Dear Friends,

I hope this note finds you and yours well.

This fifth weekly roundup of  #HumanitiesInTheAgeOfSocialDistancing offers ways to connect our civic and cultural lives during this unprecedented public health crisis. This issue features several archive projects that will ensure that this moment in culture, economy, and society is documented and accessible to us now and in the future. We will continue to share resources on social media—Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @rihumanities and here, each Friday, where we’ll highlight our top picks from the week. 
We’re all in this together,
Elizabeth Francis
Executive Director
and the Humanities Council Team
In case you missed it – here are just a few of the ways Rhode Islanders are using the humanities to connect virtually.
We are living through history in the making, but how do we document and preserve the moment in the midst of a global pandemic? Some of Rhode Island’s cultural institutions are stepping up and launching digital archiving projects that invite us all to participate. 
RI Covid-19 Archive from PPL & RIHS:
The Rhode Island Historical Society and Providence Public Library have collaborated to launch the RI Covid-19 Archive where Rhode Islanders are encouraged to participate and record their own experiences of the pandemic’s impact in our communities.
"The collections of the RIHS and PPL hold within them the stories of moments and events that have changed the world. This time is no different, but what is different is how many people we can reach, and how quickly. This project allows us at the RIHS and PPL to do some of the work we treasure most: working with great partners to gather and share the stories of this state. Every day researchers mine the past to help better understand not only what happened, but also what may happen. This archive is an investment in a better-informed future," said Morgan Grefe , RIHS Executive Director.

Learn more and contribute your perspective to the archive at: https://ricovidarchive.org/
Latinx views:
Rhode Island Latino Arts is collecting stories through video interviews of Latinos and other immigrants about their lives during COVID-19. Marta Martínez , Executive Director of RILA and 2016 recipient of the Public Humanities Scholar Award, notes, “All stories welcome, especially those from an immigrant's perspective.”

Share your story, photos or comments in English or Spanish on the RILA website . 
Readings – a sampling of pieces to keep you inspired and connected:

This report from Nina Siegal and Josephine Sedgwick in The New York Times illuminates a project of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the Netherlands which is working to digitize thousands of diaries kept by the Dutch people during WWII in an effort to give voice to the memories held within their pages.
“Here are edited excerpts from several diaries that track the course of the war, beginning with the Nazi attack. Many people began their diaries that day, long before the radio address, as they worked to chronicle their lives in the most personal of terms. Their words, filled with the anxiety born of illness, isolation and uncertainty, register with particular power today in another unsettled time.”

Explore these remarkable personal diaries by digitally flipping through the worn pages and consider what records will be kept of our current global pandemic. 
From the Archives on the Tomaquag Museum's Belongings Blog

The award winning Tomaquag Museum in Exeter, RI, has just launched a new From the Archives series on its Belongings Blog. The first installment focuses on the Prairie on Fire mural at the Museum and the ways archival materials help us make meaning and place objects in context.
“Archival images such as those featured in this blog post facilitate conversations about Indigenous traditional lifeways, art, representation/stereotypes and pervasive historical and cultural misconceptions in modern society, as well as equity and sovereignty issues.”

Read more about the Museum’s archive from Archivist and Collections Manager Anthony Belz.

You can also explore more through the First Peoples of Rhode Island Rhode Tour curated by Katharine Kirakosian, PhD and the Tomaquag Museum.
Upcoming Virtual Opportunities & Educational Materials

Beginning TODAY, Friday, April 17th and through May 8th , the Providence Public Library’s Creative Fellows offer an interactive workshop series developed in response to the increasing expressions of anxiety we were hearing about how to navigate unrelenting uncertainty, fluctuating productivity, and debilitating isolation during the pandemic. Click here for more details and to register for these sessions with PPL’s Creative Fellows: Laura Brown-Lavoie, Becci Davis, Kelly Eriksen, Keri King, Walker Mettling, and Micah Salkind.

The Providence Preservation Society will begin a new monthly virtual discussion series, Bite-Sized Preservation - perfect for your lunch hour.

On Thursday, April 23rd PPS will present Advocacy 101, where you can learn about the tools and techniques PPS staff uses to stay informed about issues, to follow projects through the approval process, and to make public comment, even in these times of social distancing. All registrants will receive a Zoom invitation with a meeting code and password before the event. Register here . 
This list will be added to as the Humanities Council is made aware of resources available to the sector as we weather this storm together. Check back often.

General Civic Engagement: Fill Out Your Census Form!

Nominate your Humanities Heroes for the annual Celebration of the Humanities Awards.

For organizations planning to participate in XIX:Shall Not Be Denied that are shifting events to virtual options, please remember to fill out the new Social Distance Program Info form. More details here .