There’s still time to…
Join us for the 2022 Public Humanities Awards Live Stream Extravaganza
Thursday
May 19, 2022
12:00 p.m.
Our high-energy, one-hour show returns with a chance to be part of the humanities in action! Thanks to the support of our sponsors, our most important fundraiser and celebration of the year is open to everyone! #2022PHA
About the 2022 PHA and Beacon Award Recipients
Nicole Bond is an award-winning poet, museum educator, and teaching artist from Chicago who works as an educator at the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art and at Court Theatre. An alum of the IH Odyssey Project, she weaves together words, ideas, media, images, and more, leveraging the humanities to inspire, provoke, and impact individuals and communities throughout Chicago.
Lorenzo Savage is executive director and co-founder of I Am East St. Louis, a magazine and community organization built to “invoke a sense of pride in current and former residents; change the minds of those who believe negative contemporary legends about East St. Louis; and attract new residents, businesses, investors, and developers.” He is a creative, collaborative, and committed leader who creates change through the humanities in his town and beyond.
Sue Scott is director of the Western Illinois Museum in Macomb where she builds community through a combination of tried-and-true programs and bold, creative approaches to addressing current issues, local history, and personal and collective storytelling. The Western Illinois Museum is at the heart of the community and her leadership, devotion to collaboration, and innovative approach is a portrait of the humanities making an impact.
Beacon Award recipient, Art for Justice, was founded in 2017 by Agnes Gund to end mass incarceration in the United States and the racism that drives it. This six-year catalytic fund ending in 2023 has already made close to $100 million in grants to over 200 artists, advocates, and organizations that are transforming the criminal legal system and creating a future of shared safety for all.
2022 Public Humanities Award Host Committee
Antwoinette Ayers
Chris Brown
Antoinette Burton
Rachel DeWoskin
Susan Eleuterio
Deborah Epstein
Anne Evens
Garien Gatewood
Juana Guzmán
Scott Hechinger
Mae P. Hong
HPZS
Debra Kerr
Linda Lawson
Gabrielle Lyon
Susan Manning
Rikeesha Phelon
Governor JB Pritzker
Tim Roberts
Tim Russell
Jane Saks
Jai Winston
Tanner Woodford
David Woolwine
Angel Ysaguirre
Host Committee Last Updated: April 26, 2022
About Illinois Humanities’ Public Humanities Awards Ceremony
Established in 1984, the Public Humanities Awards Ceremony celebrates people who have made an indelible impact on our state through their work in and support of the humanities, honoring them with the Public Humanities Award. This event is Illinois Humanities’ most important annual fundraiser and enables us to provide grants and free public humanities programs throughout Illinois.
Launched in 2020 as part of the Public Humanities Awards Ceremony, the Beacon Award honors an individual or organization who has been a champion for – or investor in – the humanities in Illinois, elevating the work of humanists in ways that have improved the quality of the state for its residents.