The New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH) recently awarded $48,665 in Incubation Grant funding to ten organizations. Incubation grants help organizations plan, research, prototype, and experiment. Grantee institutions will use the grant funds to plan or pilot vibrant humanities programs throughout the state.
Public humanities programs allow individuals to share in the exploration of history, values, culture, and beliefs. NJCH supports and acts as a resource for cultural and service-oriented nonprofit partners as they bring audience-focused public humanities experiences to the citizens of New Jersey.
Grants were awarded to:
• Atlantic Health System ($5,000) to expand the Healing Voices Workshop Series: From the Heart of Medicine program, which offers opportunities for caregivers to support their own health and well-being through literary, performing, and visual arts.
• Bloomfield Public Library ($5,000) to examine the narratives that shape the LGBTQ+ experience in Bloomfield and beyond, and as part of the broader American experience.
• Bongiorno Productions, in conjunction with the Renaissance Newark Foundation, ($3,800) to assemble a think tank of medical professionals to work with the makers of the film The Black Monk to create curricular materials around the film for use in medical schools.
• coLAB Arts ($5,000) to produce a series of workshops that creatively engage participants in how American communities punish and forgive convicted murderers.
• Isles, Inc. ($5,000) to conduct planning and research necessary in the development of a series of tours that challenge the common narrative about Trenton.
• Montclair History Center ($5,000) to conduct a series of community oral history interviews in advance of Montclair’s 150th anniversary in 2018.
• Montclair State University ($4,920) to create written and oral Haitian Creole translations of 18th century French archival sources on political life, commerce, and the lives of people of color as part of a larger digital humanities project, “A Colony in Crisis.”
• NJ Historical Society ($5,000) to further develop programming that explores best practices for presenting and discussing difficult issues in African American history (in collaboration with project partners Trent House, Stoutsburg-Sourland African American Museum, and Grounds for Sculpture).
• Perkins Center for the Arts ($5,000) to examine folklore, art, and culture through the lens of food traditions in three South Jersey counties.
• Roebling Museum ($4,945) to explore ways that the museum can invite public collaboration, contribution, and interaction with the collections and archives.
“Incubation grants allow organizations to deeply investigate a question,” said Director of Grants and Programs Gigi Naglak. “They support innovative practice and encourage partnerships, all of which help New Jersey’s cultural institutions to better serve the diverse people of this state. The New Jersey Council for the Humanities is proud to support the development of these meaningful and vibrant programs.”
As a humanities-focused nonprofit regranting organization, NJCH awards Incubation Grants from $1,000 to $5,000 to experiment, research, prototype, and consider new models and topics for public humanities programs. NJCH also awards Action Grants, from $2,000 to $20,000, to implement or expand programs. Organizations interested in learning more about NJCH’s grant program should visit the website at www.njch.org/grants.
