The Idaho Humanities Council (IHC), the statewide nonprofit organization devoted to enhancing public awareness, appreciation, and understanding of the humanities in Idaho, recently awarded $66,807 in grants to organizations and individuals. Twenty-nine awards include fifteen major grants for public humanities programs, four Research Fellowships, six Opportunity Grants, and four Teacher Incentive Grants. The grants were supported in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Idaho Humanities Council’s Endowment for Humanities Education.
Major Grants:
Historic Wallace Chamber of Commerce, Wallace, was awarded $2,500.00 for a new map and guide of the Coeur d’Alene Mining District. This project is a collaboration between the Wallace Chamber of Commerce, the Wallace Mining Museum, the Capt. John Mullen Museum, the Kellogg Staff House Museum, the Wallace Mine Heritage Exhibition, and the Historic Wallace Preservation Society. The project director is David S. Copelan.
Museum of North Idaho, Coeur d’Alene, was awarded $4,000.00 for a new podcast with 12 different themes aligned with the heritage associated with each month. The project director is Jocelyn Whitfield-Babcock.
The Cabin, Boise, was awarded $3,000.00 for program support for the 2020-2021 yearly readings and conversations season. This would help bring in James McBride, Mary Roach, and Laila Lalami for the series. The project director is Kurt Zwolfer.
Community Library Network, Hayden was awarded $5,000.00 for the North Idaho Reads Program in 2021. This would bring in Emily Ruskovich to discuss her book, Idaho. The project director is Twylla Rehder.
Blaine County Historical Museum, Hailey, was awarded $1,250.00 for software and hardware upgrades to facilitate a digital archive. This would allow multiple users and enable public access to the digital archive once it is created. The project director is Rebecca Cox.
White Spring Ranch Museum/Archive Library, Genesee, was awarded $2,030.00 for infrastructure upgrades to assist in original document preservation. The project director is Diane Conroy.
City Club of Boise, Boise, was awarded $2,500.00 for program support for the 2021 City of Club of Boise: Compelling, Inclusive, Nonpartisan, Civil Conversations. This will update the program and continue the development of future conversations. The project director is Morgan Keating.
Boise Art Museum, Boise, was awarded $4,650.00 for a new exhibit hosted at the Boise Art Museum, titled “The World Stage.” This exhibit will feature 90 artworks from 35 artists, with a focus on today’s global influencers alongside prominent 20th century artists such as Andy Warhol and Kehinde Wiley, an artist best known for this presidential portrait of Barack Obama which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery. The project director is Melanie Fales.
Global Lounge Incorporated, Boise, was awarded $2,500.00 for the 2021 World Village Festival. This event focuses on the various cultures that make up the Treasure Valley. The project director is Dayo Ayodele.
City of McCall, Idaho, McCall, was awarded $4,000.00 for development of a new public humanities project in McCall, Idaho. This project will tie in Idaho History to the public in Downtown McCall through the lens of literature with an accompanied event open to the public. The project director is Meg Lojek.
The City Club of Idaho Falls, Idaho Falls, was awarded $3,500.00 for program support for the 2021 program year for City Club of Idaho Falls. This will foster diverse and civil critical discussion. The project director is Jerry Scheid.
Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Boise, was awarded $4,000.00 for the Shakespearience program which will take a Shakespeare play into the schools virtually. The 2021 play is a recorded version of Hamlet. The program includes study guides for advance student preparation, including historical references and discussion about Shakespeare. Additional virtual workshops providing more in-depth study are available to participating schools as well. The project director is Christine Zimowsky.
Idaho Latino Scholarship Foundation, Inc., Boise, was awarded $2,000.00 for the annual Nuestros Corridos Concert event and associated workshops. The event involves multiple cultural components of Latinx heritage. The project director is Ana Maria Schachtell.
Magic Valley Arts Council, Twin Falls, was awarded $2,000.00 for program support of the Indie-Lens Film Festival in a COIVD-19 era format. The festival will promote community-driven conversation around six documentaries. The project director is Melissa Crane.
Research Fellowships:
David Lawrimore was awarded $3,500.00 for a book-length study of the early American novel’s role in class and partisan conflicts of the 1780-1820 early national period. He plans to discuss how many authors’ writings advocate for this “Natural Aristocracy.” Lawrimore plans to present his research at a virtual academic conference and one or more talks geared to the general public.
Justin Stover was awarded $3,500.00 to build on recent work in environmental destruction and sexual violence during the Irish revolution. His current project will examine personal compensation and property reconstruction efforts after the revolution. Stover will include exploration of bias against Irishwomen filing claims during this period. Stover plans to present his research in an article in the journal, Contemporary European History, in an interview on a television program in Ireland, and through digital social media distribution.
Arunima Datta was awarded $3,500.00 for research on issues of labor migration from the beginning of the 19th century in Britain, focusing on servants and nannies (ayahs). These ayahs traveled between India and Britain and were often forced to wait and faced destitution in Britain while waiting to return home. Through this exploration, Datta will examine “waiting” as a social experience.
Evan Rodriguez was awarded $3,500.00 for research on challenging narratives about Plato’s rivalry with contemporaries. He suggests a closer look will reveal that the two sides were part of a broader conversation that deepened each respective approach. Rodriguez plans to present his research at an ISU lecture series and at an academic conference.
Opportunity Grants:
College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, was awarded $1,000.00 for a 2-night, 3-day humanities-centered event will be held June 9-11, 2021, in McCall, Idaho, at MOSS (the University of Idaho’s McCall Outdoor Science School) and will enable participants to share research, writing, teaching ideas, and future plans in a spirit of inquiry and collaboration. The symposium will provide a robust exchange which will serve as the foundation for possible future projects, including the opportunity to create the first state-focused Environmental Humanities organization. The project director is Jan Simpkin.
College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, was awarded $1,000.00 for Dr. Martin Nekola to visit College of Southern Idaho to discuss Czech history within the US and Idaho. There will be both academic and public events associated with Dr. Nekola’s visit. The project director is Dr. Jim Gentry.
Liberating Spirit Metropolitan Community Church, Boise, was awarded $1,000.00 to support the production of a documentary focusing on the Boise 7, a group of women fired in 1977 for alleged Lesbianism. The producers plan on premiering the film in Boise and hope to enter it in major U.S. film festivals as well as the possibility of showing it on Netflix, Amazon, or other big audience reaches. The project director is Andrea Scott.
Barnard Stockbridge Museum, Wallace, was awarded $1,000.00. The grant will help produce a museum brochure for the Barnard Stockbridge Museum. The brochure will be circulated around Wallace. The project director is Tammy Copelan.
Boise State University, Boise, was awarded $1,000.00 to support a diverse public lecture series complimenting a new course (Language, Race, and Ethnicity) for the Spring of 2021 term at Boise State University. The project director is Chris VanderStouwe.
Community Library Network, Post Falls, was awarded $1,000.00 to create and preserve local history in a digital archive. The Rathdrum and Post Falls historical societies agreed to partner with the Community Library Network on the project and will assist in taking items from their respective collections and digitizing them, so they are fully searchable and accessible on a web-based platform. The project director is Nathan A. Hansen.
Teacher Incentive Grant:
Garden City Library Foundation, Garden City, was awarded $1,000.00 to purchase new books for its Bells for Books bookmobile program. The Bells Coordinator and Bells Assistant, along with a handful of, engage children at each stop, assisting them in selecting reading material and reading to them. The program serves a high number of non-English speaking children and bilingual books are included on the bus. Winter, jackets, mittens, and hats are also given out during the coldest months of the year. The project director is Suzy Cavanagh.
Pend Oreille Arts Council, Sandpoint, was awarded $977.00. This grant will bring in Living Voices: “Within Silence.” The story provides students with access to the Japanese American internment period in U.S. history, and to the larger themes of justice, equality, freedom, and the U.S. immigrant experience. The performance will be followed by an in-depth discussion with students about these themes. The project director is Tone Lund.
Children’s Museum of Idaho, Inc., Meridian, was awarded $900.00 to support four camps to children ages 4-6 and their parents. Literature, art, music, history and language are all included in the camps. The project director is Erin Brown
Holy Spirit Catholic School, Pocatello, was awarded $1,000.00 for a social justice book club for teachers. This book club will read and discuss multiple themes and books throughout first half of 2021. Discussions and books will be used to teach themes of social justice to the students as well. The project director is Margie Gabiola.