Stories That Connect Us: Meet the 2026 Project Grant Recipients

Coulterville Historical Society (Coulterville, IL) 
The collaborative project will be a storytelling event involving Coulterville Historical Society and Museum and high school students from Coulterville High School to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

Peoria Proud (Peoria, IL) 
INQUEERY, a bi-monthly humanities podcast, will produce 12 episodes exploring Central Illinois queer history and storytelling, amplifying queer voices and fostering civic engagement. 

Quincy Juneteenth Organization (Quincy, IL)
A community-focused celebration will honor African American freedom, resilience and achievement. The event will bring people together through music, food, and education, and will feature live performances and vendors.

Ten Thirty-One Pictures Foundation (Woodford, IL)
The humanities will continue to be available to a community that yearns to hear, see and engage in new experiences and opportunities. Conversation events that have started will continue and develop through this award. 

The Community Archive (St. Clair, IL) 
River of Remembrance is a guided tour of the 1917 East St. Louis Race Massacre. Actors will embody historical figures, offering reenactments inspired by archival materials and survivors’ oral histories. 

The Friends of the Mount Carroll District Library NFP (Mount Carroll, IL)
The humanities will continue to be available to a community that yearns to hear, see and engage in new experiences and opportunities. Conversation events that have started will continue and develop through this award.

The Realitea Project Inc. (Toledo, IL)
A restorative community dinner with three rounds of dialogue will uplift local history and lived experience and will feature storytelling to honor Black women’s leadership and cultural legacy.

Briana Mariam Thomas – “Devon-Ki-Awaz” 
“Devon-Ki-Awaz” is a place-based oral history and portrait project on Devon Avenue, documenting local voices and presenting stories within neighborhoods to preserve and return cultural memory. 

Chih-Jou Cheng – Interactive Dance Project 
Cheng envisions an interactive dance-theatre project exploring Taiwanese immigrant experiences. Through movement, exhibition and dialogue, it asks how belonging is shaped by memory, migration and community. 

Dorrah Alharbi – “Little Palestine Project” 
“The Little Palestine Project” is an object-based oral history initiative preserving the histories of the Arab immigrant community known as Little Palestine located in Chicago’s southwest suburbs. 

NaBeela Washington – “Bending Water” 
“Bending Water” documents Black farmers across Illinois through portraits and oral histories, culminating in a farmers’ market-style exhibition celebrating their resilience and expertise 

Erika Ray – “Mud Theatre Project” 
“Look at Me” is an oration of historical violence written and directed by incarcerated women survivors of domestic violence. Their stories will be digitally archived and presented at the Resilience Arts Festival. 

Tiffany Johnson – “OutbyTen Assembly” 
“OutbyTen Assembly” are facilitated sessions on Black artistic and archival community practices in the Midwest. The intimate sessions center on community practices as critical sites for preservations. 

Toussaint Daniels – “Spitfire” 
“Spitfire” teaches conflict resolution through spoken word poetry for justice-impacted youth, creating space to express rage without repercussion while learning Chicago history. 

About Face Theatre Collective (Chicago, IL) 
Funds will support 6 touring productions of “Life Out Loud: Voices of Pride,” an interactive theatre-based show that explores queer history and advocacy to build community among audiences. 

Chicago Dance History Project (Chicago, IL) 
Funds will support “Chicago Dance Legacies,” a 3-part series of public programs platforming dance artists and their community’s creative practice, in partnership with local organizations rooted in 3 underserved communities. 

Chicago Poetry Center (Chicago, IL) 
Through the “We Are Chicago” project, Chicago Poetry Center will lead workshops to create a short film and discussion guide featuring Chicago Public School students sharing original poems about their lived experience with immigration. 

Community TV Network (Chicago, IL) 
Using Democratic National Committee footage shot by youth in 2024, students will learn the importance of civics by writing, producing and editing a film to answer the question: “why should youth be involved in politics?” 

Kyn 43 (Chicago, IL) 
“Black & Bronze” activates Bronzeville’s history through archival interpretation, oral history, poetry and youth storytelling, transforming a festival into a participatory public humanities experience. 

NONop Arts and Humanities (Chicago, IL) 
“Listening Across Neighborhoods” is a community engagement program that will combine acoustic ecology, leadership development and public dialogue to build relationships and preserve neighborhood character. 

Reimagine Justice Illinois (Chicago, IL) 
Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative alumni navigating reentry will participate in Reimagine Justice Illinois training integrated with humanities-based storytelling. SGLAI will use Reimagine Justice Illinois in programming where trained participants will serve as facilitators. 

The Freadom Road Foundation (Chicago, IL) 
Quarterly literacy programs at Cook County Jail will feature stories of transformation, books and dialogue. Relationships with the Illinois Department of Corrections will be built to explore future enrichment opportunities.