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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- December 20, 2004
Contact: Scott Hirko, Public Relations Officer
(517) 372-7770 -- shirko [at] michiganhumanities.org

COUNCIL AWARDS $75,000 IN GRANTS

Council distributes $75,000 in grants for six projects, including Michigan Shipwreck Museum, U-M Arts of Citizenship, Presque Isle District Library, Humanities Council of West Central Michigan, Michigan Historical Museum, and the Houghton Lake Public Library.

(LANSING)-----The Michigan Humanities Council announces the Michigan Shipwreck Museum in Sault Ste. Marie has been awarded a $15,000 Humanities Project Grant for "Interpretive Panels: U.S. Coast Guard Surfboat House." The Council announces it has also awarded an additional $59,444 in grants, including: $15,000 to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Arts of Citizenship Program for "The Children of Abraham Project: Exhibits and Resources"; $15,000 to the Presque Isle District Library of Rogers City for "Expressions of Freedom"; $12,500 to the Humanities Council of West Central Michigan of Big Rapids for "One Book: Ten Communities"; $9,500 to the Michigan Historical Museum of Lansing for "Movers and Seekers: Michigan Immigrants and Migrants"; and, $7,444 to the Houghton Lake Public Library for "AfterWords." Michigan Humanities Council awarded the total of $74,444 for these six grants as part of its program, "Strengthening Michigan's Communities Through the Humanities," which emphasizes collaboration among cultural, educational and community-based organizations and institutions to serve Michiganians today with public humanities projects and programs.

MICHIGAN SHIPWRECK MUSEUM: "Interpretive Panels: U.S. Coast Guard Surfboat House."
" This project perfectly represents the humanities by creating an educational exhibit about the history of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the U.S. Coast Guard at Whitefish Point," said Janice Fedewa, Executive Director of the Michigan Humanities Council. "It will help provide important understanding about the life and times of those individuals who participated in rescue occupations on the Great Lakes from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries."

The Michigan Humanities Council's funding for "Interpretive Panels: U.S. Coast Guard Surfboat House" will support the creation of ten interpretive display panels to be permanently fixed in the recently restored 1923 U.S. Coast Guard Surfboat House exhibit at the Shipwreck Museum. The Museum will seek professional humanities scholars to increase the compiled body of knowledge about the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Station activities on Lake Superior. These humanities professionals will help to create the text and images for the exhibit. The exhibit is planned to open to the general public on May 1, 2006.

" One of the most exciting, yet largely unrecognized stories found in Great Lakes History is of the men and women of the United States Life-Saving Service," said Tom Farnquis, Executive Director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.  "Michigan Humanities Council funding will pay for professionally designed interpretive panels for exhibits in the restored Surfboat House building at the Whitefish Point Light Station, part of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum complex at Whitefish Point. Panels are to include dramatic stories of rescue by the Life-Saving Service and U.S. Coast Guard. Panels will interpret many historic images and artifacts found within this colorful subject of Michigan's humanities." For more information about the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, please visit www.shipwreckmuseum.com or call 800-635-1742.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-ANN ARBOR ARTS OF CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM: "The Children of Abraham Project: Exhibits and Resources"
The Arts of Citizenship at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor will provide an exhibit and educational tools to enhance the exploration of the common roots of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity through a dramatic performance. The play, The Children of Abraham, was written by Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and in 2004 has been performed in conjunction with the Pathways to Peace Foundation and many other southeast Michigan organizations. The Arts of Citizenship program will create a multimedia lobby exhibit and resource packet to enhance audience knowledge of the three religions and of the many ethnic groups. The materials, to be completed in early 2005, will tour with the play regionally and nationally.

PRESQUE ISLE DISTRICT LIBRARY OF ROGERS CITY: "Expressions of Freedom"
The Presque Isle District Library (PIDL) will coordinate a multi-disciplinary project focused on the theme of freedom that uses music, oral histories, essays, poetry and mixed media. Now through February 2005, PIDL and area schools will express freedom through oral history, essay, poetry, music and mixed-medium art forms. In January 2005, the Acting Up Theatre Group will explore "freedom" with a performance to area school students; in February 2005, teachers and facilitators will partner with PIDL to implement a "We the People" bookshelf to all secondary grade levels; and, from May through July 2005, the Moran Iron Works will display at PIDL locations 'Field of Freedom" metal art sculptures. 

HUMANITIES COUNCIL OF WEST CENTRAL MICHIGAN OF BIG RAPIDS : "One Book: Ten Communities"
The Humanities Council of West Central Michigan (HCWCM) will coordinate a rural reading program around the text, Enslaved by Ducks (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, N.C., 2003), by local author Bob Tarte. The HCWCM will ask local, rural librarians to identify and train discussion facilitators, schedule at least two discussion sessions in each participating library from March through May 2005.

MICHIGAN HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF LANSING: "Movers and Seekers: Michigan Immigrants and Migrants"
The Michigan Historical Museum will present Michigan's patterns of migration and ethnicity through an exhibit and educational materials for teachers. Movers and Seekers will present vignettes of children and young adult immigrants and migrants - their journeys to Michigan from distant homelands, their challenges and experiences while settling in Michigan and their dreams and contributions to Michigan life. The exhibit is to open on February 19, 2005. An opening evening reception is planned for March 3, 2005, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Michigan Historical Center in Lansing. An Ethnic Fest is also planned for March 27, 2005, to feature ethnic dance, music, crafts and food. As part of this project, five Sunday afternoon individual ethnic festivals are also planned for the Michigan Historical Center in 2005: a Polish Fest, a Mexican Fest, an African American Fest, an Arab Fest, and a Jewish Fest.

HOUGHTON LAKE PUBLIC LIBRARY: "AfterWords"
The Houghton Lake Public Library will coordinate a two-part reading program for students. The first part, which began in November, is "Popcorn & Pages," a book discussion for the 6th through 8th grades. The second part is a "Battle of the Books" competitive reading program for 100 or more children in the 4th and 5th grades. Bucking the Sarge (Random House, 2004) author Christopher Paul Curtis will visit the area on January 25 and 26 as part of this project and to help kick off the "Battle of the Books." 

For more information on each of these grants, please feel free to contact Michigan Humanities Council at 517-372-7770 or visit www.michiganhumanties.org.

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