Michigan Humanities June 2019 Enews

Michigan Humanities Enews

~ June 2019 ~

Message from our President

Dear Humanities Friends,

Michigan is finally in full bloom, and we are certainly celebrating not only the good weather but also our wonderful Michigan Humanities Awards which took place on May 16. Special Guest Kerry Kennedy spoke so eloquently about the value of the humanities and their absolute necessity when serving others, being a leader, and understanding one another as we persevere into the future.

In this e-news, we celebrate so many grants and programs that help Michigan’s citizens experience multiple perspectives. What greater gift is there than the opportunity to learn from each other through the common ground of history, music, poetry, literature, and philosophy? Those lessons are the human components that bring us together to find solutions to common problems and to strive for a better world.

Thank you for being an important part of our mission and vision. Please visit our website today for more information about our work, and to see the valuable role you play in celebrating humanities.

Shelly Hendrick Kasprzycki

President & CEO

Michigan Humanities Awards

2019

Click here to see our event photos!

Great Michigan Read

Registration for the 2019-20 Great Michigan Read – What the Eyes Don’t See , by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha – is underway! Libraries, high schools, colleges, book clubs, arts and cultural institutions, and other organizations around the state are now able to register as partners via our online system. Please visit the Great Michigan Read page on the Michigan Humanities website to sign up.

As we get started with the 2019-20 program, here are some dates and resources to keep in mind:

Late June: The initial Great Michigan Read author tour dates will announced.
Early August: Applications for GMR-specific Action Grants will open. These Action Grants will support costs related to GMR programming.
Late August and early September: We will begin shipping copies of What the Eyes Don’t See and supplementary educational and promotional materials to registered partners.
September and October: Great Michigan Read programming and author tours will begin.

In late May, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha was honored with the inaugural Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare! You can read more about the award details here , and visit our website for media coverage of the Great Michigan Read announcement. Watch the video below for highlights from this year’s press event.

Michigan Humanities' Great Michigan Read: 2019-20

Poetry Out Loud

In late April and early May, we cheered on Calumet High School student Tajah-Rayne Davise as she competed alongside 52 other students at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals in Washington, DC. Tajah-Rayne excelled in the first rounds of the semi-final competition with “I Have a Time Machine,” by Brenda Shaughnessy and “Quite Frankly,” by Mark Halliday. Tajah-Rayne recited her third poem – “Love (III),” by George Herbert – during the semi-final round for top-scoring students in the region.

Before attending the finals to see the state champions from Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Vermont compete, Tajah-Rayne and her teacher, Lacey O’Donnell, had the opportunity to meet with Representative Jack Bergman and staff from the office of Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow.

At the conclusion of the Poetry Out Loud Finals, Isabella Callery of Minnesota was named the 2019 National Champion. You can read more about Isabella via the NEA Art Works Blog.

We were thrilled to see Tajah-Rayne’s moving, skilled recitations and are so proud of her achievements in representing Michigan on the National Finals stage!

Looking for POL updates this summer? Visit our website , Facebook pages ( Michigan Humanities & Michigan Poetry Out Loud ), Twitter , and Instagram for poems, program updates, and events taking place around the state. Registration for the 2019-20 Poetry Out Loud program will be available in late summer.

Photo by James Kegley.

Action Grants Are OPEN!!

Action Grants provide up to $750 to Michigan-based nonprofits to support public humanities programs.

Use an Action Grant to share your innovative perspective of the humanities with your community. Humanities programming cultivates new ideas to inspire action and strengthen our communities and our democracy. We hope these grants will help Michigan nonprofits develop original public humanities work that creates thoughtful dialogue challenging ideals and prejudices in the world. Contact Jennifer Rupp if you have questions or would like to discuss a potential project! Read more about how to apply, and grant guidelines HERE.

Arts and Humanities Touring Directory open for new artists July 1st

Michigan based artists are invited to apply to be included in the Arts and Humanities Touring Directory. The Arts and Humanities Touring Directory features some of the state’s most-talented performing and visual artists, and humanities presenters. The directory offers artists and humanities professionals the opportunity to present their work throughout the state through work with nonprofit recipients of the Touring grants program. Partnered with the Arts and Humanities Touring Grant Program, it is a one-stop resource for many organizations looking to hold public arts and culture events. The artists and humanities professionals included in the Directory go through a formal peer-review adjudication process.

Applications will be available online beginning July 1, 2019 and will be accepted until August 15, 2019.

Fall 2019 Humanities Grants are Open

A pplications are now being accepted for Fall 2019 Humanities Grants. Humanities Grants provide up to $15,000 in grant support for humanities-based, public programs. Applications will be accepted until August 22, 2019 and awards will be made in early-November 2019. Please contact Director of Grants, James Nelson , to learn more about the program and discuss your project ideas.

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