Alabama Humanities Foundation’s Board of Directors approved a total of 21 grant proposals for the September 2014 round. AHF received funding requesting totaling to $188,999.32. The board awarded $44,300.00 in major grants and $11,999.50 in mini grants.
From presentations about the defining role of Alabama’s rivers to teacher workshops pertaining to the culture and history of China, the grants include a wide array of educational subjects. See below for a list of AHF-awarded grants to see just how far-reaching and diverse humanities projects are throughout Alabama. These grants have the ability to enhance learning, strengthen critical thinking and enable a better understanding of the world around us. Grants are an integral part of our role at AHF, and this is your opportunity to benefit from the dollars we offer to bring your humanities projects to fruition.
September 2014 MINI GRANTS
Birmingham Museum of Art – “BMA Speaks/Gandhi Jayanti Celebration”
Award: $1,499.50
Annual essay contest for middle school, high school, and college students in honor of Gandhi Jayanti, the birthday celebration of Mahatma Gandhi, focusing on the influence of Gandhi on Martin Luther King, Jr., and the influence of both leaders on civil rights movements worldwide. BMA is combining the event with its BMA Speaks event. The first part of the evening will be dedicated to the student participants of the contest who will be given awards and top students given the opportunity to read their essays aloud. The second half of the evening will include poetry and spoken word readings by local amateur artists on the same subject followed by the featured speaker, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and writer, Vijay Seshadri.
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library –“Tracing the Past: The War of 1812 in the Tennessee Valley”
Award: $1,500.00
Event will explore the many significant connections between the Shoals area and the War of 1812, including scholarly lectures on John Coffee (as both War General and Florence surveyor) and the strategic use of the historic Natchez Trace and Jackson’s Military Road for troops in their journey from Nashville to New Orleans. The themes of Native American history, anthropology, and archaeology will be presented through discussions on the Creek War and artifact displays. The display of the Tennessee State Museum’s exhibition, “Becoming the Volunteer State: Tennessee in the War of 1812,” will serve as a guiding text for the discussions and interpretations at hand. It contains three cases with artifacts, four framed objects, two life-size and fully equipped soldier mannequins, and two personality cut-outs. Exhibition panel themes include “Causes of the War,” “Fort Mims and the Creek War,” “Battle of Horseshoe Bend,” “Battle of New Orleans,” and “Leaders.”
Historic Mobile Preservation Society – “Reimagining Oakleigh”
Award: $1,500.00
After the recent discovery that the “Cook’s House” on the Historic Oakleigh Mansion property is in fact a Union barrack dating to 1866 rather than a detached kitchen as it had been identified by docent-lore, the building underwent extensive restoration and an exhibit was opened in the space in February 2014. MHS will develop a curriculum and pilot a fieldtrip and teacher development program in conjunction with the Mobile Public School System to enrich local 4th grade classrooms. Program will launch in the 2015 Spring Semester.
Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery– “Rivers in Becoming Alabama”
Award: $1,500.00
A one-day symposium, the fourteenth annual in the very successful “Becoming Alabama” series, will focus on the early history of the region and defining role of Alabama’s rivers. Eight speakers will give presentations followed by Q&A on geological, geographical, archaeological, historical and sociological points of view. Sessions will include “Crossing Rivers,” “Geology and Geography of Rivers,” “Rivers Importance in pre-historic and historic Indian Culture,” “Role of Piachia in DeSoto’s Crossing the Alabama River,” “Rivers of History,” “A Town Between Two Rivers,” “Ante Bellum Travelers on Alabama Rivers,” and “Paddling Through the Heart of Alabama Territory.”
Levite Jewish Community Center –“Magic in the Attic”
Award: $1,500.00
Nationally acclaimed playwright Bess Welden will conduct a series of post-show panel discussions about her original children’s play, Magic in the Attic, adapted from Eastern European/Yiddish folktales. The play, a story within a story, allows themes like the morals of folktales and the impact of intergenerational storytelling to connect generations. The play allows children and adults to explore their history through stories and imagination. Drawing connections between generations through oral history and passing down of cultural and religious values in Jewish families is important in Judaism, but the theme of the play transcends any particular culture. Discussions will focus on the importance of oral history and personal growth; the history, current use and revival of Yiddish language; folktale adaptations and preservation of historical context; and relevance to contemporary themes.
Alabama Shakespeare Festival – “Theatre in the Mind 2015”
Award: $1,500.00
The TIM program is comprised of Saturday lectures, pre-show BardTalks, Will’s Notes, and the In the Limelight student series. This season’s TIM program will touch upon the themes of modern language, literature, and the theatrical arts. All Saturday lectures, along with other production information, will be recorded and posted to ASF’s YouTube page, where teachers can incorporate the lectures into their curriculums before bringing their students to SchoolFest. SchoolFest is a comprehensive, student-matinee program that introduces students from across the Southeast to the arts and literature by providing subsidized tickets to an ASF play. In the Limelight will maximize students’ comprehension and appreciation for the arts and literature. This school year, 30,000-40,000 Alabama students will benefit from these videos.
Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities – “Send the Alabamians”
Award: $1,500.00
Planning project for future documentary, Send the Alabamians, which brings to life Alabama’s part in the Great War. Based on Nimrod T. Frazer’s book, Send the Alabamians: World War I Fighters in the Rainbow Division, the film project will commemorate the centennial anniversary of the state’s involvement in the war that shaped a century of history. Part of the planning for the documentary will consist of a meeting of noted WWI scholars on June 22, 2015 at the Alabama Dept of Archives and History to discuss the contributions of Alabamians to WWI as well as identification and development of humanities themes that should be included in a documentary production, including the proper contextualization of the 167th Division, which comprised 3,600 Alabamians. June 23 ADAH will host a public symposium on the subject, which will include presentations, panel discussions, and roundtables on the topic. The program will also provide an opportunity for discussion and planning of centennial activities in 2017-18.
Lowndesboro Landmarks Foundation – “War on the Home Front: Remembering Wilson’s Raiders, 1865”
Award: $1,500.00
Symposium to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the end of the Civil War in Alabama featuring five scholars covering events that directly affected the Black Belt home front. Through history, events and illustrations scholars will provide a window into the past. The audience will be guided through the circumstance relative to the invasion of Union General James Wilson’s Raiders in the Central Alabama region.
The participating audience will also receive a clear understanding of the “setting” in the last days of the Civil War and better understand the historical events that impacted Wilsons Raiders and the trauma of the people affected. Through scholarship and use of photographs, letters, and documents the program aims to enhance a broad range of interested students and individuals.
September 2014 MAJOR GRANTS
Birmingham International Center – “The Changing Face of Alabama Schools: Spotlight on China” – Teacher Project
Award: $3,400.00
Series of teacher workshop studying the culture and history of China. Program stems from a growing Chinese community and Chinese studying at Alabama colleges and universities. China is Alabama’s second largest export market valued at over 2.5 billion. In comparing with other states, Alabama is ranked 14th in exports to China, and three Chinese-owned companies are building manufacturing plants and investing in Alabama. As China’s influence on the world stage grows exponentially, it is important for Alabama students to have a greater familiarity with the country’s history and culture. The major component of this project is a workshop for K-12 teachers, the general public and college students interested in learning about China through presentations and speakers from the humanities disciplines focused on China. Workshops will be conducted at three strategic sites in Alabama: 1.Huntsville (to include Madison City and County Schools) due to growing Chinese population there. 2. Thomasville (to include Clarke & Wilcox County) due to new Chinese industry located there and an increased interest in China and its people. 3. Birmingham (including the five-county metro) based on the large number of Chinese students enrolled in colleges and universities and the area’s position as the economic center of Alabama.
Demopolis Public Library – “The Way We Worked Creatively” – Exhibition
Award: $2,500.00
Exhibit in partnership with the Marengo Historical Society and the Marengo County Archives and History Museum, will add to the Smithsonian’s exhibition The Way We Worked scheduled to open in Demopolis on April 6, 2015. The Way We Worked Creatively will add displays, wall-mounted history panels of professional design, film clips, and speakers to emphasize how writers and similar artists create works that are also productive for their fellow artisans in a variety of American trades exemplified in the exhibit by publishing, acting, stagecraft, filmmaking, and interior design. The writers and artists to be celebrated originated in Marengo County or they were inspired by its history, people and locations.
Alabama Historical Commission – “Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr and the Law” – Exhibition
Award: $3,000.00
Series of speaker programs and exhibits that will explore both the world that the 1961 Freedom Riders found in Montgomery and the changes their actions brought to the city, our state, and our nation. Central themes will be leadership and character, nonviolent protest, constitutional issues, and change. The program will focus on Johnson’s decisions about the Freedom Rides.
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts – A History that Refuses to Die: Alabama’s African-American Self-Taught Artists in Context – Exhibit
Award: $2,300.00
Exhibition examining the African-American experience in Alabama as seen through the works of sixteen African-American self-taught artists with roots in the state. The exhibition will enable the Museum to address the historical, social, and cultural significance of these artists in the larger context of the Civil Rights Movement. The exhibition is a collaboration among the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Centre for the Living Arts in Mobile, and the Souls Grown Deep Foundation in Atlanta. The installations will explore eight themes of particular relevance to the history of Blacks in Alabama: Slavery, Hard Times, Agrarian and Industrial Alabama, Commemoration, Autobiography, African-American Women, Civil Rights, and Modern Times.
Alabama Southern Community College – “18th Annual Alabama Writers Symposium”– Public Discussion
Award: $5,000.00
Annual writers symposium will promote literacy and an appreciation of literature, especially Alabama literature in the local schools K-12; bring together Alabama’s finest writers and scholars in an atmosphere that encourages new writers and fosters the exchange of ideas among writers, scholars, and critical readers; recognize a full slate of writers and scholars with Alabama connections in all of the sessions of the two conference days; present the Harper Lee Award for the Distinguished Alabama Writer of the Year and Eugene Current-Garcia Award for the Distinguished Alabama Scholar of the Year; promote the interplay of Alabama literature, arts, music, and drama, including a community theatre performance of To Kill A Mockingbird; promote the literary heritage of Monroeville and Monroe County around the state and the nation; promote new and upcoming Alabama writers, scholars, and artists.
Birmingham AIDS Outreach – “Family Matters: LGBTQ Youth Perspectives” – Exhibition
Award: $2,750.00
Touring exhibition of photographs by nationally recognized, Birmingham artist Carolyn Sherer. Family Matters consists of portraits of thirteen self-identified LGBTQ youth ages 15-23 from Birmingham and accompanying narratives produced by the subjects with assistance from the Education Dept of the Birmingham Museum of Art about the definition of family and perceptions of family understanding. The exhibit will launch in March in Montgomery in conjunction with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March, and will tour three other venues: Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts at Auburn University, The University of Alabama Garland Museum of Art, and the Mobile Museum of Art. The opening night in each city will include a panel discussion of scholars addressing the situation of LGBTQ youth in contemporary America; the rapid changes taking place in American society with regard to LGBTQ people; minority group struggles for understanding within their own communities, families, and society; and the powerful role that art plays in engaging and effecting society and culture.
Friends of the Alabama Archives – “ArchiTreats 2015” – Public Discussion
Award: $4,000.00
Monthly lunchtime lecture series comprised of forty-minute scholar presentations followed by twenty-minute Q&A and audience discussion. The 2015 series will include several programs which complement the
Becoming Alabama initiative to help commemorate and examine the legacy of the War of 1812/Creek Wars, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement. Other presentations will include Alabama Political Stories; How Huntsville Made Sense of its German Rocket Team’s Nazi Past; Makers of the Sacred Harp; Early Aerial Experimenters in Alabama; HBCU Laboratory Schools and Alabama State College Lab High in the Era of Jim Crow; Afterlife Beliefs in the Antebellum South; Alabama’s “Invisible Map” of 1818 and the Origins of the Great Seal of Alabama; and Collards: A Southern Tradition from Seed to Table
Fairhope Film Festival – “Fairhope Film Festival 2015”– Public Discussion
Award: $4,200.00
Second annual film festival with the purpose of bringing cultural enlightenment through the opportunity to see world-class, award-winning films in the unique location of Fairhope; the inaugural festival attracted nearly 3,000 attendees from across the country. Screenings selected for the festival will only include feature films, documentaries and shorts that have been finalists at noted national and international film events during the past year. Film scholars, directors, actors and screenwriters also will participate in the screenings through panel discussions, short workshops, and question and answer sessions during the Film Festival events. The provision of film panels, discussions and Q&A sessions facilitated by film, television, and humanities scholars are the cornerstone of the festival’s mission of arts and humanities entertainment and education.
Huntsville Symphony Orchestra – “Georgia Bottoms: The Value of Narrative Methods” – Public Discussion
Award: $3,000.00
Huntsville Symphony Orchestra Music Director and Conductor, Gregory Vajda, a native of Budapest, has composed a modern opera based on the novel, Georgia Bottoms, written by the 2014 Harper Lee Award recipient, Mark Childress. In February of 2015, the HSO will present the world premiere of this opera, Georgia Bottoms: A Comic Opera of the Modern South, and in conjunction with this landmark event, Mark Childress will discuss his work in a public forum to promote a better understanding of how literature, music, and the arts inform and empower culture and communities in Alabama. The program will use as a focus and point of reference the text of the book Georgia Bottoms, the libretto of the opera Georgia Bottoms: A Comic Opera of the Modern South, and the musical composition of the opera. The panel discussion will address how the tools of literature can be used effectively to convey humanities themes through meaningful interactions between characters, the characters’ interactions with their environments, as well as the evolution of characters throughout the novel. Themes of women, religion, and racism in the twenty-first century South will be examined, relying heavily on the text of the book, the insight of the author, Mark Childress, the expertise of literary scholar Anita Garner, and the expertise of humanities scholar, Dr. Hugh Long.
Red Mountain Theatre Company – “Mandela” – Public Discussion
Award: $3,000.00
Utilizing the performing arts to bring the humanities to life, a new work from playwright Cheryl L. Davis based on the life and impact of Nelson Mandela and his interactions with Martin Luther King, Jr. will serve as the basis for engaging audiences in a post-performance, constructive dialogue about human rights, exploring themes of justice, kindness, and sacrifice. Performed in spoken word poetry by world-renown artist Sharrif Simmons, Mandela will tour statewide for performance and discussions in local colleges, churches, civic centers, and theaters. Mr. Simmons’ spoken word poetry provides a unique, fresh approach to the study of
history, appealing to a broad base of audience demographics. At each venue, RMTC will coordinate with that community’s leaders to lead, along with Mr. Simmons, and a facilitating scholar an audience discussion following the presentation. A constructive, respectful dialogue will explore the piece itself and Mandela’s impact on the world decades later.
Southern Literary Trail – “Trailfest 2015”– Public Discussion
Award: $4,650.00
The fourth TrailFest since its beginning in 2009, TrailFest 2015 will feature examinations of celebrated authors – either from or influenced by Alabama – along with revelations about less heralded writers of Alabama. General public and school students will be engaged through the use of texts and objects – books, plays, short stories, articles, music, photographs, paintings, and film. The translation of the Alabama-based classic play, The Little Foxes by Demopolis writer Lillian Hellman into a film by director William Wyler will be discussed by his daughters Catherine Wyler and Melanie Wyler at a screening of the film at the Mobile Public Library. Tennessee Williams biographer Dr. Kenneth Holditch will comment on the playwright’s stage dramas at the Marian Gallaway Theatre at the University of Alabama and in the parlor of Gainswood in Demopolis. Contemporary pianist John Davis will present a Blind Tom series of lecture-recitals about the 19th century piano prodigy, the first African American entertainer to perform in the White House, at the University of Alabama and in Mobile, Demopolis, and Tuskegee. Additional TrailFest 2015 events in Alabama will take place in Monroeville, Hartselle, and Decatur. TrailFest 2015 spans three state, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
Walker County Arts Alliance – “Tallulah Bankhead Tribute” – Public Discussion
Award: $3,500.00
A three-day Tallulah Bankhead Tribute, to be presented in Jasper, Tallulah’s home town, on June 12-14, 2015. Among the scheduled events are performances of Tallu, Dahling, an original show about Tallulah and her famous family; a showing of the Alfred Hitchcock film Lifeboat, in which Tallulah starred; and an array of events and activities honoring Tallulah’s achievements, appreciating her wit, and celebrating her hometown, Jasper. In addition, Tribute participants will have the unusual opportunity to hear about Tallulah’s life and achievements in “talkbacks” with two individuals who knew her. In these post-show conversations, the audience will be free to ask questions of these visitors, helping them better understand Tallulah’s personality and relationships and gain insight into her life and accomplishments. The two commentators are Tandy Cronyn, the daughter of actors Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, who will be featured in a talkback after the Lifeboat showing; and Brook Ashley, Tallulah’s goddaughter (the daughter of Tallulah’s co-star and confidante Eugenia Rawls), who will participate in a talkback after both performances of Tallu, Dahling.
Wallace Community College – “History, Art, and Legacy of the Gee’s Bend Quilters” – Public Discussion
Award: $3,000.00
Exhibition and public discussion in collaboration with the Wiregrass Museum of Art will explore the visual arts that parallel African American history in southeast Alabama from the slave era to present day. Art historian Stephanie Burak Fehlenberg along with Gee’s Bend quilters, China and Mary Ann Pettway, will discuss the role that art, in particular quilting, played in the rural, African-American culture of the South from slavery through the Jim Crow Era, the Civil Rights Movement and today.