Dear Friends,

Inspired by the creative responses to the public health crisis and the many resources that we are discovering, the Humanities Council is launching a weekly round up of stories that engage and connect us. Join us throughout the week on social media - Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @rihumanities — where we will use the #HumanitiesInTheAgeOfSocialDistancing — and here, each Friday, where we’ll highlight our top picks from the week. 

How are the humanities helping you through this period? Is there a book, film, virtual performance or gallery that has captivated you or helped you navigate this moment? Share your stories with us on social media by tagging @rihumanities, or via email to Rachael Jeffers at: rachael@rihumanities.org . 
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.
Storytelling for the soul: Tune in to the Council’s Facebook @rihumanities weekdays at 11:30am EST for storytime with 2017 Public Humanities Scholar honoree Valerie Tutson. With her signature wit and warmth, Val is brightening each day for hundreds of viewers as she shares stories from cultures across the world that hold lessons for our current time. 

Click here to watch one of our favorites from this week!
Bite-sized History: Wishing you could time travel? Now you can explore (virtually) what life was like for the generations of the family who called the Wilbur House home at what is now the Little Compton Historical Society… the oldest part dates back to 1690!

LCHS Executive Director Marjory O’Toole leads the tour and offers details about ways this large family used this space together. The LCHS received the Council’s 2017 Innovation in the Humanities Award for their “If Jane Should Want to be Sold” exhibit and programs.

Find more tours on the LCHS Facebook page .
Films that make us think more deeply:
Check out this list from Council grantee newportFILM of documentary films available to stream through popular services. While nothing compares to the experience of gathering to watch a film outside on a summer night – we’re grateful for this list of recommendations that provoke and inform us. 
What we're reading – a sampling of the pieces that keep the Humanities Council staff inspired and connected as we work remotely:
Protecting yourself with stories: A 14th-century text shows us how to survive coronavirus

Shared by our board member, Jean Patiky, this story about the The Decameron offers advice from the Italian Renaissance text that rings true today:
“Today, we see the Decameron as a collection of entertaining stories to keep next to your bed. In the 14th century, it was a form of social prescribing. According to Pace University’s Martin Marafiot, Boccaccio’s prescription for an epidemic was a good dose of “narrative prophylaxis”. That meant protecting yourself with stories.” 

As a modern-day supplement, Triennale Milano is streaming stories by current artists everyday on their Instagram .
Reimagining who gets the cover - 100 Women of the Year

The pandemic will no doubt go into the history books; but March 2020 also marks a milestone in women’s history.

Time Magazine chose to mark the centennial of women gaining the right to vote in the United States by working with acclaimed artists to reimagine covers of the Person of the Year issue to spotlight influential women who were often overshadowed.

Explore the “100 Women of the Year” project . Who could have been on the cover the year you were born? 
Upcoming Virtual Opportunities & Educational Materials
3/26: Politically Engaged Art - Virtual Panel

The Women's Fund of Rhode Island is hosting this event virtually, so you still have the chance to participate as artists join in conversation about how they use different media to create work reflective of and relevant to our times.
Artists include: Charlotte Abotsi , Poet and Director of the Providence Poetry Slam; Kira Hawkridge , Artistic and Founding Director of OutLoud Theatre; and Monique Rolle Johnson , Painter and Art Educator. Moderated by Judith Lynn Stillman , Pianist/Composer, Artist in Residence and Professor of Music at Rhode Island College.

Click here for details about how to join this virtual panel conversation.

This event was supported by a Humanities Council grant.
XIX: Shall Not Be Denied Educational Materials

Curious about what it took for women to gain the right to vote in Rhode Island? Explore this resource from the Rhode Island Historical Society’s EnCompass project , created with support from a Humanities Council grant.

Additional educational resources can be found on the XIX: Shall Not Be Denied website including articles, digital maps of places where women made history, and even animated shorts from the UNLADYLIKE2020 project.
Resources for the Humanities Sector During the Pandemic : 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.