2005 Grant Recipients

October 2005

Humanities Council awards grants totaling $125,396

The Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) recently awarded a $16,900 grant to the NET Foundation for Television in Lincoln to produce “Hard Times Swing,” a one-hour documentary and performance program exploring the history of Nebraska musicians, bands and ballrooms of the 1930s and 1940s. The program will be broadcast on statewide public television in late 2006.

The Nebraska Jazz Orchestra will perform important compositions for an audience of dancers at a historic ballroom. The story traces ways that popular music brought cultures together in rural Nebraska, just as it did in Harlem.

The NHC announced 28 grants totaling $125,396. Other grant recipients and the amount of each grant:

Institute for Historic & Educational Arts (IHEA), North Kansas City, Mo., $10,515 for partial funding of “The Heroic Sculptures of Omaha, Nebraska,” a documentary film on the creation and installation of heroic scale bronze sculptures that will range over four square blocks in downtown Omaha. The film is expected to be broadcast on TV in fall 2007.

United Nations Association—Nebraska, Lincoln, $8,500 for “Meet Eleanor Roosevelt,” a one-woman show by Elena Dodd, with presentations and discussions in Lincoln, Omaha, Seward, Wayne, Red Cloud and other venues throughout October 2005. Roosevelt was instrumental in developing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through the United Nations.

Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation, Red Cloud, $8,270 for “Some Memories are Realities,” a series of programs throughout 2006 at the historic Red Cloud Opera House. Programming will feature humanities speakers, Cather scholars and other experts who will provide historical interpretations of literature, philosophy, religion, social sciences and history.

El Museo Latino, Omaha, $8,175 for “Dia De Muertos (Day of the Dead) Traditions,” a series of events through next March that include the installation of an “ofrenda (offering)” by Jorge Rosano; a performance of “Canto de Vida y Muerte (Songs of Life and Death);” the preparation of foods associated with the celebration; and lectures. This is part of the NHC’s “New Nebraskans” initiative.

Lincoln Arts Council, Lincoln, $8,167 for “Stories of Home,” a year-long project to engage Lincoln residents in learning about and telling family stories through the visual and literary arts. Author Mary Pipher conducted a cultural awareness workshop Oct. 4. Poet Ted Kooser and State Sen. David Landis will conduct a workshop next September on how to elicit stories. Both workshops will be videotaped for future use.

Kearney Area Storytelling Festival, Kearney, $7,875 for “Winter Tales: The Healing Art of Storytelling,” Jan. 16-21 in Kearney. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the festival will feature national, regional and local tellers performing in various venues to diverse audiences. A new partnership with Educational Service Unit 10 will utilize digital video and target the educational community.

National Alliance on Mental Illness Nebraska, Omaha, $7,145 for “Telling Our Own Mental Health Success Stories.” Humanities scholars will assemble relevant literary works, oral histories and mental health resources for presentations at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and elsewhere in central Nebraska through November 2006.

University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, $6,165 for “Saving Faces: Art and Medicine,” a series of five lectures Jan. 13-Feb. 24 at UNO and UNL. Speakers will address different aspects of the medical humanities—social, philosophical, ethical and historical—as they relate to illness and the creation of art.

Omaha Theater Company for Young People, Omaha, $5,000 for “Famous Women of the 20th Century,” a drama that explores the accomplishments of a variety of famous women. It will be performed for sixth graders in 20 ethnically diverse Omaha schools during the 2005-2006 school year.

Heritage Films, Thousand Oaks, Calif., $5,000 for “A Home Out West,” a two-hour documentary film that explores the experiences of the first generation of homesteaders on the Great Plains. Nebraska is featured most prominently in the film.

Wayne State College, Wayne, $4,700 for a Language Art Festival March 30-31 and April 1-2. Featured author Jane Yolen and other professional writers will make presentations, share their writing experiences and work with students.

Plum Creek Children’s Literacy Festival, Seward, $4,500 for the festival Sept. 22-24, 2005, at Concordia University in Seward.

Omaha Public Library, Omaha, $3,611 for a series of programs in Omaha libraries and schools related to “Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend,” a traveling exhibit in Omaha June 28-Aug. 11.

John G. Neihardt Foundation, Bancroft, $2,888 for the 2006 Neihardt Spring Conference, April 29 at the Neihardt State Historical Site. The event marks the 85th anniversary of the Nebraska legislature naming Neihardt the first State Poet Laureate in 1921.

Lied Center for Performing Arts, Lincoln, $2,725 for “Fate or Faith: The Scopes Trial Symposium,” Nov. 2-5, a series of lectures, panels, performances and discussions with University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty, community leaders, guest artists and scholars.

International Quilt Study Center, Lincoln, $2,350 for “Perfecting the Past: The Colonial Revival Movement and American Quilts,” a series of gallery talks and tours June 5 to Sept. 1 at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, auditorium and classroom on the UNL East Campus.

Alliance Public Schools Foundation, Alliance, $2,310 for book discussion groups on Chautauqua characters Sept. 15 to May 1. Alliance will host the Great Plains Chautauqua June 30 through July 4.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of History, Lincoln, $1,500 for “Queens and Power in Medieval and Early Modern England,” a conference March 23-25 featuring scholarly presentations and workshops for teachers and students.

Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, $1,400 for a panel discussion Nov. 8 to accompany “With an Even Hand: Brown v. Board at Fifty,” a Library of Congress exhibit.

Beatrice Area Arts Council, Beatrice, $1,400 for “Irish Traditional Music—a Living Tradition,” which featured workshops and a concert in August by the Irish band Teada.

PrairieLand RC & D, Madison, $1,400 for scholarly presentations at the Nebraska Resource Conservation and Development Council State Association annual meeting Oct. 5, 2005.

Multicultural Coalition, Grand Island, $1,240 for a conference Oct. 4, 2005, called “Educating Our Minds, Fostering Greater Understanding,” about cultural diversity and inter-cultural relations. This is part of the NHC’s “New Nebraskans” initiative.

Nebraska Archaeological Society, Lincoln, $1,200 for a lecture by Steve Holen on early human arrival in North America and a Nebraska artifact display Aug. 27, 2005, in Seward.

Norfolk Arts Center, Norfolk, $920 for a reading by U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser Oct. 30 at the Johnny Carson Theater in Norfolk.

Albion Area Arts Council, Albion, $640 for a reading by U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser Nov. 6 at St. Michael’s Church in Albion.

Loup City Public School, Loup City, $500 for storytelling sessions and workshops with Tim Tingle in January. Tingle will present his Choctaw Nation traditional stories.

National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Nebraska, Omaha, $400 for “Sulgrave Manor, Lawrence Washington and George Washington,” a series of presentations by Martin Sirot-Smith Oct. 10-15, 2005, in Omaha and Lincoln schools.

top

May 2005

Humanities Council awards grants totaling $79,726

The Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) recently awarded a $12,000 grant to Opera Omaha Inc. for “Opera Insights,” a series of lectures, talks and related essays that will be presented from September through next May at Omaha libraries, the Joslyn Art Museum, the Orpheum Theater, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Fontenelle Forest Nature Center, Westroads Mall, and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art.

In all, the NHC recently announced 23 grants totaling $79,726. Other grant recipients and the amount of each grant:

Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, $8,600 for lectures, paper sessions, discussions and keynotes related to “Violence, the Arts, and Cather,” the 10th International Cather Seminar, June 18-25 in Red Cloud and Lincoln.

Nebraska Writing Project, Lincoln, $8,100 for “Voices of Young Citizens,” a collaboration with NET Television working with schools in Albion, Cedar Bluffs, Aurora, Henderson/Bradshaw and Ogallala to help students write, photograph and videotape their responses to rural issues.

Friends of Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, Lincoln, $8,000 for “Report from Fort Mandan: Return of the Keelboat,” a series of educational presentations in conjunction with the re-enactment of the 1805 transport by keelboat of Lewis and Clark materials. It continues throughout the summer.

Angels Theatre Co./YWCA Lincoln, Lincoln, $6,773 for “DeVoted Women,” a history of women’s suffrage as depicted in theatrical performances in 12 Nebraska communities in January, February and March, 2006.

El Museo Latino, Omaha, $5,630 for “The Mexican Revolution through the Humanities,” a lecture series in June, July and August, in conjunction with the historical exhibit “The Money of the Mexican Revolution 1910-1920.”

Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, $5,031 for “Come ‘n’ Get It!: What Nebraska Eats,” a series of lectures, workshops and discussion complementing the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibit “Key Ingredients,” which tours six Nebraska communities through next March.

McCook Community College, McCook, $4,484 for “Wind on the Buffalo Grass Young Writers Enrichment Camp,” a boarding camp where middle school students will learn the history of southeast Nebraska and reflect on their experiences through creative activities June 5-11 at the college.

Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, Omaha, $3,000 for “Shakespeare Unbound,” a series of pre-show seminars and speakers presentations through May 2006 at Nebraska high schools, Elmwood Park, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and The Bookworm.

Lentz Center for Asian Culture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, $2,200 for storytelling sessions in conjunction with “Magic, Myths and Minerals: Chinese Jades from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,” a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit at the center through July 31.

Center for Health Policy and Ethics, Omaha, $1,965 for “Women and Health Lecture: Literature as Medicine,” a public lecture by author Elizabeth Berg Sept. 14 at Lauritzen Gardens.

Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival, McCook, $1,500 for two days of storytelling and songwriting workshops at the festival, June 10-11 in McCook.

Omaha Library Foundation, Omaha, $1,473 for presentations by Betty Jean Steinshouer on “The Making of My Antonia,” in Omaha, Norfolk and other communities, which will complement the statewide “One Book, One State” reading project.

Friends of Hastings Public Library, Hastings, $1,473 for a presentation by Betty Jean Steinshouer on “The Making of My Antonia.”

City of Lincoln, $1,473 for the appearance of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln portrayers during the “Mayor’s Abraham Lincoln Celebration” in Lincoln.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of History, Lincoln, $1,473 to bring Joanne Bland and the Rev. C.T. Vivian for a panel discussion commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

University of Nebraska at Omaha Black Studies Department, $1,473 for “Omaha and the Sudanese: A Dialogue Towards Solutions,” presentations and discussions among community leaders and Sudanese immigrants.

Triple One Neighborhood Association, Omaha, $1,125 for a two-day conference addressing the history and issues of Nebraska’s largest black community.

Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, Lincoln, $1,000 for the “Hey-Tho-Shka Celebration,” Aug. 19-21 at the Ponca Tribal powwow grounds near Niobrara.

Denton Community Historical Society, Denton, $973 for the “Southeast Nebraska Barn History Program,” to gather and document information on area barns.

Sandhills Reading Council, North Platte, $770 for “History Cooks,” a presentation by scholar Mary Gunderson covering the food used on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The Social Action Committee of the Lincoln Unitarian Church, Lincoln, $675 for the 2005 Winter Lecture Series, “Palestine and Israel: Religions, Homelands and Cultures.”

Three Rivers Arts Council, St. Paul, $535 for poetry reading by Ted Kooser June 4 in St. Paul, as part of the “Weekend with the Arts.”