Eleven organizations across five counties in the state of Illinois received grant funding through our Vision and Action Grants (May 2023 cycle). Grantees were awarded in recognition of their ongoing humanities-focused missions, with support towards deepening engagement and broadening their impact across the communities they serve.
These organizations’ ingenuity in developing programs, exhibitions, and publications showcases the dedication to cultural engagement within the humanities happening in our local spaces. This group’s projects range from youth filmmaking immersion programs, site-specific theatre activations, expansions of prison libraries, and more—exploring themes such as food scarcity, mutual aid, forced displacement, and the celebration of human resiliency through storytelling.
Meet the Grantees
Of the 11 projects, seven are based in Chicago, and four are elsewhere in Illinois. They include:
- Garvey Tubman Cultural Arts and Research Center / Black Artists Matter month ($4,000) – Springfield / Sangamon County
- Hyde Park Art Center / The Alien Nation and Sovereign States of Octavia Butler ($4,000) – Chicago / Cook County
- International Children’s Media Center / WorldScene Media Arts Immersion Residency ($4,100) – Chicago / Cook County
- Liberation Library / Liberation Library ($4,000) – Chicago / Cook County
- MAKE Literary Productions / 2023 Lit & Luz Chicago ($4,250) – Chicago / Cook County
- McLean County Museum of History / Making a Home Spanish-Language Tour ($4,000) – Bloomington / McLean County
- Nothing Without A Company, Inc. / Mitigating Factors ($2,250) – Chicago / Cook County
- Public Media Institute / The Mutual Aid Report – The Lumpen Radio Interview Series ($4,250) – Chicago / Cook County
- Quad Cities Pride in Memory, Inc. / Documentary Film ($4,200) – Davenport, IA / Scott County
- Serendipity Theatre Company DBA 2nd Story / Claiming Our Space: Stories of Hope and Courage ($4,100) – Chicago / Cook County
- Understanding Works NFP / A BOOK by ME: Intergenerational Storytelling ($4,250) – Monmouth / Warren County
The next deadline is September 1, 2023, for Active History Microgrants and September 15, 2023, for General Operating Grants. For more information, visit ILhumanities.org/Grants or contact us at communitygrants@ilhumanities.org.
About Illinois Humanities
Illinois Humanities, the Illinois affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a statewide nonprofit organization that activates the humanities through free public programs, grants, and educational opportunities that foster reflection, spark conversation, build community and strengthen civic engagement. We provide free, high-quality humanities experiences throughout Illinois, particularly for communities of color, individuals living on low incomes, counties and towns in rural areas, small arts and cultural organizations, and communities highly impacted by mass incarceration. Founded in 1974, Illinois Humanities is supported by state, federal, and private funds.
Learn more at ilhumanities.org and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn @ILHumanities.
Featured Image: Artwork by John T. Crisp, Jr. who is featured in the Garvey Tubman Cultural Arts and Research Center’s Black Artists Matter Series happening August 2023.