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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- April 18, 2004
Contact: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer
(517) 372-7770 -- shirko [at] michiganhumanities.org

GREAT LAKES FOLK FESTIVAL, 4-H FOUNDATION AWARDED $21,000 IN GRANTS

(LANSING)-----Michigan Humanities Council and Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) announce that the MSU Museum has been awarded a grant of $15,000 for the humanities project “Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture” at the Great Lakes Folk Festival and the Michigan 4-H Foundation has been awarded a $5,842 grant for the “Michigan Barn and Farmstead Survey.” Michigan Humanities Council awarded the grants as part of its mission to foster intellectual and cultural life in Michigan communities.

“These projects are emblematic of Michigan Humanities Council’s goal to enhance the understanding and impact of the different cultures that make up our society,” said Janice Fedewa, Executive Director of Michigan Humanities Council. “Both these projects explore and present historical and cultural traditions for future generations. These are important pieces of our heritage we cannot afford to lose.”

"These Humanities Council grants are important to help community organizations preserve and protect our local heritage, history and culture," said Congressman Rogers. "To build a strong healthy tomorrow, we need to respect, understand and remember yesterday."

“Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture” will employ humanities scholars to research local rap music and hip hop culture and provide public performances at the Great Lakes Folk Festival, to be held August 13-15 in downtown East Lansing. The project will include an exhibit and accompanying information in the festival program guide. The goals of the project include raising awareness of the general public about the place of rap music and hip-hop culture in contemporary society as a form of expressive culture; lessen the stereotypes about hip hop; introduce outsiders to the aesthetics of hip hop; and, use interactive activities to highlight the cultural and historic significance of rap music and hip hop culture of various ethnicities, religions and regions of Michigan and the nation.

"We're looking forward to a very dynamic festival program that will provide insight into the meaning, significance and artistry of hip hop culture and traditions in a way that many people haven't experienced it before," notes Yvonne Lockwood, curator of folklife at the MSU Museum, and the program's coordinator.

Funding for the “Michigan Barn And Farmstead Survey” will be used to conduct workshops to train individuals who will conduct the survey and to enter the survey results in a database. Since 2000, volunteers for the project have travelled the roads of Michigan, documenting the architectural features of barns and farmsteads with photography, mapping and survey forms. The survey is currently underway in 26 counties (in 208 townships), with 4-H youth and staff involved in 15 of the county surveys. The database is currently available online at museum.msu.edu/s-program/mtap/barn. Michigan Humanities Council provided the funding to launch the program in 2000. "This grant from Michigan Humanities Council will help Michigan 4-H continue to document Michigan's historic barns and farmsteads,” stated LuAnne Kozma, Assistant Curator at the MSU Museum and the project’s director. “This statewide effort allows Michigan citizens to be involved in historic preservation on a grassroots, community level."

Michigan Humanities Council, founded in 1974, is the state’s independent, non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.