2014 ANNUAL REPORT
The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities SEEDS, SUPPORTS, and STRENGTHENS
public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders.
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Thank you for joining us to catalyze the humanities in Rhode Island in 2014. This report shares highlights from the past year that vividly and tangibly show how you have helped the Council to seed, support, and strengthen the public humanities in Rhode Island. By donating your time and resources, participating in the creation of our new 5-year strategic plan, taking part in public humanities projects, and joining us to recognize humanities honorees at the Celebration of the Humanities, you are a vital member of the Rhode Island humanities community. With your support, the Council carries out programs and grants that build connections, inspire innovation, and advocate for cultural, historical, and civic engagement. This year we are building on the Council’s grant program and partnerships to advance the public humanities in bold and original ways, and we could not do it without you. We are grateful for your continued commitment to the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. With gratitude,
Elizabeth Francis
2014 HIGHLIGHTS
seeds new initiatives, connections, ideas
BROADENED ACCESS to Rhode Island’s compelling local history with the launch of RHODE TOUR, a statewide, multi-
media smartphone application, in partnership with Brown University’s John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities & Cultural Heritage and the Rhode Island Historical Society. CONNECTED THOUSANDS of Rhode Island readers through intergenerational programming at schools, libraries, businesses, bookstores, and senior centers across the state as part of the CENTER FOR THE BOOK’S Reading Across Rhode Island, One Book, One State community read program. INTRODUCED NEW IDEAS about the role of the humanities in creative placemaking through a presentation at the NATIONAL HUMANITIES CONFERENCE in Philadelphia.
42 GRANTS, $185,098 awarded
in support of public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement projects across the state.
PUBLIC PROJECTS DOCUMENTARY FILM K-12 CIVIC EDUCATION INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH
2014 GRANT PROFILES PUBLIC PROJECT GRANTS Supporting public humanities projects that enrich and enliven the life of our state through a variety of formats including: community conversations, talks and lectures, new media technology, museum interpretations and exhibitions, workshops, panel discussions, book or film discussions, oral histories, and radio shows. BARRINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY $2,000 to
Outside the Box: Public Conversations on Helping our Children to Thrive. Funds support panel discussions exploring issues related to children’s mental health development and environmental factors that help youth flourish and become active contributors to their community. ELEMENTAL THEATRE COLLECTIVE $1,000 to A Brief History of the World and Everything in It. Funds support public post-performance discussions revolving around issues raised by the play, including the conflict between religious doctrine and belief and public education and politics, and the role of satire and humor in shaping and combating policy. EVERETT $10,000 to Freedom Project Brain
Café Series and Documentation. Funds support a series of multidisciplinary Brain Cafés that invite audiences to engage with humanities scholars, artists, and community experts in a dialogue on topics such as prisoner health and human rights and the role of race and class in the criminal justice system. FRIENDS OF HEARTHSIDE, INC. $2,000 to A Tribute to Rhode Island at the 1904 World’s Fair. Funds support a festival event bringing to life Rhode Island’s important role in the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair through an exhibition and family programming at the setting of Hearthside House, which was selected as the model for the Rhode Island Pavilion at the Fair.
GENERAL NATHANAEL GREENE HOMESTEAD ASSOCIATION $2,000 to Signage Project. Funds
support the creation and installation of three informational signs for visitors to the historic Nathanael Greene homestead in Coventry, RI. HISPANIC HERITAGE COMMITTEE OF RHODE ISLAND $5,000 to Nuestras Raices—The Latino
Oral History Project of RI. Funds support a research and oral history project on Cubans in Rhode Island to be included in a larger oral history collection of stories about Rhode Island’s Latino Pioneers. LAOTIAN COMMUNITY CENTER OF RI $2,000 to Stories of Lao Textiles. Funds support the research and documentation of different Laotian textile traditions through oral history interviews with Rhode Island’s Laotian community. MANTON AVENUE PROJECT $10,000 to 2014 Manton Avenue Project: Programs & Training for Kid Playwrights. Funds support Manton Avenue Project’s year-long playwriting programming for elementary school students in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood, including after school lessons with local experts, playwriting instruction, and theatrical training. NEWPORT ART MUSEUM $4,212 to Docent Program
2.0. Funds support the development of the museum’s docent program including training materials, docent guidelines, job descriptions, and a sustainable plan to grow the program in the future. OLNEYVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
$5,000 to Heroic Voices II: Stories of Separation and Survival. Funds support a community-led oral history project chronicling the experiences of immigrants and their families with detention and deportation.
THE WWII FOUNDATION WAS AWARDED A GRANT in support of a
GRANT HIGHLIGHTS PUBLIC HISTORY
Above & Beyond: The Incredible Story of WWII Pilot Bruce Sundlun
documentary film that tells the story of 23-year-old US Army Air Corps B-17 Flying Fortress pilot Bruce Sundlun, whose plane “Damn Yankee” was attacked by German fighters and shot down over Nazi-occupied Belgium in 1943. Sundlun’s decision to parachute from the burning plane fundamentally changed this future governor of Rhode Island. The film traces his brave escape, assisted by Belgian citizens of a rural farming community, and his journey as a young pilot and American Jew in Europe during World War II.
The film premiered at the Providence Performing Arts Center to an audience of over 1,000 people, including members of Rhode Island’s federal delegation. The premiere supported the WWII Foundation’s aim to capture history, create educational initiatives, and preserve the stories of veterans and survivors of World War II that are vanishing every day, so that future generations may appreciate the determination and sacrifices that enabled perpetuation of basic freedoms in America. “It’s education, it’s history, it’s patriotism, it’s preservation. It’s important, I feel, on many levels to chronicle these personal stories, because in 5–10 years, most of that generation will be gone. Imagine what it would be like today if we could sit down with a Civil War veteran or someone who served under George Washington? Now is our chance to be able to do that with some men and women who really did save the world.” —Tim Gray, Filmmaker
OPERA PROVIDENCE $7,900 to Cutting Stone:
RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY/MUSEUM
The Life & Art of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, RI Black Sculptress. Funds support a series of multidisciplinary events on the life and art of Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, a Rhode Island African American sculptress during the early 20th century.
OF WORK AND CULTURE $10,000 to Smithsonian
PROVIDENCE CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL
$10,000 to Providence Children’s Film Festival. Funds support year-long programming focused on building children’s media literacy through high-quality independent film screenings and educational programming that encourages critical, analytical, and imaginative thinking. PROVIDENCE CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL $2,000 to The PCFF Online Film Directory. Funds support planning for an online international children’s film directory to offer Rhode Island families, educators, and librarians access to film related resources, learning guides, curricula, and information on accessing previously featured films. PROVIDENCE PRESERVATION SOCIETY $1,470 to Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk Summer Tours. Funds support a series of walking tours exploring the historic, demographic, and economic influences that have shaped Providence’s neighborhoods and probing audiences’ understanding of the challenges facing preservation efforts in Providence today. PROVIDENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY $2,000 to Crossing Paths. Funds support two panel discussion events that engage historical fiction writers, historians, and special collections librarians in conversations about the processes surrounding historical research and the narratives that organize history into compelling stories. REDWOOD LIBRARY & ATHENAEUM $3,750 to Robert Feke’s Newport. Funds support the planning process for an exhibition on Newport-based colonial artist Robert Feke (1705–1752), examining Newport as context and crucible for a flourishing arts and intellectual community in the decades leading up to the American Revolution.
Institution “The Way We Worked”: Exhibit and Programming. Funds support an exhibition and programs exploring the effects of industrialization, urbanization, immigration, labor unrest, wars, and economic depression on ordinary working Americans from 1857–1987. RIVERZEDGE ARTS PROJECT $9,500 to MIXfits:
21st Century Identities & Public Life in Woonsocket. Funds support a project that engages teen artists in a collaborative research project that explores personal, community, and group identity formation through the reading of primary source texts, the experience of local place, and the creation of original works. SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY $10,850 to Aias: A Community Conversation About Returning Veterans. Funds support a Veterans Day touring production of Aias (Ajax), an ancient Greek play that introduces audiences to the emotional trauma of war and post-play discussions about how best to support soldiers returning from tours of duty. UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND $2,000 to The History of Shellfish in Rhode Island. Funds support the creation of a printed resource to give cultural context to the statewide Shellfish Management Plan by shedding light on how shellfish are interwoven in the fabric of Rhode Island history as an important commercial, culinary, and cultural resource. WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE $10,000 to The Call
of Lovecraft. Funds support the creation of a smartphone application that utilizes augmented reality and interactive audio and video to engage users in historical and creative content on the life and works of local writer, H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937).
2014 HIGHLIGHTS
sup
pports programs, progress, philanthropy
AWARDED $185,098 to 42 GRANT PROJECTS in support
of public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement across the state in 2014.
OPENED ACCESS to the Council’s archive of grants with the 40TH ANNIVERSARY DIGITAL LIBRARY, showcasing Rhode
Island’s culture, stories, and past humanities research that can inform projects today. RAISED OVER $63,000 in support of cultural, historical, and civic engagement at SPARK! the 2014 CELEBRATION OF THE HUMANITIES.
WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE WAS AWARDED A GRANT for the
GRANT HIGHLIGHTS CULTURAL HERITAGE
The Call of Lovecraft
development of The Call of Lovecraft, an innovative digital project that aims to bring H.P. Lovecraft’s Providence to life and build community around his legacy through a self-guided walking tour, accessible both virtually and through a mobile phone application.
The project brought together partners from various communities— WaterFire’s staff, students from the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities & Cultural Heritage at Brown University, technology developers, and Lovecraft enthusiasts—and challenged WaterFire to expand its understanding and capacity in creative placemaking and community building through digital platforms. “Visiting the locations that actually inspired Lovecraft’s writing is definitely a way to incite – and creep out – one’s imagination. An exercise that could only happen in Providence. This tool helps you both recognize these hard-to-find spots and puts them in context.” —Mark Ryan, Creative Consultant
DOCUMENTARY FILM GRANTS
K-12 CIVIC EDUCATION GRANTS
Supporting documentary films that preserve Rhode Island’s stories and bring its history to life.
Supporting projects that enhance the humanities components of K–12 education through the creative integration of the Rhode Island Social Studies Grade Span Expectations in teaching and learning, in order to cultivate the civic leaders of future generations.
CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY
$8,000 to Working the Boats: Masters of the Craft. Funds support the production phase of a documentary film by Claire Andrade-Watkins on Local 1329 of the International Longshoremen’s Association, the first predominantly Cape Verdean labor union in New England, which was founded in Providence in 1933.
DAVISVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL $1,000 to Snuff, The Triangular Trade Route, and the Gilbert Stuart Connection. Funds support two field trips and off site workshop experiences at The Gilbert Stuart Museum for seventh graders from Davisville Middle School in North Kingstown.
DOCUMENTARY EDUCATION RESOURCES
$5,000 to Councilwoman Castillo. Funds support the development phase of a documentary film by Margo Guernsey following Providence Councilwoman Carmen Castillo and exploring themes of race, class, and gender in politics, civic participation, and the evolution of democracy in America.
NORTH SMITHFIELD HIGH SCHOOL $2,000 to
We the People. Funds support a freshman honors government class as they compete at the national We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition with 51 schools from across the country.
PRESERVE RHODE ISLAND $5,000 to Historic Tours of RI. Funds support the development phase of a documentary film by Edward Brassard that traces the history of agriculture in southern Rhode Island from native culture to present day, and explores how its social, political, and economic evolution relate to the changing character of South County.
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE $1,906 to Henry A.L. Brown Digital Letter Collection. Funds support an online exhibit of letters from the Henry A.L. Brown Collection on the Dorr Rebellion Project Site, and the development of an accompanying lesson plan guiding students in grades 8-12 on using primary source documents in an innovative way.
RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY $4,850
to Divine Providence: A City Transformed. Funds support the development phase of a documentary film by Salvatore Mancini that uses historical and contemporary visual materials to explore the city of Providence’s transformation over the past 25 years.
$5,000 to From Sail to Steam—A Study of Historical Transition in RI. Funds support the development of an educational outreach project designed to use historic primary source and published materials to illustrate the social and commercial impacts of the significant transition from sail to steam technology in the 19th century.
THE WWII FOUNDATION $10,000 to Above and
VARTAN GREGORIAN PTO $8,000 to I WAS
Beyond: The Incredible World War II Journey of Former Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun. Funds support the production phase of a documentary film by Tim Gray on the journey of WWII B–17 Flying Fortress Pilot Bruce Sundlun who would ultimately become Rhode Island’s 71st governor.
THERE PROJECT. Funds support a classroom and community project that engages 4th and 5th grade students in learning about the history of Fox Point through lessons, activities, and teacher training. The 2014 theme for the program centers around the history and impact of modes of transportation in Fox Point.
STEAMSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
GRANT HIGHLIGHTS CIVIC EDUCATION
From Sail to Steam: a Study of Historical Transition in Rhode Island
A GRANT WAS AWARDED TO THE STEAMSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA (SSHSA), a national resource headquartered
in Warwick, Rhode Island, for the development phase of a curriculum on the social and commercial impacts of the 19th-century transition from sail to steam transportation technology. The curriculum engages middle and high school students in cross-disciplinary subjects including science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, and brings history to life through the unique collection of primary source materials held by the SSHSA.
The grant allowed SSHSA to assemble a diverse and dynamic team of teachers, historians, and curriculum experts to develop ideas for robust and engaging online materials featuring items from the collection and a plan for teacher access to the content. The project helps the Society to fulfill its goal of bringing its collections into Rhode Island classrooms. “Funding for ‘From Sail to Steam’ allowed SSHSA to take the planning beyond the scope of staff efforts. Partnering with teachers and consultants added team members with deeper experience, specific knowledge, and broader contacts.” —Vera Harsh, Project Director
WESTERN RHODE ISLAND CIVIC HISTORICAL SOCIETY $1,860 to Rhode Island Model Legislature
2.0. Funds support a series of planning workshops for advisors to the Rhode Island Model Legislature program to develop online program modules in order to sustain and build the oldest model government program for high school students in the United States.
INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH GRANTS Supporting original research that uncovers Rhode Island’s untold stories and sheds new light and insight on established stories. ALEX CASERTA $2,000 to Rhode Island Nursery Farmers. Funds support a research project to record, document, and preserve the oral histories of three Rhode Island farmers as a digital photographic essay to be housed at the archives of the Rhode Island Historical Society and the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association. PAUL DAGLIERI $2,000 to Walking in Light:
The African American Gospel Church in Providence. Funds support research on the people, traditions, customs, and cultures of various storefront African American Pentecostal churches in Providence, Rhode Island. ROBB DIMMICK $2,000 to Disappearing Ink:
A Bibliography of Books by and about Rhode Island African Americans. Funds support a research project to create a comprehensive bibliography of books related to Black life, literature, and culture in Rhode Island in order to open up access to and shed light on this existing body of literature. CAROLYN GENNARI $2,000 to The Wonder Show
Presents: The Arctic Theatre Royal. Funds support research, script development, and slide creation for a series of public magic lantern performances focused on the written accounts of the early 19thcentury expeditions of Captain William Parry and his crew.
THERESA GUZMAN-STOKES $1,800 to Gilded Age Newport in Color. Funds support a research project on the lives of affluent African Americans who visited Newport between 1870–1930 and who took part in a rare opportunity for free social and cultural exchange. MARJORY O’TOOLE $2,000 to New Stories of
Enslavement: A Return to Primary Source Documents in Little Compton, RI. Funds support a research project exploring the little-known history of slavery and indentured servitude in Little Compton, Rhode Island in order to add to the growing body of work promoting new understandings of Rhode Island’s slave history. KENNETH PROUDFOOT $2,000 to Austin T. Levy, Heart of a Social Entrepreneur. Funds support a research project on the life of Rhode Island businessman, musician, community supporter, and philanthropist, Austin T. Levy (1880–1951). SYLVIA ANN SOARES $2,000 to Eddie Soares Tribute. Funds support a research project on the life and influence of Cape Verdean jazz pianist Edwin Jose “Eddie” Soares (1913–1993) of Fox Point in Providence, a prominent figure from a time when Providence’s jazz scene was lively and robust. SYLVIA ANN SOARES $2,000 to “It Is Just Defiance.” Funds support a research project focused on the life of Rhode Island sculptor Nancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890–1960) in order to develop a living history presentation on Prophet’s life and legacy. ROBERT L. TESSIER $2,000 to Anatomy of a Village: The Influence of the Lapham Family on the Development of Albion, Rhode Island. Funds support a research project on the history of the village and historic district of Albion, Rhode Island, located in the town of Lincoln.
2014 HIGHLIGHTS
streng
gthens community leadership, network, impact INCREASED CONNECTIONS through CATALYZING NEWPORT, an initiative to convene cultural and historical
organizations in Newport in to order to build audiences, expand access to the city’s history, and contribute to Newport’s economic development. CONVENED RHODE ISLAND cultural, historical, and community leaders for HUMANITIES LAB: A COMMUNITY STRATEGY SESSION to imagine a future catalyzed by public
humanities and contribute to the development of the Council’s 5-year strategic plan. EXPANDED RECOGNITION for excellence in the humanities with FOUR AWARDS: Honorary Chairs’ Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities; Tom Roberts Prize for Creative Achievement in the Humanities; Innovation in the Humanities Award; Public Humanities Scholar Award.
GRANT HIGHLIGHTS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
2014 Manton Avenue Project
GRANTS BRING MEANINGFUL HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING TO RHODE ISLANDERS, young and old. The Manton Avenue Project
(MAP) received a grant in support of their after school playwriting program that invites elementary school children in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood to unleash their creative voices and write plays on interdisciplinary themes that are professionally produced with adult actors, directors, and designers.
Through support from the Humanities Council, MAP engaged with new ideas about how their plays can function to educate as well as entertain, to move people to action as well as to move them to feel, to ask questions as well as to find solutions. MAP’s kid playwrights developed plays that raise their questions and concerns and offer their imaginative, brilliant, and compelling solutions on timely topics, such as bullying, the use of electricity and power sources, building healthy neighborhoods, and the ways that music changes lives and society. “Because of RICH’s investment in imagination, young people from an underserved community are learning each day that they have voices that matter, that their unique creative minds can inspire thought, discussion, feeling, and action in a public space, and that the arts and humanities are a crucial part of the texture of our lives.” —Meg Sullivan, Director, Manton Avenue Project
2013/14 SUPPORTERS We are grateful for the generous support of our donors, funders, and sponsors. You make this work possible. GIFTS OF $1,000+
INDIVIDUALS Joan & Richard Abrams Peter & Susan Allen in memory of Charles Sullivan Nancy Anderson Roberta Andreozzi Anonymous Cheryl Banick Al Basile M. Rachel Baxter & John C. Baxter, md Marc & Maria Bernier Judith Bertozzi Christina Bevilacqua Joseph & Mary Ann Bevilacqua Robert Billington Christy Law Blanchard & Kevin Blanchard Roger Blumberg & Cristina Mitchell Dr. & Mrs. Edwin A. Boger
Melanie & Stephen Coon Karen Daigle Daniel G. DeCelles Carol & Gerard DeCelles Diane M. Disney Dennis & Kathleen Duffy Donna & Dan Egan Sandra Enos, phd Maia & Donald Farish
Diana & Duncan Johnson V. Rolf Johnson & Derryl Johnson
James T. Patterson Helen Drew & Kenneth F. Payne
Chris Josephson
Lauren K. Perry & Todd P. Drury
Justine Karmozyn
Meghan Pike
Kate & Howard Kilguss
Nancy Potter
Albert T. Klyberg
Barry Press & Anne Scurria
Jessica L. Kowal Paula Krebs & Claire Buck
Judith Queen
Rhoda & Allen Flaxman Virginia F. Fletcher in honor of Tom Roberts
Paul & Mary Ellen Kroll
Maureen Reddy, phd
Judy Barrett Litoff, phd Drs. Richard & Carolyn Lobban
M.J. Tiernan-Reilly in honor of Dr. Mark Steinbach
Katherine Long
Angela Renaud, edd
Sharon Lux
John Richard
Marilyn J. Malina
Katherine Richardson
Lynne Malone
David T. Riedel
Dave & Elizabeth McNab in memory of William & Clarice Metz
Tom & Elizabeth Roberts
Touba Ghadessi Gayle L. Gifford & Jonathan W. Howard Risa Gilpin Norman Grant Susan & Paul Graseck Mayor Donald R. Grebien City of Pawtucket Vartan Gregorian
Anisa Raoof
Karen T. Romer
Larson Gunness & Liana Cassar
Eugene B. Mihaly
Fred & Marcia Rosenzweig
Rabbi Leslie Yale Gutterman
Adrian Moore
Rich Schweinsburg
E. Pierre Morenon
Henry & Peggy Sharpe
Bill Harley & Debbie Block in honor of Max Harley
Adrienne Morris & Stewart Martin
Deming & Jane Sherman
Louise B. Moulton
Donna HarringtonLueker & William Lueker
Frank Muhly & Bunny Harvey
Gretchen Dow Simpson & James Baird
Rebecca A. Silliman
Sue Stenhouse
Dr. Daniel Harrop III
Pearl Nathan
Marjorie Lee Sundlun
Winifred Brownell, phd
Ann Hood
John Nazarian
Thomas & Antonia Bryson
James A. Hopkins
Ken Newman
Mayor Angel Taveras, City of Providence
Polly Hutcheson & George Rice
John & Patricia Nolan
Jessica Unger
Ken Orenstein
William & Alison Vareika
James Janecek & Carol Terry
Richard S. Palmer
Sarah Stanley Weed
Andrew & Jennifer Jencks
Mary Lee Partington
George Wein
Jean & Mark Patiky
Fox Wetle
Kay Ellen Bullard Ron Caniglia Nancy & Ralf Carriuolo Betty M. Challgren Harold J. Cook
GRANT HIGHLIGHTS STANDING TOGETHER
Ajax: A Community Conversation About Returning Veterans
THE COUNCIL AWARDED A SPECIAL GRANT TO SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY’S Pell Center for Public Policy & International Relations
to support a staged production of “Ajax”—a Greek tragedy set in the Trojan War—followed by community conversations about the challenges facing veterans returning from war. The grant was made as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War initiative to support a national network of veterans-related humanities programming for military, veterans, and their communities. Presented in partnership with Salve Regina University, Providence College, and the Council, Ajax sparked a critical statewide community conversation that used the humanities as a tool for helping Rhode Islanders to untangle these complicated issues facing our state and nation. “Our production of Ajax was so far beyond what we initially envisioned. The Humanities Council believed in this project from the beginning and encouraged us to scale up a modest proposal into a truly statewide endeavor. Together, we opened up an important community conversation about the often-hidden wounds of war. Our performances brought together veterans, mental health providers, and community members to reflect on a timeless story about the experience of war.” —Dr. Robert Hackey, Pell Center Fellow
Ruth B. Whipple John White III
Festival Ballet Providence
Providence Biltmore Hotel
Trinity Repertory Company
John & Elizabeth White
Flickers
Providence Bruins
Ed & Linda Wood
Foolproof Brewing Company
Providence Children’s Film Festival
University of Rhode Island Center for the Humanities
Gracie’s
Providence Children’s Museum
Connie Worthington & Terry Tullis Mr. & Mrs. Harrison M. Wright Kyle & Kristina Zambarano
ORGANIZATIONS 1149 Restaurant
Jacksoncreative Group John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities & Cultural Heritage
Providence College Athletic Association
Johnson & Wales University
Rhode Island Festival of Children’s Books and Authors
Aaronson, Lavoie, Streitfeld, Diaz & Co.
Judd Brown Designs/ Jefferson Group Architects
Accounting Management Solutions, Inc.
Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., Ltd.
Adler Pollock & Sheehan PC
LLB Architects
Admiral Dewey Inn
Mignanelli & Associates, Ltd.
Salve Regina University Avon Cinema Blaze East Side Blue State Coffee Bosgraaf Stained Glass Studio Brown University Bryant University Bryce Studio Cable Car Cinema & Cafe Campus Fine Wines Cogut Center for the Humanities Collette Cross Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University Eastside Marketplace
Matunuck Oyster Bar
Museum of Natural History & Planetarium
Red Stripe Restivo Monacelli LLP
Wheaton College Wheaton Institute for the Interdisciplinary Humanities
Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services
The Council gratefully acknowledges the support of:
Rhode Island School of Design
Library of Congress
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts RISD Museum RiverzEdge Arts
New Urban Arts Newport Art Museum
Roger Williams University
Newport Restoration Foundation
Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation
Newport Storm Brewery
Rue De L’Espoir
Nicks on Broadway
Salve Regina University
Ocean State Theatre Company
The Sandra FeinsteinGamm Theatre
Omni Providence Hotel
Sansiveri Kimball & Co., LLP
The Performing Arts Series at Rhode Island College
William Vareika Fine Arts Ltd
Rhode Island Library Association
Museum of Work & Culture, a division of the RI Historical Society
Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP
University of Rhode Island College of Arts and Sciences
The Robinson Green Beretta Corp
School Librarians of Rhode Island Seven Stars Bakery John Russell Bartlett Society
Empire Review
The Preservation Society of Newport County
Everett: Company Stage School
ProMail, Etc.
Stewart Martin Photography
Providence Athenaeum
Theatre by the Sea
National Endowment for the Humanities Rhode Island Foundation van Beuren Charitable Foundation
2014 CELEBRATION OF THE HUMANITIES MORRIS NATHANSON, Interior Designer, Artist, and Civic Visionary; Honorary Chairs’ Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities HOLLY EWALD, Founder of the Urban Pond Procession; Tom Roberts Prize for Creative Achievement in the Humanities VARTAN GREGORIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTO’S i was there Project; Innovation in the
Humanities Award JOHN MCNIFF, Park Ranger at the Roger Williams National Memorial; Public Humanities Scholar Award
2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Larson Gunness, Chair Joan Abrams, Vice Chair Daniel P. Egan, Secretary Lynne Malone, Treasurer Phoebe Bean, mls Winnie Brownell, phd Henry Childers, dvm Shawn Christian, phd Daniel DeCelles Lauren K. Drury, Esq. Sandra Enos, phd Rhoda Flaxman, phd Bill Harley Polly Hutcheson Paula Krebs, phd Mary Lee Partington Meghan Pike Angela Renaud, edd Sue Stenhouse William Vareika
HONORARY CHAIRS Senator Jack Reed Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
2014 STAFF Elizabeth Francis, phd Executive Director SueEllen Kroll Director of Grants & Strategic Partnerships Carole Ann Penney Director of Operations Kate Lentz Director, Rhode Island Center for the Book
IMAGES & PHOTO CREDITS Our thanks to Stewart Martin/Martin Lab Photography, Matthew Ferrara Photography, and all of our grantees who have contributed photographs.
2014 Annual Report publication design by design-agency.org
Adrian Moore Development & Communications Manager Persephone Allen Grants & Programs Assistant Logan Hinderliter Program Coordinator Gina Rodriguez-Drix Expansion Arts Fellow
Kyle Zambarano, Esq.
Y A T S Join us in deepening and broadening access to history, culture, scholarship, and education to enrich and improve the lives of all Rhode Islanders.
N N CO
D E T EC
PARTICIPATE Attend a humanities event near you or apply for a grant to support your next public humanities project.
ADVOCATE Show your support for the humanities by telling policy makers the humanities matter. Write a letter, sign a petition, or share your story.
CELEBRATE Join us for the annual Celebration of the Humanities in October to mark National Arts & Humanities Month.
DONATE Give a gift to strengthen cultural, historical, and civic engagement throughout the state.
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