For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Cherie Hill, Communications Manager, chill@calhum.org
California Humanities Receives $20,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
Funds Will Support A Touring Program of Independent Films at Community Colleges Throughout California
January 30, 2020
(Oakland, CA) — California Humanities has been awarded a $20,000 Art Works grant to support a touring program of independent documentary films at community colleges throughout California. Overall, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has approved 1,187 grants totaling $27.3 million in the first round of fiscal year 2020 funding to support arts projects in every state in the nation, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
California Humanities will implement a travelling statewide screening and discussion series of films curated from the California Documentary Project (CDP) grant program. Filmmakers will travel with their films to present each screening, participate in a post-screening dialogue with attendees, and engage with local audiences, starting with community colleges that have ongoing relationships with California Humanities. In subsequent years the program will expand to partner with community organizations, public libraries, and other more non-traditional venues. The overall goal is to develop a sustainable, replicable, far-reaching program that will provide engaging content at no cost to underserved communities throughout the state.
“For 45 years we have been the leading funder of documentary films by, for, and about Californians,” said California Humanities President and CEO Julie Fry. “After many years successfully funding documentary films, our intent now is to help get them to California audiences that may not have had the opportunity to see them, and to offer an opportunity to discuss these uniquely California issues and topics with the filmmaker and their community.”
In addition to exposing new audiences to films with rich, timely subject matter, this project allows California Humanities to support filmmakers beyond grantmaking, by facilitating and funding their participation in these screenings and broadening exposure for their work.
“The arts are at the heart of our communities, connecting people through shared experiences and artistic expression,” said NEA Chair Mary Anne Carter. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support projects like this touring film program from California Humanities.”
The NEA’s Art Works funding category supports projects that focus on public engagement with, and access to, various forms of excellent art across the nation; the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence; learning in the arts at all stages of life; and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.
For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA HUMANITIES
California Humanities, a nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, promotes the humanities – focused on ideas, conversation and learning – as relevant, meaningful ways to understand the human condition and connect people to each other in order to help strengthen California. California Humanities has provided grants and programs across the state since 1975. To learn more, visit calhum.org, or like and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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