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OCH awards more than $43,000 to nonprofits across the state (November 15, 2007)

Fourteen organizations receive grants to support humanities programming.

A lecture by an exiled Iraqi museums director, a curriculum to train citizens to become radio journalists, and workshops to collect community knowledge in two small Oregon towns are three of the 14 projects that received public program grants from the Oregon Council for the Humanities (OCH) this fall.

Following the most competitive fall grant cycle in years, the OCH board of directors has awarded $43,605 grants to 14 nonprofit organizations for projects that will affect communities across the state. The grants ranged from $1,800 to $5,000. OCH Public Program Grants are offered twice each year and support programs that are designed to explore the humanities in participatory and dynamic ways.

OCH Public Program Director Carol Hickman says the staff and board were pleased with the quality and diversity of the proposals, which varied widely in location and content. "We believe these projects will give public audiences exposure to the best humanities work happening in the state," Hickman says.

Hickman adds that, on the whole, the projects in this grant cycle have a strong focus on Oregon-based content. Additionally, she says, "Many reflect a process of public inquiry rather than merely providing information."

OCH Public Program Grant recipients for the fall 2007 cycle are as follows:

Bend--$1,803 to Deschutes Historical Museum for Author Afternoons, which bring together local audiences and published authors in dialogue about the range of literary and humanities resources available in Oregon.

Bend--$2,250 to Bend Community Radio to develop a curriculum for KPOV's Citizen Journalist Program.

The Dalles--$2,000 to Columbia Gorge Community College for its 2008 Spring Humanities Series that will feature writers, artists and human rights defenders exploring the theme of social justice.

Enterprise--$4,000 to Fishtrap, Inc., for Wallowa County Reads, which will bring more than 1,200 adults and students together to read Craig Lesley's "River Song."

Eugene--$3,000 to Archaeological Legacy Institute to feature Donny George, exiled former director general of the Iraqi Museums and chair of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, as the keynote speaker for the Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival in 2008.

Newport--$2,052 to Newport Public Library Foundation for Newport Reads 2008, which encourages parents, teens and community members to read together.

Pendleton--$2,000 to Arts Council of Pendleton to team an oral historian with teenage filmmakers to study oral history techniques and record interviews with five working artists in Eastern Oregon.

Portland--$2,500 to Disjecta for the Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival, which showcases innovative new works in film and video.

Portland--$2,500 to Friends of Tryon Creek State Park for a public lecture series linked to the exhibition "Natural Cycles: Art in the Forest," which explores the connection between nature, science and art.

Portland--$5,000 to Oregon Council of Teachers of English to convene workshops that will document community knowledge in Coos Bay and Madras and will serve as contributions to the Oregon Encyclopedia Project.

Portland--$3,500 to Portland Center Stage for a series of events focusing on Ken Kesey's influence in the state's literary and public arenas, in conjunction with the theater's production of "Sometimes a Great Notion" in April 2008.

Portland--$5,000 to Reed College for a series of free public lectures and seminars by leading African American artists, in conjunction with the Cooley Gallery's exhibition "Working History."

Portland--$5,000 to Sojourn Theatre for "Throwing Bones," a new theater piece exploring issues of health and mortality through multicultural perspectives.

St. Helens--$3,000 to Friends of the St. Helens Public Library for South Columbia County Everybody Reads. The featured book is "The Maltese Falcon" and the featured speaker is mystery novelist Phillip Margolin.

Please visit the Oregon Council for the Humanities website (www.oregonhum.org) for information and guidelines for the spring 2008 grant cycle.

The Oregon Council for the Humanities (812 SW Washington St, #225, Portland, OR 97205) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that is dedicated to the belief that knowledge and ideas are fundamental to the health of our communities. More information about OCH's programs and publications, which include Oregon Chautauqua, Humanity in Perspective, Young Scholars Grants, Teacher Institutes, Commonplace Lectures, and Oregon Humanities magazine, can be found at www.oregonhum.org.

For more information, please contact Carol Hickman, Public Program Director, at (503) 241-0543 or chickman@oregonhum.org.