In 2019, Michigan Humanities began the exciting journey to honor the state's extraordinary humanities community. Our initial announcement brought an overwhelming number of diverse nominations from all corners of our state. The difficult process of selecting the winners was implemented by members of our Board of Directors, former Board members, and select partners. Four winners were selected for the inaugural year, and a celebratory, in-person event took place in spring, 2019, to honor Michigan's champions for the humanities.
As we prepared to host an in-person event in May, 2020, our plans were halted in early March because of the COVID-19 virus. We made plans to continue the call for nominations during this challenging time, and decided to share the Michigan Humanities Awards in a new format. In partnership with the team from Under the Radar Michigan, we decided to create a virtual program that will allow us to honor the award winners while also keeping everyone safe. We are thrilled with the way the show has been coming together, and with the award winners that the committee selected for 2020. We hope that you will enjoy our awards presentation, and that we are able to celebrate in person in 2021. Stay healthy and be safe!