Past Grants Awarded

The Working Waterfront Documentation Project will document and present the history and culture of New England's commercial fishing and port industries in conjunction with the Working Waterfront Festival.

Series of regional performances of a historically accurate presentation of the role of John Quincy Adams in creating the lasting bonds between Russia and America.

Radio reporting initiative that will examine complex global issues of democracy, liberty, culture, history and society through the framework of human perceptions and experiences related to skin color. Aired on WGBH/BBC/PRI's The World.

Pre-production funds to support research, consultation with a scholar, and the usage of archival footage for the documentary film "Memory Breakdown?" The film will feature Nina Schuessler, a Massachusetts woman who takes a trip into the unknown and finds the place where her mother's friends were guillotined.

A brochure and public programs for students and adults in conjunction with the exhibition. Includes a lecture by Howard Zinn and an artist talk by Martha Rosler.

Research into Attleboro's great fire of 1898.

Research on the lives of enslaved and free Africans and African-Americans who were members of the Old North congregation.

Peformances of a new opera with music by Eric Sawyer and libretto by John Shoptaw. Set in Ford's Theatre on the night of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, "Our American Cousin" provides and unusal lens on the events of that evening by telling its story both from the perspective of the actors who were onstage at the time and from that of President and Mrs. Lincoln as they watched the show from their box.

Documentary exploring Thomas Paine's contributions to democracy.

Performances of an original play examining the nature of justice during times of military occupation followed by a debate.

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.

A 24 part radio series using Massachusetts as a model to document the connections between environmental change and human history.

Panel discussions in Boston and Springfield discussing the role of the press in society and introducing the audience to the New England News Forum.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Salim Washington will speak between sets of a jazz performance by The Makand Project to discuss the broader social implications of trends in jazz.

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.

Program highlighting the connection between Eastern and Western cultures featuring an exhibit, gallery lectures, gallery programs, art courses and a festival.

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.

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.

Support to inventory the Lavinia Warren Bump (Mrs. Tom Thumb) collection in preparation for renewing their exhibition of material on the couple.

An inventory project for the Natick Historical Society to catalogue their collection of photographs.

Description and analysis of the life of Herbert J. Harwood.

Proposal development for Partnership of the Historic Bostons.

The installation a permanent exhibit on the history of the coastal lifesaving station whose headquarters the museum now occupies.

The design and installation of an exhibit on the Rotch family and its role in New Bedford's whaling industry.

An expansion of the museum's family-oriented program series on colonial life.

Pre-production for a feature-length documentary focusing on Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers.

Pre-production of a documentary exploring the social and spiritual impact of English colonization on eastern Indians from the perspectives of their living descendants.

A treatment and trailer for a documentary on two sister communes in Montague, Massachusetts and Guilford, Vermont.

The production and dissemination of elementary and middle school curriculum materials on the Federal Period of U.S. history.

Pre-production work on a documentary film on the impact and legacies of the Korean War.

A year-long project focusing on the history of the underground railroad in Greenfield that combines individual research, presentations, and an after school program.

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.

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.

Reading and discussion program coinciding with a larger year-long series centered around letters.

A reading and discussion series based on the stories of individuals who are somehow displaced, removed, or voluntarily in exile from their home contexts.