Georgia Humanities Awards More Than $1 Mill in American Rescue Plan Act Funds

Georgia Humanities announced that 78 museums, libraries, historical societies, colleges and universities, and other cultural organizations will receive $1,031,778 to offer programs, sustain operations, and build capacity to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Georgia Humanities received these funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the United States Congress as part of the American Rescue Plan with the charge to respond to the needs of the humanities sector in Georgia. Recipients are in each of Georgia’s 14 Congressional districts and include organizations serving rural, suburban, and urban Georgians. In addition, Georgia Humanities gave priority to diverse and inclusive programming, as well as those that serve or are led by members of communities traditionally under-resourced in the humanities.

The grants range from $2,500 to $20,000. Sample projects include hybrid programming to reach new audiences, theatre conversations in rural areas, oral histories of historic places, Spanish-language journalism, virtual tours, and the expansion of statewide humanities teacher networks.

Click here for official Georgia Humanities’ ARP grant press release >

Georgia Humanities Awards CARES Act Emergency Operating Grants

Georgia Humanities awarded $634,200 in CARES Act Emergency Operating Grants to more than 70 museums, libraries, historical societies, colleges and universities, and other organizations that offer humanities programming to Georgians.

The grants, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, were awarded based on the applicant organization’s humanities programming mission, demonstrated need, and annual operating budget. Some grants will allow organizations to keep staff employed; others will use funds to protect facilities and collections; some will offer virtual programming; and others will plan and train staff to prepare for facilities to reopen observing public health recommendations for reduced crowd size and social distancing.

Administered by Georgia Humanities, these grants were funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan appropriated by the U.S. Congress.

Learn more about our grant opportunities >

STUDENT FILMMAKER TEMPLE LESTER NAMED FOR SMITHSONIAN DOCUMENTARY SHOWCASE

The National Museum of African American History and Culture Selected Lester’s Film for a Smithsonian Learning Lab Showcase

Temple Lester, a student at Midtown International School in Atlanta, was among a select group of middle and high school students who had their National History Day documentaries screened by the Smithsonian Learning Lab.

National History Day (NHD), the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), and the Smithsonian Learning Lab selected just 35 documentary films, produced by middle and high school students  in the 2020 National History Day Contest, to be featured in an online showcase. The films were selected and screened by NMAAHC staff, and premiered Wednesday, June 17, as a special collection of the Smithsonian Learning Lab.

In order to be selected for the showcase, students needed to address topics and stories in their documentaries consistent with the mission of the NMAAHC. Each documentary also reflected the 2020 NHD theme, Breaking Barriers in History.

Lester’s ten-minute documentary, Shirley Chisholm: The Good Fight, received first place in the National History Day Georgia State Contest earlier in May.

Learn more about National History Day Georgia >