Congratulations to the new awardees of the Community Stories program! Cal Humanities has just made 18 awards, totaling nearly $180,000, in the latest round of this competitive grant program that supports community-centered, story-based public humanities projects about the California experience. Since the program’s inception in 2003, over 450 projects have been funded and nearly $3.7 million provided to community-based nonprofit and educational organizations in the state.
The projects funded this round will uncover stories, many previously not recorded or widely known, of significance to communities across the state as well as to California as a whole. From the experiences of Iraqi refugees endeavoring to rebuild their lives in a new home in San Diego, to those of the women who labor in the farming fields of the Central Coast, to Tulare County residents facing the effects of catastrophic drought, these and other projects will create opportunities for stories seldom voiced to be heard and expand public awareness and understanding of the many issues currently facing our state and its populace. Other projects will focus help us understand our history, by exploring and illuminating how and how Californians confronted the challenges they faced as individuals and as communities in the past.
Firmly grounded by humanities approaches, all project involve humanities advisors — scholars, journalists, documentarians, archivists, researchers and culture bearers – who will contribute knowledge and skills to these projects. Many projects will be implemented by students and community members, guided by experienced project directors and programmers working at the educational, cultural, and community organizations that serve as sponsors.
The stories uncovered through these projects will be shared with the public through a wide range of mediums, including radio and television broadcast, cable and online access, and live interactive events held in communities such as screenings and discussions of video and film products, readings and performances of story-based work, panels, forums, and even guided excursions, including a train trip for one! Each project will have a web presence to enhance visibility and accessibility.
Cal Humanities appreciates the work of all applicants and their commitment to working with us to expand our understanding of the California story. We hope you’ll stay tuned for more information as these exciting projects unfold.
THE 1947 PARTITION ARCHIVE: CALIFORNIA STORY SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The 1947 Partition Archive, Berkeley (Alameda County)
AMERICAN BABYLON
Media Arts Center San Diego, San Diego (San Diego County)
BEYOND THE FIELDS: UNTOLD STORIES OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL VALLEY
Kern Community College, Bakersfield (Kern County)
BOARDING SCHOOL STORIES
Cante Sica Foundation, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County)
DEMOCRACY IN THE FIELDS
Center for Community Advocacy, Salinas (Monterey County)
DOCKS TO DELTA: LISTENING TO THE LANDSCAPE ALONG THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR TRAIN LINE
California Institute for Rural Studies, Davis (Yolo County)
MEMORIES TO LIGHT: ASIAN AMERICAN HOME MOVIES FROM THE CENTRAL VALLEY
Center for Asian American Media, San Francisco (San Francisco County)
MIHISTORIA: SHARING STORIES OF LATINA FARMWORKERS
Chicana/Latina Foundation, Burlingame (San Mateo County)
NORTH BAY DREAMERS
Graton Day Labor Center, Graton (Sonoma County)
ON THE MAP: YOUTH TELL STORIES FROM A CHANGING CALIFORNIA
National Alliance for Media Arts + Culture, Oakland (Alameda County)
AN ORAL HISTORY OF MEXICAN AMERICANS IN SOUTH COLTON 1890-1960
California State University, San Bernardino (San Bernardino County)
RUN DRY
Media Arts Center San Diego, San Diego (San Diego County)
SAIGU REMEMBERED
Santa Monica College, Santa Monica (Los Angeles County)
SAWTELLE JAPANESE AMERICAN HISTORY: A MINECRAFT-MACHINIMA DOCUMENTARY
GameTrain Learning, Inc., Redondo Beach (Los Angeles County)
VETERANOS OF POMONA: LOCAL STORIES OF LATINOS IN THE MILITARY
Pomona College, Claremont (Los Angeles County)
THE WOMEN OF EL TORO
California State University, Fullerton, Auxiliary Services Corporation, Fullerton (Orange County)
YOUNG CITY AT WAR: STORIES FROM WEST HOLLYWOOD DURING THE AIDS EPIDEMIC
Community Partners, Los Angeles (Los Angeles County)
ZEN HOSPICE PROJECT STORYTELLING INITIATIVE
Zen Hospice Project, San Francisco (San Francisco County)
Full descriptions of the projects please click HERE.
Again, congratulations to all our grantees for their wonderful work!
Have a California story to share? For information about the next round of the Community Stories program (deadline August 3, 2015) please click HERE.
