Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, the Newberry Library and a Northeastern Illinois University professor were among 224 grant recipients who on Tuesday were awarded substantial funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Grants totaling $22.5 million were awarded to institutions and individuals across the country to fund numerous projects/programs in the field of humanities including the development, production and distribution of radio and television programs, documentary films and podcasts, archival research and curriculum innovation.
Some notable projects funded by the grants will include a two-hour film on author L. Frank Baum and the legacy of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (Baum wrote the classic novel while living in Chicago’s Humboldt Park) and a film documenting the life of singer and civil rights pioneer Marian Anderson, among others.
The Field Museum will receive a $399,357 grant to fund “First Kings of Europe: The Emergence of Hierarchy in the Prehistoric Balkans,” a traveling exhibition that showcases the evolution of hierarchy in prehistoric southeastern Europe.
The Newberry Library — a Chicago educational institution that specializes in independent research — received a $382,500 grant to fund stipends for five fellowships.
“In these somber times, when every individual, community, and organization in America is feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, it is a joy to be able to announce new projects that will produce vibrant humanities programs and resources for the reopening of our cultural centers and educational institutions,” said NEH chairman Jon Parrish Peede in a statement announcing the 2020 recipients.
Northeastern Illinois University history professor Joshua Salzmann was awarded a $6,000 grant for “The History of Gun Control in Chicago, 1968–2010,” an academic journal article he plans to write.
Other Chicago area entities to receive grants include:
- Northern Illinois University ($348,630) to digitize story papers
- Joliet’s St. Francis University received a $34,999 humanities connections planning grant to fund a new curriculum of courses for incoming freshmen
- The Society of Architectural Historians received a $59,982 grant for their collaboration with the University of California’s Riverside and Santa Barbara campuses to preserve 35mm camera slide collections.
