Arts and Humanities for Equity: Poetry and Culturally Responsive Curriculum – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
$2000 to support the Arts and Humanities for Equity: Poetry and Culturally Responsive Curriculum keynote address at the Flynn by a national expert on ethnic and socially relevant pedagogy. This program will advance Vermont educators’ expertise in teaching poetry with an equitable framework and offer continuing education credit.
Because of Women Like Her… – Vermont Suffrage Centennial Alliance
$1000 to support an educational exhibit and curriculum guide where students learn the history of women’s fight for the vote, investigate racism in the movement, and apply suffrage strategies to personal causes.
Books and Beyond Camp – Swanton Public Library
$1050 for a camp to promote and enhance multicultural and multi-genre literacy for ages 6-12. The camp will involve group reading and discussion, storytelling, readers’ theater, and book-related hands-on activities.
Bookstock Literary Festival, Woodstock
$2000 to support Bookstock, Woodstock’s literary festival, July 26–28, 2019, featuring over forty authors and poets of all genres. Attendees will also enjoy perusing second-hand book fairs, exploring book art, listening to music, and much more. The festival is free and open for all ages.
Brattleboro Literary Festival 2019
$2000 to support the 2019 annual Brattleboro Literary Festival, a four-day event, October 17-20, 2019. The Festival, which is free and open to the public, builds community by uniting readers and writers in a celebration of ideas, books, and the power of words.
Empowerment for a Better Tomorrow: An Evening with Frances Moore Lappe – Sustainable Woodstock
$1000 to support a public talk by world-renowned author and activist Frances Moore Lappe, who will shed light on the transformative environmental, cultural, and political issues of our time.
Ethan Allen Documentary and Educational Materials Project – Ethan Allen Homestead Foundation
$1000 to support a film and discussion guide on the life and times of Ethan Allen, plus elementary, middle and high school lesson plans created with Vermont teachers to be distributed for free to Vermont schools, libraries, parks and public broadcasting outlets.
Helen Day Art Center
$1000 to support the Helen Day Art Center’s 2020 public programs, including artist talks, discussions, and multidisciplinary panels that expand on historic and current themes related to their exhibitions, and “Art 101” lectures to build audience understanding of art history and collecting.
History Camp 2019 – Swanton Public Library
$1200 to support a week-long camp for kids ages 6-12. Each day campers are introduced to specific regions, countries, or cultures throughout history. Campers dive into history through exploring maps and tracing timelines, exposure to books and readings, as well as many creative hands-on projects.
Intergenerational Oral History Presentation Series – Next Stage Arts Project, Inc
$2000 to present a series of community-based storytelling events and performances focused on building connections among multi-generational audiences with a common theme of origin stories.
Lectures to Enhance the Second Vermont Classical Play – University of Vermont Department of Classics
$2000 to support four lectures by University of Vermont, Middlebury College, and Boston University faculty to enhance the March 2020 production of the ancient comedy “Clouds” by Aristophanes. Topics include “Ancient Drama and the City,” “Dionysia,” “Aristophanes and Old Comedy,” and “Sophists and Pre-Socratic Philosophy.”
More Than a Market: Finding Community in Burlington-Area Immigrant Neighborhoods – Historic New England
$2000 to support an exhibition and companion walking tour that explores the experiences of New Americans in the Burlington area through the stories of both past and present-day markets owned by newcomers from around the world.
New England Museum Association Vermont Scholarships
$3000 to support scholarships for Vermont residents to attend The New England Museum Association (NEMA) 101st Conference in Burlington, November 6-8, 2019.
Paul Searls Book Programming – Vermont Historical Society
$2000 to support a collaborative project between the Vermont Historical Society and the Vermont Department of Libraries to host programming that encourages community dialogue around the themes of immigration, landscape change, the tension between progress and preservation, and the nature of rural life as found in Paul Searl’s new book, Repeopling Vermont: The Paradox of Development in the Twentieth Century.
PlayTalks 2019 – Dorset Theatre Festival
$1500 to support the PlayTalks, expert-led presentations that enable audience members to learn, reflect, discuss and ask questions to deepen their appreciation and understanding of productions they attend at Dorset Theatre Festival. This summer’s talks include “The Golden Age of Detective Fiction: Dame Agatha Christie” by Catherine Sheeley and a panel discussion, “The Art of Adaptation: Using Literature as a Source for New Plays.”
PoemCity 2020 – Kellogg-Hubbard Library
$3500 to support PoemCity 2020, a celebration of National Poetry Month in April. PoemCity features a walkable anthology of Vermont contemporary poetry displayed on broadsides throughout downtown Montpelier, as well as readings, workshops and presentations.
Puppets in the Green Mountains: Keynote and Access through the Arts – Sandglass Theater
$1000 to support public programs, lunchtime forums, and a keynote address during the 2020 Puppets in the Green Mountains Festival in Brattleboro, aimed to build vibrant communities and contribute to our collective cultural knowledge through engagement with ideas.
Rokeby Museum Special Exhibit Lecture Series
$1000 to support the Rokeby Museum for a series of humanities programs that will illuminate the history of slavery, abolition, and reconstruction; current-day racism and bias; and the challenge of making a living in 19th- and early 20th-century Vermont.
Stand Up for Human Rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Eleanor Roosevelt – Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
$2000 to support Stand Up for Human Rights, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Eleanor Roosevelt’s work through six presentations this October—four at Vermont high schools and two public events at Vermont colleges.
Sutras for a Suffering World: The Poetry of David Budbill Set to Music, a Community Discussion – Scrag Mountain Music
$1500 to support a free community discussion with composers Evan Premo and William Parker and with Lois Eby (Dave Budbill’s wife) and Nadine Budbill (his daughter) that explores the intersection of music and words.
Time Travelers’ Day Camp: Full Immersion Pioneer/Abenaki Camp – Old Stone House Museum
$3000 to support the Old Stone House Museum’s Time Traveler’s Day Camp, an in-depth and intensive humanities camp. Campers, age 8-12, are immersed in pioneer and Abenaki settlement camps, where they will explore the period of first contact between both cultures when both were co-existing in northern Vermont.
To Sing of Common Things: Making A Way Out of No Way – Clemmons Family Farm
$2000 to support the 2019 Clemmons Family Farm Humanities Speakers’ Series, “To Sing of Common Things: African American Stories of Making A Way Out of No Way.” The series of talks will share literary works, historic accounts and life stories about selected African-American achievements. These include the story of six former slaves who became the first African-American millionaires, personal stories of current African-American Vermonters, as well as the lives of two historic Vermont African-American figures, Martin Freeman and Lemuel Haynes.
Trauma, Veterans, and Shakespeare – Norwich University
$3000 to support a project to explore how literature, theater, and Shakespeare help veterans find resilience in the face of trauma.
Voices and Votes: A Centennial Reflection on Women’s Suffrage in Northwestern Vermont – Saint Albans Museum
$1000 to support an exhibit highlighting the people, places, and ideas that defined the women’s suffrage movement in northwestern Vermont, allowing visitors to discover new voices and perspectives around voting rights and our local political and social history.
2020 Weston Playhouse Teachers Workshop – Weston Playhouse
$1000 to support the 20th Annual Teachers Workshop at Walker Farm. The day-long program features an expert keynote and provides materials and tools to support exploration of the play An Iliad.
WSESU Reads The Benefits of Being an Octopus – Windham Southeast Supervisory Union
$2000 to support the WSESU community read of a book by Vermont author Ann Braden. The project uses The Benefits of Being an Octopus to connect a broad spectrum of our community through discussion and dialogue on the book’s themes. Participants include students, families, and staff in grades 4-12 in all ten WSESU schools as well as members of the community through a partnership with key community organizations including the Brooks Memorial Library and Brattleboro Literary Festival.
Year of Mystery – John G. McCullough Free Library
$4000 to support a dynamic series of opportunities for people of all ages to deepen their appreciation for the mystery genre and to connect with their fellow enthusiasts. This community project is a collaboration between the John G. McCullough Free Library, the Bennington Free Library, the Baker Street Breakfast Club, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington, and the Friends of John G. McCullough Free Library.
