominately Spanish-speaking environment, Mexican artists, altaristas, vendors, chefs, and producers will promote conversations and cultural understanding about the traditions that inform this day of remembrance, including workshops on embroidery and papel picado. A collective ofrenda will be created using papel picado, cempasúchil and celosia flowers, and Mexican foods. The altaristas will lead the placing of objects and photographs and give bilingual explanations of the process and themes. The result will be an empathetic space for memories, grief, and contemplation in addition to a non-commercialized understanding of Día de Muertos traditions. 

 

Ursula Le Guin at Beloit: A Community Reading and Worldbuilding Project 50 Years after The Dispossessed

$9,993 to Beloit College

A Major Grant will support a community-wide read of Ursula Le Guin’s utopian novel, The Dispossessed, along with dynamic worldbuilding activities and a kickoff Q & A session with speakers versed on Daoism, Buddhism, planetary astronomy, and more. Using accessible community spaces and public-school spaces, student moderators will guide collaborative conversations with high school readers and senior readers that imagine fictional worlds and allow groups to think through social problems, potential solutions, and what concepts like justice and equality can look like. The project harnesses the wide appeal of science fiction to bring a politically and racially diverse community together. An oral history exhibit, video, and pop-up displays will show how Le Guin’s local residency in 1992, along with her fiction from ’74, can shape Beloit’s vision for 2024.

Tragedy to Triumph: A Lynching Victim Survives & Thrives

$10,000 to Dr. James Cameron Legacy Foundation 

America’s Black Holocaust Museum received a Major Grant to create an immersive, role-playing exhibit that asks visitors to walk in the shoes of ABHM founder, Dr. James Cameron, to learn what his life teaches about the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras. Designed to attract tweens and teens, in addition to adults, visitors will embark on a transformative journey and face choices that propel the user through a powerful life narrative, spanning the years 1914-1930. Active participation in the exhibit will be complemented with historical video and still photographs, audio recordings, newly produced video and re-enacted audio, contemporary music, and colorful graphic novel-style illustrations. The exhibit will be piloted at the ABHM physical site, the virtual museum site online, and in school classrooms. 

 

Call & Response: Asmaa Walton and the Black Art Library

$10,000 to Lynden Inc.

 Lynden Sculpture Garden will use a Major Grant to highlight and celebrate Black art and artists while interrogating the continued gap of including their contributions in the mainstream narrative surrounding art history. Walton’s Black Art Library, a cultural archive of publications, exhibition catalogs, theoretical texts, and research materials about Black art and visual culture, will reside at Lynden in a participatory and interactive exhibit. Asmaa Walton will also work directly with K-12 educators and various community cohorts in residencies to develop specific curricula that teachers will implement in their classrooms in the 2024-2025 school year.   

 

One Book, One Community: A Council of Dolls

$10,000 to Friends of The L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library 

 A Major Grant supports the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library’s community-wide reading initiative with Mona Susan Power’s book, A Council of Dolls. In addition to an author visit, programming for all ages will be presented by tribal leaders, culture bearers, Native storytellers, and chefs on the topics of Indian boarding schools, oral history, foraging, and Native American rights. The range of programming will reach both Native American audiences and non-Indigenous community members and create space for cultural exploration and education on historical and current-day experiences of Native American peoples in the Chippewa Valley.  

 

Wisconsin Mariachi’s Academia Popular: Building Community Through Mexican American Cultural Appreciation (WisMAP)

 $9,999.00 to UW-OSHKOSH 

 A Major Grant supports the Chicana/o & Latinx Studies program at UW-Oshkosh to connect artists, youth, world-class musicians, academics, and the community at large around the growing influence of Mariachi folk music in the state of Wisconsin. Nine free and public events at multiple locations in Oshkosh and Appleton will explore and celebrate the local histories and multinational histories of Mariachi musicians, the influence of Mariachi music in film and language instruction, and the multiple ways in which Mariachi music has brought about cultural awareness, social inclusion and improved communication within multicultural communities.  

 

#LanguageBack: Poetry as a Tool of Indigenous Language Revitalization

$9,888.00 to INDIGENOUS NATIONS POETS (IN-NA-PO)  

As part of a proactive, intentional effort to reclaim Indigenous languages, Indigenous Nations Poets (IN-NA-PO) will use a Major Grant in support of a series of writing workshops centered on creating poetry, often collaboratively. The day-long workshops will take place across the state at various educational venues, in collaboration with tribal communities and Indigenous language teachers in the Anishinaabe, Menominee and Ho-Chunk traditions. The classes will serve local participants in local Indigenous language classes, language table learners and immersion school students, as well as educators who work in tribal communities. An online chapbook of the newly created writing will be published.   

 

Hmoob Zaj Dab Neeg aka The Hmong Story

$10,000 to HMONG AMERICAN CENTER, INC 

A Major Grant supports a range of critical programming that reintroduces cultural pride while imparting knowledge of Hmong history and traditional roles. Classes will allow Hmong youth and adults to explore the skills needed to be a wedding facilitator, funeral coordinator, or player of the Qeej, a traditional Hmong instrument made of six reeds.   Language classes and traditional dance classes will also be offered. To increase broader cultural awareness of the local Hmong population in Wasau, the Hmong American Center will coordinate tours of the exhibit, “From Laos to America,” for schools, professional organizations and community partners.   

Interwoven Roots and Routes: Somali and Scandinavian Heritage Events in Barron County

$10,000 to BARRON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY  

A Major Grant supports a cross-cultural collaboration to highlight connections and build relationships between Scandinavian-American and Somali-American neighbors in Barron County. Pioneer Village, partnering with the nearby Somali Museum of Minnesota, will host school field trips where students can experience a traditional portable nomadic hut, called an Aqal Soomaali, and discuss stories and artifacts from both immigrant groups. A craft workshop at Barron Public Library will feature Somali kebed finger weaving styles alongside Scandinavian finger weaving styles. Lastly, a summer cultural festival will feature various dance, craft, music, storytelling, and food traditions from both cultures and feature discussions of how these two ethnic communities are coming together to make Barron their unique home.
 

Ho-Chunk Black Ash Basketry  

$10,000 to MUSEUM OF WISCONSIN ART 

 The Museum of Wisconsin Art will use a Major Grant to present a groundbreaking exhibition on the art, history, and enduring relevance of Ho-Chunk black ash basketry. Featuring over seventy-five Ho-Chunk artists and two hundred baskets representing the earliest works to modern works, the exhibit raises questions about historical and gender-based injustices, the cultural impact of tourism, and the future of basket-making in a warming world. A full calendar of public programs will engage audiences through presentations on the exhibition themes, a Makers Fair to support contemporary basket makers, and craft demonstrations with ash splint. 

Flores Nocturnas (Blooming at Night)

$9,993.00 to UW-EAU CLAIRE  

 UW-Eau Claire's Ruth Foster Gallery, with the Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, will exhibit Chicago/Mexico City-based artist Sofia Moreno’s Flores Nocturnes (Blooming at Night). The exhibit will cultivate awareness and public discussion on trans histories, experiences, and human rights in the Chippewa Valley. Flores Nocturnas includes drawings, paintings and lush mixed media that reclaim Mesoamerican art and images while centering the agency of diverse trans femmes. The public programming, in partnership with The Chippewa Valley LGBTQ+ Center, includes panel discussions, a lecture, and two pop-up libraries that aim to grow LGBTQ+ communities, resources, and allies while promoting deeper understandings of how race and migration shape trans lives.   

Growing Older in a Rural Wisconsin County

$10,000 to RURAL WISCONSIN 

 A Major Grant will support Rural Wisconsin’s filming of a documentary that explores the lives of seniors in Waushara County and their challenges to access quality healthcare and meaningful social networks in an isolated area. The film strives to show this population not as a homogenous group, but as a demographic with many lived experiences, including elderly and retired Latino agricultural workers. Their relationship with work, volunteerism, and day-to-day joys and obstacles informs the many benefits an aging population can bring to a rural community. Partnering with the local Aging and Disability Resource Center and other community organizations, the film will be accompanied by discussions about how to better face the challenges of aging in a rural county.