Explore the Mass Humanities funded projects awarded from 2000 to the present. Browse by grant type, city, region or keyword. Subscribe and receive news when grants are awarded. Interact with a state map of grants awarded!
Thomas Paine: Voice of the Revolution
Documentary exploring Thomas Paine's contributions to democracy.
Brooklyn, NY, Kings County
project director: Karen Thorsen
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $10,000
"Uprising on King Street" The Boston Massacre" at the John Adams Courthouse
Performances of an original play examining the nature of justice during times of military occupation followed by a debate.
Jamaica Plain, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: Derek Nelson
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $10,000
Art as Healer and Provocateur
A three evening event including an exhibition by Polish-Jewish artist and Holocaust survivor Mira Zelechower-Aleksiun, a presentation of Double Edge's original production, "Republic of Dreams," based on the life of WWII-era Polish-Jewish writer and artist Bruno Schulz, and a symposium featuring Mexican-Jewish writer/scholar Ilan Stavans, German-American author/scholar Sigrid Bauschinger, Congregation B'Nai Israel Rabbi Justin David and Double Edge artists Carlos Uriona and Stacy Klein.
Ashfield, MA, Franklin County (CT Valley)
project director: Stacy Klein
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $6,631
Environmental Change and Society: Massachusetts as a Model
A 24 part radio series using Massachusetts as a model to document the connections between environmental change and human history.
Amherst, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Laurie Sanders
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $5,000
New England News Forum Outreach
Panel discussions in Boston and Springfield discussing the role of the press in society and introducing the audience to the New England News Forum.
Amherst, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Steve J. Simurda
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $2,350
300 Years of Mapping Orleans and Cape Cod, 1600-1900
Exhibit of antique maps showing how cartographic depictions of the area were used to not only assist with the exploration and trade commerce of the coastal area, but as a marketing tool for prospective colonists from the old world. Guest speakers will discuss the history, interpretation and collecting of antique maps.
Orleans, MA, Barnstable County (Cape & Islands)
project director: Tamsen Cornell
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $2,000
Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Project
Creation of a database including MA poets, poetry organizations, poetry programs, readings, poetry societies, workshops and opportunities for public poetry for use by anyone seeking to promote poetry within the Commonwealth.
Cambridge, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director: Michael Ansara
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $5,000
I Shall Ever Be Under Obligation to You: Sailor's Stories from the War of 1812
A theatrical production based on the lives of sailors and sailor's widows who applied for pensions after the War of 1812. The play is an outgrowth of research funded by MFH, NEH and IMLS.
Boston, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: Anne G. Rand
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $4,588
The Immigrant City: Then and Now
The project comprises an exhibit including oral histories and artifacts at the Somerville Museum and related activities before and during the exhibit period that will provide the materials to promote a public dialogue across generation and across various racial-ethnic groups in Somerville about similarities and differences in how these immigrants experienced the American dream of liberty and justice for all.
Somerville, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director: Warren Goldstein-Gelb
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $10,000
Presentation by Humanities Scholar During Jazz Performance
Salim Washington will speak between sets of a jazz performance by The Makand Project to discuss the broader social implications of trends in jazz.
Roxbury, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: John Kordalewski
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $600
imaginASIA
Program highlighting the connection between Eastern and Western cultures featuring an exhibit, gallery lectures, gallery programs, art courses and a festival.
Pittsfield, MA, Berkshire County (Berkshire)
project director: Melanie Mowinski
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $5,000
Linking Communities
A traveling history exhibition and installation of two bronze markers honoring four women from West Tisbury who in 1963 during the years of the Civil Rights Movement, took the great risk of leaving the safety of their homes and traveled to North Carolina to take part in protests against the denial of civil rights to African American people.
West Tisbury, MA, Dukes County (Cape & Islands)
project director: Elaine C. Weintraub
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $2,000
On the Road in Lowell
A multi-faceted commemorative event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jack Kerouac's ground-breaking novel. The celebration consits of a summer-long exhibition, a film and music series and a speaker series.
Lowell, MA, Middlesex County (Northeast)
project director: Dora St. Martin
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $5,000
Aspiring to Liberty: Middle Eastern Identities and Conflict in Context Summer Institute
A one-week summer institute cultivating teachers' understanding of the different ways liberty and justice are expressed in the Middle East. The institute will explore five themes: Colonialism and Modernity; Political Aspirations and Ideologies; Oil, Water, and Labor; Gender and Social Issues; and Ethnic and Religious Difference.
Watertown, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director: Deborah L. Cunningham
awarded on: 2007-03-09
amount: $7,500
Brockton Historical Society RIG
Archival of the personal and military papers of Captain Lucius Richmond a Brocktonian and an Officer in the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry during the Civil War.
Brockton, MA, Plymouth County (Southeast)
project director: Derek Canavan
awarded on: 2007-02-01
amount: $1,000
Middleborough Historical Society Research Inventory Grant
Support to inventory the Lavinia Warren Bump (Mrs. Tom Thumb) collection in preparation for renewing their exhibition of material on the couple.
Middleboro, MA, Plymouth County (Southeast)
project director: Dorothy Thayer
awarded on: 2007-01-20
amount: $1,000
Research Inventory Grant
An inventory project for the Natick Historical Society to catalogue their collection of photographs.
Natick, MA, Middlesex County (Metrowest Boston)
project director: Jennifer Hance
awarded on: 2007-01-20
amount: $1,000
Herbert J. Harwood (1854-1910)
Description and analysis of the life of Herbert J. Harwood.
Littleton, MA, Middlesex County (Northeast)
project director: Ann H. Himmelberger
awarded on: 2007-01-15
amount: $2,463
Partnership of the Historic Bostons
Proposal development for Partnership of the Historic Bostons.
Boston, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: Wilfred Holton
awarded on: 2006-12-27
amount: $500
They Had to Go Out
The installation a permanent exhibit on the history of the coastal lifesaving station whose headquarters the museum now occupies.
Hull, MA, Plymouth County (Southeast)
project director: Victoria Stevens
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $4,780
Lighting the Way: The Life and Legacy of William Rotch, Jr.
The design and installation of an exhibit on the Rotch family and its role in New Bedford's whaling industry.
New Bedford, MA, Bristol County (Southeast)
project director: Kate Corkum
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $5,000
Witch House Program Series
An expansion of the museum's family-oriented program series on colonial life.
Salem, MA, Essex County (Northeast)
project director: Elizabeth Seater
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $3,413
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secrets of Government
Pre-production for a feature-length documentary focusing on Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers.
Berkeley, CA, Alameda County
project director: Judith Ehrlich
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $10,000
The Late Indian War
Pre-production of a documentary exploring the social and spiritual impact of English colonization on eastern Indians from the perspectives of their living descendants.
New York, NY, New York County
project director: Ann Tweedy
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $10,000
Far Out: Life on and after the Commune
A treatment and trailer for a documentary on two sister communes in Montague, Massachusetts and Guilford, Vermont.
Walpole, MA, Norfolk County (Southeast)
project director: Charles Light
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $10,000
Between Revolutions: The Federal Period
The production and dissemination of elementary and middle school curriculum materials on the Federal Period of U.S. history.
Waltham, MA, Middlesex County (Metrowest Boston)
project director: Susan Katz
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $5,000
Memory of a Forgotten War Preproduction
Pre-production work on a documentary film on the impact and legacies of the Korean War.
Chestnut Hill, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director: G. Ramsay Liem
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $10,000
Eleanor Roosevelt Returns to Worcester
A two-part living history program featuring Elena Dodd as Eleanor Roosevelt and the Master Singers of Worcester performing a cantata about Eleanor Roosevelt's life and accomplishments.
Whitinsville, MA, Worcester County (Central)
project director: Cyrus Lipsitt
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $3,675
Never a Bad Hair Day
An art exhibit featuring African sculptures and an accompanying series of lectures and workshops about hair in African and African American cultures to be held in various Worcester venues.
Worcester, MA, Worcester County (Central)
project director: Gloria Hall
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $5,000
The Road to Freedom: Greenfield and the Underground Railroad
A year-long project focusing on the history of the underground railroad in Greenfield that combines individual research, presentations, and an after school program.
Greenfield, MA, Franklin County (CT Valley)
project director: Joan Featherman
awarded on: 2006-12-08
amount: $7,612
Literature in Letters: Four Centuries of the Epsitolary Novel
Reading and discussion program coinciding with a larger year-long series centered around letters.
Barnstable, MA, Barnstable County (Cape & Islands)
project director: Lucy Loomis
awarded on: 2006-11-07
amount: $500
Lost in Translation
A reading and discussion series based on the stories of individuals who are somehow displaced, removed, or voluntarily in exile from their home contexts.
Pelham, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Rebecca Frank
awarded on: 2006-09-18
amount: $500
Quilts: The Social Fabric of Massachusetts
Professional photography for the book: "Quilts: The Social Fabric of Massachusetts."
Ware, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Lynne Bassett
awarded on: 2006-09-16
amount: $5,000
Hands on History at the Old State House Museum
The creation of three "Hands-on-History" galleries for family learning at the Old State House Museum in Boston.
Boston, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: Rainey Tisdale
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $5,000
Abraca O Barco
The production of a 15-minute film to augment the Provincetown Public Library's exhibit of a half-sized replica of the schooner Rose Dorothea.
Provincetown, MA, Barnstable County (Cape & Islands)
project director: Karen MacDonald
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $5,000
Tapping the Source
A series of workshops for secondary and post-secondary teachers, focusing on the use of primary sources.
Fall River, MA, Bristol County (Southeast)
project director: Andrew Hoffman
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $6,500
Making Leather; Living Life: An Oral and Documentary History of Work
An oral history project to collect the memories of leather business workers and those knowledgeable about the impact of the leather industry on the daily lives of Peabody residents.
(project website)
Peabody, MA, Essex County (Northeast)
project director: Marieke Van Damme
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $3,915
Is this America? Liberty and Justice for All
A series of ten public programs examining the contemporary challenges to the ideals of "liberty and justice for all" on which the United states is founded. Each public program is later broadcast nationwide and available for download at WGBH on-demand.
Cambridge, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director:
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $8,450
Destination Holyoke: Exhibition Series on Immigration and Migration to Holyoke
A four-exhibit series on immigration and migration to Holyoke.
Holyoke, MA, Hampden County (CT Valley)
project director: Kate N. Thibodeau
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $5,000
The Language of America: Native Cultural Survival in a Global Age
Preproduction support for a documentary film that explores New England Native identity from the point of view of view of language preservation and loss.
Bucksport, ME, Hancock County
project director: Ben Levine
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $10,000