Press Release

ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL AWARDS MAJOR GRANTS

Deadline for next cycle of Major and Mini Grants is July 15, 2006.

CHICAGO The Illinois Humanities Council Board of Directors has awarded a total of $213,992 to 22 nonprofit organizations for development and production of public humanities projects.

Funded programs include an oral history project documenting the transformation of the local agricultural workforce—orchard managers, owners, workers, and their children—in Union County between 1970 and the present; a roots-based music festival celebrating the music of the rural people of west central Illinois, including country, swing, bluegrass, jazz, and ethnic folk music; and a multi-media exhibition on the music, activism, and philosophy of Sun Ra, the innovative jazz composer, bandleader, and musician.

Community support for these projects totaled $1,502,301. A list of grants and the organizations that are sponsoring these programs are listed below:


  • Beyondmedia Education, Chicago, Women and Prison: A Site for Resistance, $10,000
  • Chicago State University, Chicago, Photographic History of African-American Illinois Legislators, $10,000
  • Contratiempo, Chicago, Fridays with Contratiempo, $4,000
  • Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, Traveling the Spaceways: Sun Ra, The Astro Black, and Other Solar Myths, $10,000
  • Illinois Migrant Council, Chicago, Oral History of Union County (IL) Hispanic Farmworkers, $10,000
  • Japanese American Service Committee, Chicago, Origins of Now: Rebuilding Community, $10,000
  • Kartemquin Educational Films, Chicago, Terra Incognita: The Promise and Perils of Stem Cell Research, $10,000
  • Korean American Women’s Association, Chicago, Korean Cultural Enrichment Program, $10,000
  • Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Last Kamikaze: Testimonies of WWII Suicide Pilots, $10,000
  • Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, Chicago, The Taino Project-2007 Community Lecture Series, $10,000
  • The Newberry Library, Chicago, Aztecs and the Making of Colonial Mexico, $10,000
  • Elgin Symphony Orchestra Association, Elgin, “In Search of the American Dream” Festival, $10,000
  • Evanston Public Library, Evanston, Reeltime Independent Film and Video Forum, $10,000
  • The Arc of Illinois, Homewood, Diana and Kathy: Beyond Words, $10,000
  • Jubilate Children’s Choir, Lake Forest, Muntu: The South African Journey, $10,000
  • Illinois State Museum Society, Lewiston, Hickory Ridge Roots Music Festival, $10,000
  • Lake Land College, Mattoon, Lake Land College Arts and Humanities Series, $10,000
  • WVIK Augustana Public Radio, Rock Island, Home From Around the World: Quad City Oral Histories in WVIK, $10,000
  • Midway Village and Museum Center, Rockford, 1900 Rockford: An American Chautauqua, $10,000
  • Cavalcade of Music Foundation, Skokie,American Roots Music In The Heartland, $10,000
  • Illinois Center for the Book, Springfield, Illinois Authors Book Fair, $10,000
  • Springfield Urban League, Springfield, Springfield Urban League Freedom School, $10,000

July 15 is the next IHC deadline for both mini and major grant proposals. For a copy of the IHC’s grant guidelines, please visit www.prairie.org and click on the “Educational Programs & Grants” tab, then click “Grants Program” on the right side of that page. Applications are also available at that location. If you would like to speak to someone about applying for a grant, or would like an application mailed to you, please call (312) 422-5580. You may also e-mail the IHC at ihc@prairie.org.

For more information about the IHC, please visit www.prairie.org, send an email to ihc@prairie.org, or call 312.422.5580.

The Illinois Humanities Council is a nonprofit educational organization [501 (c) 3] dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. Organized in 1973 as the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the IHC creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities. The IHC is supported by state, federal, and private funds.

D A R E T O K N O W

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