Illinois Humanities Awards Over $55,000 in Grant Funding to 21 Organizations and Individuals

Vision and Action Grants

All grantee partner below received Action Grants, with the exception of one Vision Grant, noted with an asterisk* 

• ¡Anímate! Studio (Chicago) for “Unearthing Layers, Connecting Stories,” which brings together Southwest Side residents to witness, respond to, and connect with each other through creative writings by community-based authors.  
• Howard Brown Health (Chicago) for “Artful Aging: Sharing the Stories of LGBTQ+ History and Resilience,” eight-week sessions that engage LGBTQ elders with artistic and humanistic expressions.  
• Narratives QC (Rock Island) for “Second Annual Creative Arts Showcase,” an event where participants will share poetry and self-expression learned from a series of Spoken Word workshops. 
• Parole Illinois (Chicago) for “Extreme Sentencing in Illinois,” a dozen or more high-quality, graphic zines each covering a sentencing policy to explain the history of mass incarceration in Illinois.  
• Johnson County Genealogical & Historical Society (Vienna) for “History Goes Virtual in Johnson County,” 15 documentary virtual exhibitions featuring its collection accompanied by historian commentary. 
• Dwight Historical Society (Dwight) for “Digital Asset Production,” an initiative to expand its digital archive, enhance user experience, and produce a video documenting the history of the town.  
• The HUB Arts & Cultural Center* (Rushville) for “3 Year Strategic Plan,” which will aid operations and support its robust, all-ages programming. 
• Kuumba Lynx (Chicago) for “We Fly 2.0,” a multimedia poetry and literacy program for students in grades 3-12 featuring 14 interactive poetry-making installations.  (Featured image: Kuumba Lynx Performer Photo by Eric Michael Clarke, eClark Photo) 
• Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (Chicago) for “Creating Our Cultural Stories,” a youth storytelling course and showcase led by storyteller Dr. Ada Cheng.  
• Elmhurst Art Museum (Elmhurst) for “Muses: An Evening of Jazz,” a curated event of jazz, poetry, and nostalgia that explores the inspirations behind the exhibit, A Love Supreme, a series of works by 35 BIPOC artists and designers.  
• Gilloury Institute DBA Silk Road Cultural Center (Chicago) for “Polycultural Storytelling Workshops,” four-session programs that center the flexibility of racial and ethnic identities and underline the intricate ties between different communities. 
• DeKalb County History Center (Sycamore) for “Food: Gathering Around the Table,” five podcasts exploring the theme of food: including rural restaurants, Potawatomi foodways, food trucks, food insecurity, and Latino food.  

Activate History Microgrants

• Ana Croegaert (Cook County) for “Stories from the Field archives” 
• Black & Brown Femme Films (Will County) for “The Vibe Museum Celebrating Women of Color in Pop Culture”  
• Black Cornerstones Project (Cook County) for “Building Blocks: An Oral History of Chicago Block Clubs”  
• City of Macomb Illinois (McDonough County) for “William Thorpe Memorial Park”   
• The Hub – Arts and Cultural Center (Schuyler County) for “The $5 Dollar Doctor / Celebrating Dr. Dohner”   
• Jacqueline E. Luciano (Cook Cty) for “Breathing for Justice: Exploring the Intersections between Long Covid & Racial Justice”  
• Peoria Historical Society (Peoria County) for “Playing in Peoria: The Golden Age of Theater in Central Illinois” 
• Theodore Williams (Cook County) for “The Story of 227: From Kennedy-King College to Hollywood”  
• Winnebago Community Historical Society (WCHS) (Winnebago County) for “National Library Week Theme: Ready. Set. Library”