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!

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

The Figure a Poem Makes
A workshop on the reading and writing of poetry for Berkshire County elementary, middle and high school teachers.
Lenox, MA, Berkshire County (Berkshire)
project director: David Dashiell
awarded on: 2006-09-15
amount: $3,700
Understanding the Modern Middle East
A library reading and discussion series focusing on the political history of the Modern Middle East (formerly a council-conducted program).
Wakefield, MA, Middlesex County (Northeast)
project director: Elisabeth Doucett
awarded on: 2006-09-07
amount: $500
Visions of America
Programming and resources to accompany an exhibit of Currier & Ives prints, including a panel discussion, an on-line version of the exhibit, and an exhibition/program brochure.
Springfield, MA, Hampden County (CT Valley)
project director: Kay Simpson
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $9,500
Working Waterfront Documentation Project
An oral history project that will be conducted in conjunction with the third Working Waterfront Festival, a celebration of the occupational culture of the commercial fishing industry.
New Bedford, MA, Bristol County (Southeast)
project director: Laura Orleans
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $7,022

Mi Puerto Rico: Master Painters of the Island, 1785-1952
A bilingual audio tour and public programs in conjunctions with an upcoming exhibit, "Mi Puerto Rico: Master Painters of the Island, 1785-1952."
Worcester, MA, Worcester County (Central)
project director: Honee Hess
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $5,000

The Thoreau Collection at the Concord Museum
The publication of a catalogue of the Concord Museum's Thoreau collection that includes his desk, walking stick, flute, spyglass, and other objects.
Concord, MA, Middlesex County (Metrowest Boston)
project director:
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $5,000
Colonial America and the American Revolution: Experiencing the Past in Historic Lexington
Educational programs for K-12 students using the Lexington Historical Society's collection of documents and artifacts and its three Colonial properties that figured in the Battle of Lexington.
Lexington, MA, Middlesex County (Metrowest Boston)
project director: Susan J. Bennett
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $4,580

From Somalia to Springfield: Stories from the Somali Women's Project
Preproduction of a documentary about Somali women adjusting to life in Springfield, Massachusetts.
San Francisco, CA, San Francisco County
project director: Julie Akeret
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $10,000
Spirit of Providence
The production of a documentary about the Sisters of Providence in Holyoke, Massachusetts, who founded public healthcare institutions in the region.
Amherst, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Elizabeth Wilda
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $5,000

Our Commonwealth: The Massachusetts Experiment in Democracy
An exhibition of the foundational documents of Massachusetts including the 1629 Massachusetts Bay Charter, to be displayed at the Massachusetts Archives.
Dorchester, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: Stephen Kenney
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $10,000
Scenes from a Parish
Production grant for this documentary about three years in a multicultural Catholic parish in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Watertown, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director: James Rutenbeck
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $5,000

Unmuddling the Modern Middle East
A summer teachers' institute that will equip teachers with the knowledge and curricular resources necessary for teaching about the modern Middle East.
Watertown, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director: Deborah L. Cunningham
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $5,000
The ASP Teacher Institute at Emerson College
The Actors' Shakespeare Project's summer teaching institute on teaching Shakespeare, centering on their Boston production of Hamlet
Somerville, MA, Middlesex County (Greater Boston)
project director: Sara Stackhouse
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $5,000

Concord River Greenway Park Historical Signage
Interpretive historical signage (wayside exhibits) to be installed in the Concord River Greenway park, a large community project preserving land along the east bank of the Lowell portion of the Concord River.
Lowell, MA, Middlesex County (Northeast)
project director: Kristin McCauley
awarded on: 2006-06-17
amount: $7,978

A Stroll through Paradise: Stepping into History
The installation of an "outdoor museum" of historic markers in Northampton.
Northampton, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Kerry Buckley
awarded on: 2006-06-09
amount: $10,000

Humanities Solo Historical/Literary Series
A summer series of eleven interactive living history performances.
Truro, MA, Barnstable County (Cape & Islands)
project director: Jim Cooke
awarded on: 2006-06-09
amount: $3,740

Women at War
A theater piece based on oral history interviews with military women from Massachusetts who have served in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Northampton, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: John Hadden
awarded on: 2006-06-09
amount: $5,000
Littleton Historical Society RIG
The creation of an inventory of the journals and writings of three generations of the Harwood family. The final product will be a guide to the Harwood family papers.
Littleton, MA, Middlesex County (Northeast)
project director: Ann H. Himmelberger
awarded on: 2006-06-01
amount: $1,000
Plainfield Historical Society RIG
The entering of historical deeds from the Dyer collection into a database to be made available at the Shaw Memorial Library in Plainfield.
Plainfield, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Judy Williams
awarded on: 2006-05-23
amount: $1,000

Men at Work: Overseers in Lowell's Ante-bellum Textile Mills
A study of the male overseers at Lowell's ante-bellum textile mills.
Lowell, MA, Middlesex County (Northeast)
project director: Martha Mayo
awarded on: 2006-04-07
amount: $2,500

Fashionable Accessories: Daveys Handbags
A study of the records and product samples from Daveys, a Worcester handbag company. The records now reside with the Worcester Historical Museum.
Worcester, MA, Worcester County (Central)
project director: Holly Izard
awarded on: 2006-04-07
amount: $2,500

The Straw and Textile Industries in Stoughton and Easton Massachusetts in the Early 19th Century
A study of the development of the straw-braiding and textile industries in Stoughton and Easton from before the War of 1812 to approximately 1840, as reflected in the Hodges Collection of business ledgers and day books.
Stoughton, MA, Norfolk County (Southeast)
project director: Dwight H. MacKerron
awarded on: 2006-04-07
amount: $2,390
Keeping the Harvest: Historic Foodways in the Andovers
Archival research into the artifacts related to food history held by both Andover and North Andover Historical Societies. Resources developed will be used for new programs.
Andover, MA, Essex County (Northeast)
project director: Juliet H. Mofford
awarded on: 2006-04-07
amount: $2,500

Twentieth Century Farming at the Bryant Homestead
A research project to determine the farming and dairying activities that occurred at the Bryant Homestead from 1900-1959.
Cummington, MA, Hampshire County (CT Valley)
project director: Ellice Gonzalez
awarded on: 2006-04-07
amount: $2,497
Investigating the Crypt at Old North
An investigation of the Crypt of the Old North Church to determine who is buried there.
Boston, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: Christine Baron
awarded on: 2006-04-07
amount: $2,427
GMHC History of the Fishing Industry Exhibit
The planning, design, and fundraising phases of a permanent exhibit on the history of the Gloucester fishing industry.
Gloucester, MA, Essex County (Northeast)
project director: Harriet Webster
awarded on: 2006-03-21
amount: $10,000
Tick Tock Trolley Pilot Program
The development of routes and tours for a newly purchased trolley in the City of Waltham.
Waltham, MA, Middlesex County (Metrowest Boston)
project director: Alison Steinfeld
awarded on: 2006-03-21
amount: $10,000
Women Protecting US
An exhibit honoring the contributions of American women in all branches of military service as well as on the "home front" during conflicts from the Revolution to the present day.
Fall River, MA, Bristol County (Southeast)
project director: Laurie Carlson
awarded on: 2006-03-21
amount: $10,000
Understanding Ourselves by Looking Back: Falmouth at Work
The publication of articles about industries formerly active on Cape Cod: Ship Building, Whaling, Cranberry Harvesting, Marine Sciences, and Woolens. The articles will be published in the Falmouth Enterprise.
Falmouth, MA, Barnstable County (Cape & Islands)
project director: Jacki Forbes
awarded on: 2006-03-17
amount: $2,200
Off the Page and On the Deck: The War of 1812 in Sailors' Own Words
A teacher workshop for 40 teachers on techniques for using primary sources in the classroom.
Boston, MA, Suffolk County (Greater Boston)
project director: Anne G. Rand
awarded on: 2006-03-17
amount: $4,970
The Bankside Humanities Series
A series of free lectures and demonstrations, exploring a wide range of the historical and cultural aspects of the Renaissance, as part of the Company's Outdoor Bankside Festival of performances and events.
Lenox, MA, Berkshire County (Berkshire)
project director: Ariel Bock
awarded on: 2006-03-17
amount: $4,500

The Farm Where You Live Oral Narratives
The collecting of oral histories of people with experience of farming in Belmont between 1900 and 1950.
Belmont, MA, Middlesex County (Metrowest Boston)
project director: Jane Sherwin
awarded on: 2006-03-17
amount: $2,400
Lighting the Way: The Life and Legacy of William Rotch, Jr.
Planning for an exhibit to introduce visitors of the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum to the life of whaling merchant William Rotch, Jr.
New Bedford, MA, Bristol County (Southeast)
project director: Kate Corkum
awarded on: 2006-03-17
amount: $5,000