Past Grants
Grants Made By Maine Humanities Council : 2009–2010 (arranged by town)
- Auburn - Edward Little High School
$207.55 - Discretionary
Field Trip to Victoria Mansion
The curriculum for the freshman Englass class at Edward Little High School included studying Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and the experience of life in the 19th century. This grant allowed them a field trip to tour the Victoria Mansion in Portland and gain further perspective on life in this era and its influence on literature
- Augusta - Maine Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee
$500.00 - Discretionary
Maine in the Civil War - 150 Years Ago Today
This project researched the feasibility of an online archive containing brief excerpts from two Portland newspapers between the election of Abraham Lincoln (Nov. 1860) and the secession of the first southern state (Feb. 1861). If material exists and funding can be found, the Committee plans to expand the archive and cover Maine excerpts for the whole Civil War.
- Augusta - Maine State Archives
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Maine National History Day: 2010
Maine National History Day (March 24, 2010) was part of an annual educational competition for all Maine junior high and high school students. Students, individually or in teams, prepared papers, exhibits, documentaries, performances, or web sites that explored a broad historical theme in depth. This year’s theme was "Innovation in History: Impact and Change."
- Bangor - Penobscot Theatre Company
$500.00 - Discretionary
Humanities Programming with production of SPUNK
The theatre company presented a lecture and discussion that unpacked themes, reflected on the history, and considered the current relevance of Zora Neale Hurston’s short stories which were adapted into the stage production "SPUNK". The discussions helped increase understanding of the history and reality of African-American life locally and nationally.
- Bangor - Penobscot Theatre Company
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Enrichment Series featuring Literary and Film Adaptations
This project encompassed a series of reading and discussion programs, as well as film screenings and discussions, relating to the theatre company’s productions of Alfred Hitchcock’s "The 39 Steps" and R.L.Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These activities (early Sept. to early Nov. 2010) were intended to increase access to the arts physically, intellectually, and culturally.
- Bath - Maine Maritime Museum
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
A Symposium on the History of Building the World’s Largest Ships
This one-day symposium (April 10, 2010) investigated the history of shipbuilding in the context of the largest vessels in the world, going back to ancient times. Panels focused separately on wooden ships and steel ships, with speakers poviding historical information. One highpoint was a debate with advocates competing for their choice of the largest ship ever built.
- Belfast - Spurwink Services
$3,000.00 - Major
1968: Gone But Not Forgotten
This multi-media project will increase knowledge and understanding of the events and issues of the 1960s, both for the general Belfast community and a targeted group of under-achieving high school students. The concept of role play will immerse students in issues of the era, along with an oral history component and community-based learning events.
- Belfast - Belfast Free Library
$400.00 - Discretionary
Digging Poetry
This reading and discussion series met on four Tuesdays in April (National Poetry Month) and was designed to develop a deeper appreciation of poetry within the Belfast community. A different aspect of contemporary American poetry was selected for each discussion, and eminent Maine poet/scholars were hired to facilitate each event.
- Bethel - Bethel Historical Society
$500.00 - Discretionary
Vignettes of the Maine Past
The historical society’s 2010 lecture series consisted of five public talks between May 26 and Nov. 4, 2010. Themes included historic letters of a Bethel area woman (1836-1861), Maine’s architectural heritage, and the significance of the local railroad.
- Boothbay Harbor - The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor
$2,657.00 - Major
In the Blood—A Portrait of the 19th Century Maine Lumberman
This live multimedia exhibit illustrates the life and culture of the 19th and early 20th century Maine lunberman through historic photography, film, oral histories, narration, voiceovers, sound design, and a live musical score. The object is to create a virtual history lesson, using a fresh and modern approach to history and the humanities.
- Bridgton - Rufus Porter Museum, Inc.
$2,276.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Interpreting the Past to Sustain the Future
This grant will allow the museum to improve their website and install a public address system. The website will be interactive to allow visitors not only to learn about the life of Rufus Porter but also to find information about the region’s history, restoration of wall murals, and decorative arts. The new public address system will improve the quality of museum presentations.
- Brunswick - Pejepscot Historical Society
$10,000.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Interpreting the Past to Sustain the Future - Skolfield-Whittier House Tour Improvement Project
The Skolfield-Whittier House is a unique time capsule of local history between 1862 and 1925. The lighting fixtures, which date back to 1891, produce low light levels which hinder tours. This project would involve rewiring the original lighting fixtures to handle higher wattage light bulbs, thus increasing light and improving the experience of visitors touring the house.
- Brunswick - Oratorio Chorale
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Jonah and the Whale in Story, Science, Art and Music
The Chorale provided two panel presentations (May 22-23, 2010), one for the general public at Maine Maritime Museum in Bath and one for students at Waynflete School in Portland, to enhance the musical performnce. The story of Jonah provides a variety of aspects for discussion: whales and the natural world, plus many literary and artisitc applications throughout history.
- Brunswick - Bowdoin International Music Festival
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Bowdoin Festival Extra Lecture Series
The festival’s new Extra program presented educational events throughout the summer, including four masterclasses and eight concerts, and four free lectures by noted music educators to deepen audience appreciation of chamber music and the fields of music history and musicology.
- Cherryfield - Cherryfield-Narraguagus Historical Society
$660.00 - Community Outreach
Cherryfield Living History Day
This event on Sept. 25, 2010 offered demonstrations and hands-on activities of daily life (weaving, butter churning, blacksmithing, etc.) in 1800-1865 Cherryfield. An encampment of Company B, 20th Maine brought to life Union soldiers in the Civil War and included a military tribute at the grave of Cherryfield’s own Civil War veteran, General Hiram Burnham.
- Cumberland - Chebeague Island Historical Society
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Tourism Transforms Chebeague
A summer exhibit (July 1-Sept. 30, 2010) at the historical society focused on the major components of tourism, how and why it has brought people to Chebeague and affected the history of the island.
- Deer Isle - Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
$500.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Bill Harris, Artist-in-Residence at Haystack
Bill Harris is a playwright, poet, critic, and Professor of English at Wayne State University in Michigan. During his Visiting Artist residency (August 1-13, 2010), he worked with 5th session workshop participants at Haystack, presented a pubic program, and wrote a monograph reflecting on contemporary craft.
- Denmark - Denmark Arts Center
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
New Suncook Local Stories Project
Two visiting artists met with third grade classes at the New Suncook School to research local history and create a permanent mural and performance piece based on that research. The artists helped design a research unit combining field trips and interviews with local elders, culminating in a community event to unveil the mural and show the performance.
- Freeport - Freeport Historical Society
$4,234.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Freeport Heritage Trail (Interpretive Signage Program)
The historical society will develop and install the Freeport Heritage Trail, comprised of 17 large marker signs in prominent locations with compelling historic photographs and descriptive text which will tell the stories of the people and events which have shaped the town’s historic past.
- Hinckley - L.C. Bates Museum (Good Will Home Assn.)
$500.00 - Discretionary
Learning About the Past Through Play
L.C. Bates Museum developed and implemented a 1-hour K-6 program for families, schools, and afterschool sites designed to stimulate the interest and knowledge of rural central Maine’s children about local history. The program uses existing museum collections and materials, purchased hands-on materials, and inquiry-based guided activities and discussion.
- Kennebunk - Maine Poetry Central
$3,000.00 - Major
A Minute With the Muse
This project will create a pilot for a series of eight one-minute television programs, featuring a variety of Maine poets. Using lively animation and additional web features, the poems speak to recognizable experiences in Mainers’ lives and spark an opportunity for the audience to use technology to engage with Maine literature.
- Lewiston - Bates Dance Festival
$500.00 - Discretionary
Dance in the Digital Age
As part of the Bates Dance Festival in July 2010, this event will feature leading choreographer and digital media expert Dawn Stoppiello and dance scholar Debra Cash. They will discuss the evolution of interactive media and present a video featuring examples of works by the renowned interactive media troupe, Troika Ranch.
- Lewiston - Museum L-A
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Shoemaking Skills of Generations
This year-long interactive exhibit, which opened in the fall of 2010, focuses on the huge shoe-manufacturing industry that so strongly influenced Lewiston and Auburn from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Through artifacts and oral histories, the exhibit provides insight into the work, family, and daily life of factory workers in Maine during this time period.
- Lubec - Lubec Landmarks
$996.00 - Community Outreach
Smoking Herring in Lubec: 1880-2010: Bloaters, Boned Herring and a New Beginning
McCurdy’s Smokehouse, now a museum and historic site, featured the summer exhibit "Smoking Herring in Lubec, 1880-2010", which translated a new digital exhibit into a tangible form for visitors to understand. A second exhibit in the Skinning Shed was created for orientation and is based on the 2008 show about traditional smokehouse work.
- Machias - Washington County Children’s Chorus
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Cultural and Musical Exchange Project
This exchange program allows Washington County students to learn about the music and history of Luxembourg and serve as ambassadors for Maine. The Luxembourg Children’s Choir visited Maine in 2008; this grant allowed Maine students to go to Luxembourg in 2010 to participate in a joint performance and tour. A resulting slide show will be shown to the public.
- Milbridge - Mano en Mano
$500.00 - Discretionary
Mother’s Day Event and Cultural Celebration
This cultural celebration on May 8, 2010 commemorated El Dia de las Madres (Mother’s Day), a major holiday in Latin America. Events included a community potluck, plus the presentation of a variety of traditional Latin American dances, folk music, poetry, and plays put on by Latino youth to share their culture and heritage with the wider Milbridge community.
- Milo - Milo Historical Society
$500.00 - Discretionary
Our Town: Milo
On May 15, 2010, a one day oral history workshop led by Jo Radner kicked off this project to collect the memories and stories of Milo residents. Attendees old and young were trained to gather, produce, and publish oral histories, using web videos, audio podcasts, online photo slideshows, and interactive storytelling.
- New Gloucester - United Society of Shakers
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
In the Shaker Tradition: Shaker Music and HIstorical Commentary
Traditional Shaker hymns will be transcribed so they can be performed live and authenically by a professional Maine vocalist. The public performance will be recorded for the permanent library collection of the United Society of Shakers which is dedicated to preserving and studying the history and artifacts of the Shaker community.
- Newcastle - Frances Perkins Center
$6,723.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
A Virtual Tour of the Brick House Historic District
The center will create a web-based series of slide shows, audio clips, and videos, each connected to a specific aspect or location in the Perkins homesead or surrounding landscape. The virtual tour will include a "clickable" aspect that allows visitors to experience images and sounds conncected with specific parts of the house which dates back to the 1700s.
- North Haven - North Haven Historical Society
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Piecing Together: The Quilts and Quilters of North Haven, 1830 to Today
This exhibit, featuring 10 historic island-made quilts and 5 modern island-made quilts, is an interdisciplinary effort to re-imagine history on the island of North Haven. The exhibit (May thru August 2010) will trace nearly 200 years of quilt-making on North Haven and examine the lives of early female settlers through historic photographs, artifacts, and explanatory text.
- Orono - "Hudson Museum, Univ. of Maine"
$3,000.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Wikawame: The Wigwam Project
This project will create a birchbark wigwam which will become the centerpiece of the Hudson Museum’s Maine Indian Gallery. Barry Dana, a Penobscot Master Artist, will help create the wigwam expected to be a long-term focal point providing humanities based infrastructure in the gallery for education programs with elementary and secondary school students.
- Orono - Raymond H. Fogler Library
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
The William S. Cohen Papers Forum 2010: The Promise and Problems of Transparency
On November 12, 2010, the library hosted a one-day conference open to the public on the topic of transparency in government. Speakers included respected government representatives, scholars, and journalists. The content of the conference is available online, accompanied by related documents from the William S. Cohen archive.
- Peaks Island - 5th Maine Regiment Museum
$500.00 - Discretionary
Teaching and Interpreting the Civil War: Are you Ready for the Sesquicentennial?
In partnership with the Maine Assn. of Museums and Maine Historical Society, the museum provided a workshop May 22 on material related to the Civil War Sesquicentennial with a special emphasis on how the war impacted Maine. Target audiences for the workshop included elementary and middle school teachers, plus heritage resource professionals and volunteers.
- Portland - Maine Alliance of Media Arts
$3,000.00 - Major
In Good Time, The Piano Jazz of Marian McPartland
Funding from this grant will cover post production costs for acquiring rights to archival footage from the career of Marian McPartland, a pioneering woman jazz musician and composer. The final documentary film will run 90 minutes and show Mcpartland (still actively perfoming at 91) playing in clubs, concerts, and on her National Public Radio show.
- Portland - University of New England
$500.00 - Discretionary
Going Forward, Looking Back: Practicing Historic Photographic Processes in the 21st Century.
For this exhibition (11/17/09 thru 1/31/10), 24 fine art photographers will have work on display, and many will give demonstrations of the historic processes they employ. Brenton Hamilton, a Maine Media Workshop professor with 20 years of experience, will present a lecture on 1/30/10 entitled "19th Century Photographers and Their Processes".
- Portland - Portland Stage Company
$500.00 - Discretionary
Supporting Focus Groups for Portland Stage’s "Play Me a Story" program
In January 2010, Portland Stage implemented a new, long-term program with a primary focus on literature and literacy. This particular grant (mid-June to mid-July) supports two focus groups with children’s literature and education experts to evaluate and establish best practices for a workshop and reading series that will be made available to schools in the fall.
- Portland - Victoria Mansion
$3,520.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Victoria Mansion Exhibition Space Improvement Project
This grant will improve and modernize two existing spaces with track lighting, display cases, and elegant backdrops for mounting text and images. This will improve interpretation with a new permanent orientation exhibit in the Carriage House, changing exhibits in the historic kitchen, and a secure setting for important recent acquisitions never before on public view.
- Portland - Museum of African Culture
$3,350.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Improving Exhibition and Programming Effectiveness
The musuem will improve the effectiveness of its exhibition presentation with permanent, high-quality interpretive signs which will communicate the history, culture, and meaning of the artifacts being viewed. A large flat-screen TV will support the development of a visitor-service communications system for use in viewing exhibits.
- Portland - African Cultural Foundation
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
2nd Annual Maine African Film Festival
The filn festival (April 6 - 10, 2010) included thought-provoking films, lectures, panel discussions, and an art exhibit. Locations were at a variety of venues in southern Maine, and the purpose was to promote cross-cultural literacy, communication, appreciation, understasnding, and common purpose between people of different backgrounds.
- Portland - Greater Portland Landmarks, Inc.
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Support for Flag Day at the Portland Observatory Museum
A community celebration of Flag Day on June 12, 2010 at the Portland Observatory will include free tours of the Observatory and Munjoy Hill area, flag-making activities for children, a flag-raising ceremony, sea shanty music, and readings by Maine children’s author Katie Clark.
- Portland - Portland Ovations
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Ovations Offstage: Maine Connections
Six pre-concert lectures between 10/8/10 and 5/7/11 will feature Maine performance artist/scholars drawing connections to Maine’s historic and contemporary role in the performing arts. Themes include the significance of music and dance for Maine’s French Canadian community, the legacy of Tony Montanaro, and the power of music for Maine’s African immigrants.
- Portland - Victoria Mansion
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Magic Lantern Shows
Three magic lantern shows (a popular form of entertainment in the 1890’s that involved projecting colored images on a screen accompanied by live music) were presented as part of the Victoria Mansion’s year-long celebration of life in Maine between 1890 and 1930. Victorian stories, songs, and games engaged both adults and children in activities of the era.
- Portland - LARK Society for Chamber Music
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Common Threads : From Rags to Riches
This grant funded the final session (Nov. 22, 2010) of A Listener’s Guide to Chamber Music, a 3-part lecture and live demonstration series exploring Chamber music from three different genres: Ragtime, Dance, and Fugue. "The Art of the Fugue" will feature musicologist Steven Saunders of Colby College as guest speaker.
- Portland - Mayo Street Arts
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
The Children’s Puppet Workshop
A small group of low income youths from the Kennedy Park neighborhood in Portland will meet over 10 sessions (beginning in January 2011) to explore world folklore through puppet making, reading, and creative writing. The project will culminate in a puppet performance (mid-March) and art exhibit (March-April) at the Mayo Street Arts gallery.
- Portland - Spirits Alive
$600.00 - Community Outreach
Winter Lecture Series
Spirits Alive will present a three-session lecture series dealing with the history and landscape surrounding Eastern Cemetery. lecture topics will include an exploration of Native American history in the area, the history of privateering around Casco Bay, and the history of Munjoy Hill surrounding the cemetery.
- Portland - Maine Reads
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Maine Festival of the Book 2010
The fourth annual Maine Festival of the Book, held April 9-11, 2010 in Portland, was a celebration of reading and writing which also provided the opportunity for literary discourse between authors and readers. Most of the programs were free to the public and designed to appeal to a range of audience interests and age groups.
- Portland - Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Educating Babita: From Maine To New Delhi
The heart of this project is an interactive audio-visual presentation that integrates viewpoints of speakers from Maine with images and interviews of speakers from New Delhi as they share their viewpoints on various issues. The material was originally presented in Maine at a community event in May 2010 and was then put on the web (http://worldviewpoints.com).
- Portland - Victoria Mansion
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Lecture Series on "The Modern Woman in Maine, 1890-1940"
Three lectures were presented in conjunction with the MHC Let’s Talk About It series "The Modern Woman in Maine, 1890-1940." Nan Cumming, Earle Shettleworth, and Arlene Palmer Schwind explored how women’s roles, interests, pursuits and expectations were shaped by locality, urban or rural, and how they in turn helped to shape Maine and its image.
- Portland - King Middle School Library
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
One Nation, Divided: Commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the U.S. Civil War
As part of a year-long commemorative study of the US Civil War, this grant supported a school trip in February to visit the African American History Museum in Boston and allowed students to take Boston’s African American History Walking Tour. For the larger project, the library is sponsoring a monthly book discussion on Civil War topics from late October to late April.
- Presque Isle - The Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library
$200.00 - Discretionary
Connections Through Creative Writing: Workshop & Author Visit
The library offered Central Aroostook "tweens" and teens an opportunity to gain writing skills and think critically about the cultural role of creative writing through a 6-week writing workshop (June 17 to July 15, 2010) , including 6 hours with local author Wendy Koenig. A virtual visit with a national/regional author through the Skype-An-Author Network was also planned.
- Presque Isle - Northern Maine Community College
$3,500.50 - Humanities Infrastructure
Northern Maine Community College Library Exhibit Display Cases
The E. Perrin Edmunds Library at NMCC will use this funding to build permanent exhibit display cases to provide visitors with engaging displays of material from their archives as well as items loaned from other organizations. The cases also will allow the library to display the works of local artists and build exhibits on various themes coordinated with monthly local events.
- Rangeley - Rangeley Lakes Region Historical Society
$5,148.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Rangeley Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum Interpretive Program
The historical society will acquire and use interpretive computer equipment and creative content to enhance the museum experience for visitors. This will allow the presentation of never-before-seen films and photos of historically important personalities and events in the region.
- Rockland - Wm. A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum
$10,000.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
LED and CFL Lighting Project
Existing lighting in museum galleries and public spaces will be replaced with energy efficient LED and CFL lamps to better light exhibitions and displays, promote a healthier environment by reducing the energy footprint, provide budget relief for financial sustainability, and perhaps serve as an example of leadership for Rockland and other Maine communities.
- Rockland - Wm. A. Farnsworth Library and Art Museum
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Rug Hooking in Maine and Beyond
This exhibit examines the history of rug hooking in Maine and demonstrates that Maine was central to the development of this indigenous North American practice. Related educational programming will be geared to adults, students (K-12), and teachers, engaging them in an important aspect of their cultural heritage. The exhibit runs May 2010 to January 2011.
- Rockport - Everyman Repertory Theatre
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Reading of "Conversations at Midnight"
Everyman Repertory, a Maine-based non-profit theatre company, presented a staged reading of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s rarely seen verse play ""Conversations at Midnight"" at a variety of venues throughout midcoast Maine during March 2010. In addition, archived materials and information about Millay was made available, and several Millay experts spoke to audiences.
- Saco - Dyer Library/Saco Musuem
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Photographs by Charles E. Moody
This exhibition of photographs by Charles Moody (1859-1915) illustrates his love of the Biddeford-Saco area within the larger context of photography’s progression to an art form by the early 20th century. Original glass plate negatives, lanern slides, vintage prints, and accompanying period publications will be included in the exhibit running Jan. 14 to Feb. 24, 2011.
- Scarborough - Scarborough Land Conservation Trust
$500.00 - Discretionary
Coyote at the Kitchen Door
Wildlife biologist and urban ecologist Stephen DeStefano gave two presentations (July 19 & 20, 2010) based on his book Coyote at the Kitchen Door: Living with Wildlife in Sububia. Discussions incorporated the history of conservation, the adaptations animal species make to human intrusion into their habitats, and the need to create a new suburban wildlife ethic.
- South China - Erskine Academy
$4,000.00 - Humanities Infrastructure
Erskine Academy Archives Display Initiative
Infrastructure grant money will help furnish the alumni meeting and activity area as well as space for displaying the academy’s archives. Once finished, this area will house permanent archives being donated by Board President Barry Thomas, the school’s unofficial archivist who has collected books, memorabilia, and photographs for the last 50 years.
- Southwest Harbor - Island Readers and Writers:An Initiative for Maine Children
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
National Endowment for the Arts "Big Read"
Island Readers and Writers, in partnership with the Southwest Harbor Public Library, is initiating a community read project using Jack London’s Call of the Wild for 8 island communities in Hancock County. The project, suported by the National Endowment for the Arts, will include book discussions, films, lectures, exhibits, and other events for readers of all ages.
- Stonington - Opera House Arts at Stonington Opera House
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
ShakeStonington
This multi-week, multi-event community immerson project revolved around a production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure at the Stonington Opera House. Activities in August 2010 included 3 public library "reads" of the play, a multimedia blog, a Twitter account exploring the language of the play, student wrting internships, and 2 post-show discussions.
- Swans Island - Swan’s Island Educational Society
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Swan’s Island Memory Project
This project involved creating a new historical collection to share with the community through two summer "listening events" where the community was invited to come and listen to ten short audio stories and tour a related photo exhibit. The events focused on "Swan’s Islanders at Work" and "Swan’s Islanders at Play" as related to major changes in the island’s past.
- Vinalhaven - Partners in Island Education
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
High School Students Who Tell The Truth: Exploring ethics with Robert Shetterly
Partners in Island Education created a week-long integrated arts and humanities program for Vinalhaven High School students. The project involved an in-depth discussion about ethics throughout the high school, including a residency by artist Robert Shetterly who shared from his work "Americans Who Tell the Truth".
- Waterville - Waterville Public Library
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Downtown Waterville History Mystery Tour
This project created a kid and family friendly self-guided tour of historical and cultural sites within easy walking distance of the Waterville Public Library. A series of clues leads participants to various stops on the tour where they have opportunities to explore what life was like for children in Waterville at other times in history.
- Westbrook - Acorn Productions
$1,000.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Scholar-Interpreted performances of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest
In 2010, Acorn Productions will present two performances of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at USM. Project scholar and USM professor Nancy Gish will provide program notes to highlight thematic and contexual issues at work in the play, and also moderate a post-performance "talkback" with the audience and artists involved in the presentation.
- Westbrook - Long Creek Youth Development Center
$500.00 - Discretionary
"Zaman Zab" African Culture Group
There is a group of youth incarcerated at the Center who are immigrants from African countries. They were feeling cut off from their culture and formed a group called Zaman Zab ("Hard Times"). This project allowed them to gather on a weekly basis, share recipies and cook meals from their native lands, and have group discussions with staff to support their situation.
- Westbrook - Westbrook Community Center
$500.00 - Discretionary
Rec Camp Readers Club
This summer reading and literacy program was offered at Westbrook’s 2010 summer day camp serving 120 children, K thru fifth grade. Walker Memorial Library collaborated on the project, and Walker’s chilren’s librarian recommended book titles. The goal of the program was to help children avoid the "summer slide" loss of school year information.
- Windham - Maine Correctional Center
$808.00 - Community Outreach
Meet the Authors Reading/Writing Program
Over the course of ten two-hour sessions, 12 incarcerated women with an interest in reading and creative writing met authors of various genres—fiction, poetry, nature writing, and children’s stories. The students read and discussed representative work from the guest authors and engaged in their own writing, guided by the authors.
- Wiscasset - Historic New England
$1,000.00 - Community Outreach
Historic New England Wiscasset 2010 Summer Lecture Series "Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Colonial Revival movement."
Four informative and entertaining talks will be prresented to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the heritage organization Historic New England and the 150th anniversary of the Colonial Revival movement in America. Authoritative speakers will address a variety of Colonial Revival topics including period wallpapers, public landscaping, and postcard photographers.
- York - York School Department
$500.00 - Community Arts & Humanities
Celebrating Our Rich Cultural Heritage, Serving our Community - The Arts as Keepers of the Culture.
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1/18/10), citizens of York will gather for a day of celebration and education crafted to promote appreciation for cultural diversity through the arts. Grant funds will be used for the keynote speaker, Richard Haynes, an African-American artist and photographer who will present a one-hour lecture on the importance of the arts.
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