Grants:2009 Large Grant Awards


Headdress by Chamroeun Yin from a traditional Cambodian court dance. From the Institute for Cultural Partnership's Making it Better project. Photo courtesy Drew Harty.

In 2009, PHC funded 9 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.

  • American Philosophical Society Museum (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Lyons' Art Project and Public Dialogue

    The American Philosophical Society Museum received funding for a project that engages audiences in a social and educational exchange on Charles Darwin and his revolutionary albeit controversial ideas about evolution. Using parody to confound the line between art and science, print artist Beauvais Lyons presents an outdoor project in APS's Jefferson Garden that displays imaginary but seemingly real documentation of the history of animal life on earth. In addition, a dialogue featuring the artist and a humanities scholar brings the audience into this creative fusion of irony and biology.

  • Chemical Heritage Foundation (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Magic in the Air Film and Discussion Series

    The pursuit of science is a distinctly human endeavor. Accordingly, the humanities and scientific inquiry are inextricably linked, as people look to literature, film, philosophy and other fields to make sense of this "brave new world." Chemical Heritage Foundation received funding for a film series (consisting of vintage science films as well as classic science fiction) along with scholar-led discussions. The series complements CHF's exhibit Magic in the Air: Making the Quantum Leap, which explores the public's humanistic interpretations of scientific discoveries.

  • Historical Society of Dauphin County (Dauphin County)
    Project: United States Colored Troops Symposium

    Upon the conclusion of the Civil War, Union troops marched in a Grand Review, a procession through Washington DC in which leaders and citizens gathered to show their gratitude for the soldiers' sacrifice. Black troops, however, were forbidden to participate. The Historical Society of Dauphin County received funding for a symposium presenting current research on the US Colored Troops who marched in their own separate Grand Review in Harrisburg 150 years ago.

  • Institute for Cultural Partnerships (Dauphin County)
    Project: Making It Better: Folk Arts in Pennsylvania Today

    As times change, folk artists fight to keep their traditions alive and relevant in contemporary communities. Institute for Cultural Partnerships received funding to introduce communities throughout the state to everyday traditional bearers practicing West African dance, stonewall construction, square dance calls, Native American beadwork and other extraordinary art forms that rarely receive attention. A statewide traveling exhibit includes lectures, demonstrations and performances.

  • Manchester Craftsmen's Guild (Allegheny County)
    Project: Documentary and Divergence: Concurrent Solo Exhibitions

    Manchester Craftsmen's Guild received funding for a series of lectures, workshops and panel discussions constructed around the exhibition of two contemporary documentary photographers who explore women's issues. LaToya Ruby Frazier's photography comes from a local point of view, intimately documenting her family's personal struggles. Phil Borges' images offer a global perspective, capturing empowered women in remote parts of Africa, Asia and South America.

  • The Mattress Factory (Allegheny County)
    Project: The Arts and Dissent: Public Programs for the Exhibition, Queloides/Keloids

    Starting in the early 1990s, Cuban musicians, writers, visual artists, performers and academics began to denounce the persistence of racial discrimination in Cuban socialist society—a protest that was, until then, unthinkable. The Mattress Factory received funding for public programming including lectures, teacher training, concerts and discussion to engage audiences in the issues of racism, tolerance and how artists provide a voice for the disenfranchised in Cuba and around the world. This programming accompanies the exhibit Queloides/Keloids which features installations and 2-D works by 12 Cuban artists.

  • Pennsylvania Youth Theatre (Northampton County)
    Project: On the Nose: Pinocchio's Life Lessons

    Pennsylvania Youth Theatre received funding for an interactive forum that engages families in ethical questions of greed and deceit, as illustrated through characters from Yasha Frank's 1938 version of Pinocchio. Pinocchio asks audiences to help him understand Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley in 2010, encouraging them to connect the economic hardships of his time period (the Great Depression) with the challenges families face today.

  • Philadelphia Folklore Project (Philadelphia County)
    Project: The Home Place Project

    From Mexican festivals to African American storytelling, folk arts help many Pennsylvanians connect the new homes they've created with the ones they've lost, left behind or never knew. The Philadelphia Folklore Project received funding for an exhibition exploring how diverse local people have experienced displacement and how folk arts are vital tools in their processes of resettlement and place-making. The exhibit to be developed by community members documenting their own communities. Public programs allow audiences to discuss issues with community members and humanities scholars.

  • Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates (Philadelphia County)
    Project: Interpreting Philadelphia's Murals

    With over 3,000 public murals, Philadelphia could be considered a vast outdoor art gallery. Yet thousands of people walk by these works of art each day without knowledge of their meaning or the fascinating local stories they tell. To make this information more accessible, Mural Arts Program received funding to interpret two collections of murals—the Center City Outdoor Gallery and the African American History and Heritage Collection. These murals' stories to be shared with the public through downloadable cell phone audio guides, thematically relevant mural site events, guided special tours and more.

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