Past Grants Awarded

Consultation and programming for an idea based interpretation of Judith Sargent Murray, a writer who championed equal eductaion and "female" rights in her pioneering essay "On the Equality of the Sexes."

Pre-production of a film about five children of 60's and 70's social just activists.

Inventory of the sources of contemporary information about the Royall family's correspondence at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Production of a book of photographs and essays documenting the history of Colonial Meetinghouses in New England. Accompanying travel exhibition.

Creation of a trailer and script treatment for the Paper Mills Documentary Project.

Library reading and discussion program featuring books with a strong sense of place.

Requested funds will be used to pay for an English editorial service for the bilingual Cambodian Refugee Poetry Book & CD Project to make sure the proposal has proper English language syntax, clear objectives, achievable measurable outcomes, and is in line with the mission of Mass Humanities and the sponsoring agency.

Planning and design of an exhibit to commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of the Jackson Homestead.

Festival of films examining artistic expression in the face of censorship. The festival aims to engage the general public on developments in the Muslim world with free screenings, expert presenters and live performances.

Creation of an oral history component for the online collection of Holyoke's history. The component will provide a training session on how to conduct oral history interviews, a library of oral history texts, oral history opportunities for classrooms and the opportunity for applicatns to collect digital oral histories from institutions such as Holyoke's Soldier's Home.

Development of an interactive museum exhibit designed to connect people to the constitutional significance of the Springfield Armory Historical site. The exhibit will use the Springfield Technical Community College's Shays' Rebellion & the Making of a Nation: from Revolution to Constitution website as the centerpiece.

Public lecture series and forum taking place over five weeks focusing on American foreign policy issues.

Multicultural film series held at the Sharon Public Library. Each of four evenings will feature a popular film about the struggle between traditional family values and modern society in a different ethnic or religious group represented in Sharon. A discussion by a scholar will precede each film to provide a cultural and historic context for the movie and to connect these themes to our present day lives among neighbors from different religious and cultural backgrounds. One or two local residents will also share their personal experience as they relate to the movie themes.

Planning for an interactive exhibit of Aquinnah Wampanoag oral histories describing Aquinnah Wampanoag lifeways, history and culture.

Re-versioning of a substantial volume of website materials first developed for the award-winning radio series to become an audio-visual online exhibition.

Reading and discussion program focusing on Jewish adventures in the graphic novel.

Inventory of 10-12 boxes of the costume and textile collection of the Westport Historical Society with reference to themes in Westport local history as well as national issues such as the civil war.

Support for partial inventory of core collection. Frank White will pick, inventory and mark 60 core artifacts directly associated with up to three themes in the development of farming in the Pioneer Valley from subsistence to industrial farming. The report and catalog will be used to develop a mission statement and create one and five-year programming plans.

Pre-production of a 90 minute historical documentary film about the Al Cap, creator of the long-running comic strip Li'l Abner (1934-1977).

Pre-production of a feature documentary chronicling the story of a small town Massachusetts housewife who, in the 1960's, single-handedly led the charge to clean up the Nashua River, one of America's ten most polluted rivers.

A six-week summer program for youth ages 13-17 at the Mystic Public Housing Development. Participants will engage in learning photography, interviewing and story-telling skills that will enable them to tell the story of immigrant groups in Somerville. Participants will also explore the experiences of other immigrant youth around the United States through literature and film and engage in a dialogue about the impact they can have as immigrant youth in bringing about change in their community.

Development of a walking tour and creation and printing of an accompanying guide to identify H.M. Francis buildings city wide.

Pre-production of a documentary film tentatively called "As Nutayunean," a Wampanoag phrase meaning "we still live here". This is a powerful statement from people who are thought by many to be extinct. The film centers on Jessie Little-Doe, a woman of indomitable spirit who has accomplished the unprecedented feat of reviving a language with no native speakers.

Archaeology fair at the Museum of Science in October. There will be a variety of hands-on activities presented by specialists. Presenters include archaeologists, historians, and museum educators and interpreters. Participants will receive take-home resources and materials including information about the AIA and MOS' resources for students and educators.

An oral history project in collaboration with the Veterans Education Project in Amherst that will hold public presentations and provide on-line access. The project is focused on the experience of local African American World War II veterans and home front workers and their struggles for social justice during and following the war.

Creation of a discussion version of the film, Traces of the Trade. This shorter version will be targeted to the educational market .

Performances of the play for Boston Public School middle school students followed by discussion.

Mounting and professional presentation of "The Rivalry" by Norman Corwin in a variety of venues. A real life drama, commissioned in 1958 to celebrate the problems of the time, the characters, and the motives of Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas and his wife Adele. Special performances will be followed by talk-back sessions led by Heather Richardson.

Presentation and interpretion of the history and culture of New England's commercial fishing and port industries by creating a series of short (4 minute) audio segments for radio play and web broadcast. Segments will be based on oral histories collected as part of the Working Waterfront Documentation Project, an ongoing oral history project.

This week-long summer institute for K-12 educators will provide them with the content, skills, and resources needed to infuse more global content into classroom curricula. The goal is to provide teachers with the information needed to connect students to the wider world, providing them with an opportunity to challenge their own definition of self and of liberty and justice in various cultural contexts. The institute will include guest lectures, hands-on workshops, video conferences and other special presentations.

Book discussions for adults learning English. Themes include cross-cultural experiences, courage, immigrant stories, working, and family stories. Genres include fiction, folktales, memoir, and biography.

Research on the planning, landscape design, preservation and promotion of Stockbridge from 1853-1993 by the Laurel Hill Association.

Research into the history and influence of the Turkish people on the city of Peabody during the leatherworking period of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Research to analyze and annotate the primary source documents produced by several women in mid-nineteenth century Westfield. Electronic and written resources will be produced for use by patrons, students, and visiting scholars.

Document the establishment of Hawley's old town common identifying the people involved and examining their motives.

Display of Newton artifacts and presentation on local archaeology with a focus on historic preservation and awareness of archaeological sites and past Native American lifeways through lecture and a stone tool making demonstration.

Series of five documentaries with panel discussions on the theme of "Liberty and Justice for All".

Planning, development and production of an exhibit depicting the history, in images and texts of one of the better-documented Pilgrim Fathers of the Mayflower and the life stories, through oral history transcripts and representative pictures and objects, of 2-3 contemporary, undocumented Chinese immigrants.

Fabrication and installation of an exhibit providing an overview of an important chapter in American history when New Bedford was the Whaling Capital of the World and the pivotal role of the Rotch Family during this period.

Script development and production of a play dramatizing two little-known court cases that led to the abolishment of slavery in Massachusetts with an accompanying study guide.