Grants:2008 Large Grant Awards


Charles Darwin's controversial theory of evolution is the focus of an interpretive theatrical work by the American Philosophical Society Museum. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

In 2008, PHC funded 14 outstanding Large Humanities Grant projects. The awarded projects demonstrate a strong commitment to innovative humanities programming. With funding from PHC, these grantees are able to provide opportunities for ongoing learning, produce interactive and participatory programming and create and strengthen communities.

  • African American Museum in Philadelphia (Philadelphia County)
    Project: 1770-1876: Civic Dialogues on the Economy, Social Status and Color in Philadelphia

    As Shakespeare wisely stated, "what's past is prologue." Never has that rung truer than in Philadelphia, where the city's black history informs the city's present socio-economic conditions. The African American Museum in Philadelphia received funding for a series of interactive public dialogues that address the connections between where blacks lived in early Philadelphia and where they live now, early African American schooling in Philadelphia and the current state of the city's education system, African American religion in Philadelphia then and the city's black church now, and, ultimately, what lessons we can take from the 18th and 19th centuries to make Philadelphia a better city today.

  • American Philosophical Society Museum (Philadelphia County)
    Project: A Play About Darwin

    With the nation still entrenched in debate over evolution vs. creationism, the time is ripe for a fresh take on the controversial idea of evolutionism presented by Charles Darwin more than a century ago. The American Philosophical Society Museum received funding for A Play About Darwin an interpretive theatrical work that uses APS's museum exhibition, Dialogues with Darwin, as its props and set. Boldly blending history, art and science, A Play About Darwin allows a "re-created" Darwin to explain the history of the controversial concept himself.

  • Bristol Riverside Theatre (Bucks County)
    Project: America Rising and Bridges

    Theatre has the magical ability to both reflect our lives and to introduce us to human experiences different than our own. The Bristol Riverside Theatre received funding for two programs that connect plays that discuss race, sexual orientation and other relevant themes of contemporary cultural identity with both theatre lovers and those who have felt excluded from theatre in the past.

  • Cliveden of the National Trust (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Cliveden Freedom Project

    What was life like for slaves in Philadelphia? Fortunately, several generations of the Chew family of Philadelphia have collected papers that tell the true stories of slaves who were held at Cliveden, the Chews' summer home in Germantown. The Cliveden of the National Trust received funding for the development of public programs, curriculum development and technological initiatives that will engage the community with the stories of what enslaved individuals at Cliveden ate, what they wore, what they did on a daily basis and how they found ways to gain control over their own lives.

  • Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science & Art (Lackawanna County)
    Project: Day of the Dead: Art and Culture in the Americas

    Thousands of years old and still observed around the world from Mexico to Arizona, the Day of the Dead is a cultural celebration blending European and Native American traditions to commemorate the deceased. Everhart Museum received funding for a project that includes exhibit installations and interpretive programming—from home-made altars to documentary photography—related to this popular Latino celebration.

  • GoggleWorks Center for the Arts (Berks County)
    Project: The Willson History Project

    How was Willson Goggles a significant force in Reading, the American industrial revolution and the world-wide safety protection industry? The GoggleWorks Center for the Arts received funding to present a large-scale exhibit of historical artifacts and interactive learning activities depicting the rich industrial history of Willson Goggles, an innovative company that shaped an entire industry in America. The exhibit includes video stories of former Willson Goggles employees and an interview with a descendant of the company's founder.

  • Institute for Cultural Partnerships (Dauphin County)
    Project: Making it Better: Traditional Arts in Action

    How do traditional arts foster cultural identity and community? How do they facilitate spirituality? How do they provide a means to draw attention to key issues in a community and suggest new visions and social policies? The Institute for Cultural Partnerships received funding for a traveling exhibit that illuminates multiple voices and perspectives on how traditional arts function in and shape today's communities in Pennsylvania.

  • Mattress Factory (Allegheny County)
    Project: Thaddeus Mosley: Public Programs

    What happened from the 1940s to the 1960s that enabled such a large number of African Americans from the Pittsburgh area to achieve national and international success in jazz, literature and the visual arts? To help answer this question, Mattress Factory received funding for a solo exhibition of the work of sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, the foremost African-American visual artist in Western Pennsylvania. The project also includes discussions led by humanities scholars, jazz performances and poetry readings.

  • Moonstone (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Thomas Paine: The Forgotten Founding Father

    Although he sometimes is not recognized as such, Thomas Paine is a founding father of the USA. John Adams is attributed to saying, "Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain." Moonstone received funding for a project to promote knowledge of the writer of Common Sense and his influence on American history. Public programs include a monthly lecture series with speakers such as Christopher Hitchens, a workshop for public school teachers and a writing contest for high school students.

  • Peregrine Arts (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Hidden City Guidebook & Challenge

    Many of Philadelphia's under-known sites are more than hidden gems—they are works of art. Peregrine Arts received funding for Hidden City, a four-week festival that interprets and re-animates Philadelphia's unappreciated sites and histories through a dynamic installation-art project that includes a guidebook and a real-world adventure game. Through this innovative project, visitors are encouraged to engage with ideas relating to history and art in a fun, accessible way.

  • Philadelphia Folklore Project (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Culture Camp

    The Philadelphia Folklore Project received funding for a project that engages the community with Cambodian and Liberian traditions that have been threatened and affected by revolution, civil war and massive displacement. Two week-long programs offer intensive instruction in Liberian and Cambodian dance and culture to youth by some of the most accomplished artists in the region. Also to be offered to a general audience are workshops, lectures, screenings and discussions on Cambodian and Liberian dance, music, folklife and history.

  • Senior Community Services (Delaware County)
    Project: Coming North: Black Chester's Stories of Trials and Triumphs

    From the Chester race riots in 1918 to World War II, what was life like for African Americans in Chester during the '40s, '50s and '60s? Senior Community Services received funding for a dynamic performance-lecture that draws from research and the personal histories of older Chester residents. Richly layered with dramatic vignettes and music, the production creatively tells the story of the 20th century black experience in Chester.

  • Society for Contemporary Craft (Allegheny County)
    Project: Beyond Shared Language: Contemporary Art and the Latin American Experience

    Although they often are lumped together, Latin Americans are not a monolithic group. Though they share the Spanish language, they are individuals who differ vastly by country of origin, migration patterns, socio-economic profiles, language dialects and physical characteristics. The Society for Contemporary Craft received funding for a major exhibition that offers audiences an opportunity to think critically about Latin Americans' multicultural perspectives and differing views on the American experience. The exhibit includes work by 15 diverse US artists of Latin American descent. A food and music festival, artist demos and school curriculum packages accompany the program.

  • Spiral Q Puppet Theater (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Silkscreening: Resistance and Dissent

    From the Harlem Renaissance to the Vietnam War, there is a rich history of people turning to art as a form of activism during times of unrest. Spiral Q Puppet Theater received funding for a project that examines the role of silkscreen art in apartheid South Africa along with works from Civil Rights era to present day Philadelphia. The exhibition and accompanying programs educate audiences about both the cultural and technological reasons for the widespread use of silkscreening in social movements as well as its effectiveness in supporting social change.

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