Wisconsin Humanities has been giving grants in support of local efforts to celebrate and explore our histories and cultures for 50 years! Over those decades, there have been projects in every corner of the state, serving rural and urban communities, and making Wisconsin a better place for all of us to live.
It's always exciting to announce another round of grant awards and this summer's Major Grants are no exception. Please join us in congratulating the following eight organizations in Brown, Dane, Milwaukee, Vilas, Washington, and Waukesha Counties! These grant awards total $73,439!
Major Grants Awarded in Brown, Dane, Milwaukee, Vilas, Washington, and Waukesha Counties
NOTE: The next Major Grant deadline is August 15th
Milwaukee Turners have been awarded $10,000 for “The Story Experience Project.” This collaboration between two academic humanities centers and a cluster of Milwaukee organizations serving older adults, people with disabilities, and other underserved communities, explores the role stories have in strengthening one’s sense of belonging and reducing isolation. The Story Experience Project looks to foster understanding across differences such as economic, racial, cultural, physical/cognitive and generational.
The Warehouse Eagle River Arts Center has been awarded $9,732 for “Living WITH the Northwoods,” a documentary film that chronicles a collaborative project between a community arts center and members of the Lac du Flambeau Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa. The Indigenous and non-native community is gathering sustainable materials from local Northwoods forests to build a summer wigwam on the grounds of the arts center. In the process of building, participants will be led in discussions of history, culture, and tradition with Native community members, master artists, naturalists, biologists, writers and teachers. In addition to the film, an exhibit called “Wiigwass: Birchbark Art of the Anishinaabeg” and additional programming will promote further reflection for participants and visitors.
Wisconsin Historical Foundation has been awarded $10,000 for “Pleasant Ridge History Making Project.” Funds go to support Wisconsin Historical Society’s collaboration with community partners, as well as organizational consultants and external humanities experts, to reconceptualize an exhibit at Old World Wisconsin focused on a historical Black community that existed in southwestern WI from 1850 through the early 20th century. They will develop interpretive themes for the new Pleasant Ridge exhibit that reflect community perspectives and model inclusive living history practice.
Historic Milwaukee, Inc. has been awarded $5,000 for “Native Milwaukee,” a walking and biking tour to be developed based on research completed by students at Marquette University’s Indigeneity Lab. The tours will be available on Historic Milwaukee, Inc.’s free app and will show what Milwaukee looked like before white settlement began, the interactions between Indigenous and white communities in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the colonialism and violence of these interactions, as well as the Indigenous communities that call Milwaukee home today.
UW-Milwaukee has been awarded $8,707 for “Exploring Native American Cultures and Lived Experiences in Wisconsin: past, present, and future.” Funding supports four experiential, multi-disciplinary programs to promote awareness and understanding of Native American cultures and lived experiences in Wisconsin. The four distinct programs include an archaeology day, a reading circle, a cultural performance, and a panel discussion, all with a focus on indigenous experiences, voices, and perspectives. The programs are designed to demonstrate why the study of Native American cultures, histories, and lived experiences are important, as well as provide a deeper awareness of Native American cultural diversity and contemporary issues.
The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters has been awarded $10,000 for “Native Voices in Climate Resilience.” Funding supports stipends and scholarships for Native conference leaders, contributors, and participants, as well as presentations of Native cultural traditions related to climate change resilience, at the 2022 environmental conference, Climate Fast Forward (CFF). There will be opportunities for dialogue between Tribal members and non-Native conference-goers on the intersections of climate change mitigation, Indigenous sovereignty, and community-centered approaches to sustainability.
UW-Green Bay has been awarded $10,000 for “The Midwest Viking Festival,” a two-day living history experience from September 23-24, 2022 on the grounds of a replica Viking house. Forty Viking artists will build an encampment, where they will demonstrate folk arts, tell stories, sing, and perform mock battles. The first day of the festival will welcome school groups in addition to the general public. Visitors are welcome to speak with the historical interpreters as they demonstrate weaving, carving, blacksmithing, silver-working, flax processing, dying wool with natural dyes, and Viking cookery in a clay oven and over an open fire.
Museum of Wisconsin Art has been awarded $10,000 for “Three Exhibitions by Native American Artists.” The exhibitions examine the artwork and contributions of artists Tom Jones, Tom Antell, and Sky Hopinka. Their singular experience as Indigenous Americans will be highlighted within the context of contemporary canons of art. Programs featuring discussions with scholars, artists, members of the Native community, and other humanities experts will complement the exhibits, as well as an exhibition catalog with original essays by art historians and Native. One of the essays will be in the Ho-Chunk language.
Wisconsin Humanities grants support locally-initiated public humanities programs that promote reflection, dialogue, and civic participation. 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 helping to brainstorm an idea or connecting with a humanities expert.
