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LEH seeks annual humanities award nominations
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 The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities is now accepting nominations (Nov. 15th deadline) for its Annual Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities, including the Humanist of the Year, Michael P. Smith Award for Documentary Photography, Humanities Teacher of the Year, Humanities Book of the Year, the Chair's Institutional Award for Support of the Humanities, etc. For a complete description of each award and the nomination process, click here.
LEH Annual Awards Banquet
Mark this date - March 21, 2009, at Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow, La.
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LEH and Smithsonian's "Museum on Main Street" visits Ferriday
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 A major traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition on the roots of American music will be on display through Dec. 5 at the Delta Music Museum and the recently reopened Arcade Theatre next door. Sponsored in Louisiana by the LEH, "New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music" explores the American story through the diverse musical genres that evolved from our nation's unique blending of cultures and experiences. Through panel displays and interactive kiosks, the exhibition includes material on sacred songs, blues, country, rock'n'roll and more. Ferriday will mount a local exhibition and present public humanities programs that showcase our state's rich and diverse musical heritage. For more information, contact the Delta Music Museum at 318-757-9999.
Picture above, left to right, are Ferriday Mayor Glen McGlothin, Delta Music Museum Director Judith Bingham, LEH Assistant Director of Grants Rachel Norman, Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, Smithsonian Institution Chief Information Officer Ann T. Speyer, and Louisiana Rep. Andy Anders.
This month, organizers will offer the following public programs in conjunction with the exhibition:
- Nov. 1, 7 p.m: The Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble and Dr. Joyce M. Jackson of Louisiana State University present an informance on the sacred Afro-Caribbean Easter ritual.
- Nov. 8, 7 p.m: Duo Po' Henry and Tookie and Dr. Susan Roach of Louisiana Tech University present an informance on the blues genre.
- Nov. 14, 7 p.m: Joe Cook and the Joe Cook Family Band present an informance on bluegrass gospel.
- Nov. 22, 7 p.m: Various artists present an historical interpretation of Southern musical forms ranging from 19th-century spirituals through the early rock'n'roll era.
- Nov. 29, 7 p.m: Kenny "Bill" Stinson and Dr. Susan Roach present an informance on the birth of rockabilly.
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LEH website high-tech updates
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 In recent months, the LEH, as part of the NEH Digital Humanities Initiative, has added more and more digital features to its homepage www.leh.org. Previously posted were a 360-degree virtual tour of the Louisiana Humanities Center and the page-turning, digital publication of Louisiana Cultural Vistas. Also previously posted was a PDF show of the first phases of our emerging digital encyclopedia of Louisiana history and culture, KnowLA. By November, we will post a dramatically improved and evolved video view of KnowLA.
More recently, the LEH added a video of a panel/presentation of the History of the Creole Wild West (one of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tribes), a program filmed and edited by LEH staff member Andrea Ferguson, during an event that took place at the LEH's Humanities Center. Also posted was an innovative video by Lafayette artist Francis Pavy, who designed the special LEH lapel pin. In addition, the LEH added the second of what will be regular quarterly interviews of LEH Executive Director and President Michael Sartisky that appeared on New Orleans public television station WLAE. Here, Dr. Sartisky talked about recent LEH programs and forthcoming issues of Louisiana Cultural Vistas. This one can be viewed directly at www.leh.org/html/wlae_interview.html.
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KnowLA On-line Encyclopedia of Louisiana
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 KnowLA, the LEH's on-line encyclopedia of Louisiana history and culture, has moved into a new phase. We are now actively contacting writers and soliciting entries for the encyclopedia, and Dr. Janet Allured (McNeese State University), section editor for Women in Louisiana History, has energized an exciting roster of contributors. Their topics range from Storyville and its notorious Blue Books, to the Sisters of the Holy Family, Cammie Henry, plaçage, and Native American women in 20th-century Louisiana.
Kyle Raese, our intern from Tulane University's Center for Public Service, is developing a multimedia tour of historic landmarks in the New Orleans area. He will present his project at the CPS's end-of-semester showcase in December. In addition, KnowLA staff is in discussion about partnering with a Tulane faculty member for a service-learning course in the spring.
KnowLA editors Cathy Corder and Joyce Miller attended the recent Southern Historical Association conference in New Orleans and met with several potential writers, as well as with Charles Reagan Wilson, co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. Professor Wilson shared his experiences in developing an encyclopedia. For more information about KnowLA, contact Cathy Corder at corder@leh.org or at 504-620-2637.
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Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine
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 The Winter 2008-09 edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas will debut Dec.1st, featuring a cover story promoting "Prospect.1 New Orleans," the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States. The exhibit is citywide at arts venues across the city from Nov. 1, 2008 through Jan. 18, 2009. Over the course of its eleven-week run, "Prospect.1 New Orleans" plans to draw international media attention, creative energy, and new economic activity to the city of New Orleans. Other features readers can look forward to include:
- A tribute to the late photographer Michael P. Smith by Jason Berry. Smith, a renowned New Orleans photographer, was lauded for his images of African-American spiritual life, second-line parades, Mardi Gras Indians and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
- A history of the Colfax Massacre, a brutal episode in Reconstruction-era North Louisiana.
- A look at Greek Key doorframes, a distinctive architectural element in antebellum New Orleans.
- A display of exquisite waterfowl decoys recently on exhibit at The Historic New Orleans Collection under the title "Birds of a Feather."
- A photo essay of Depression-era Louisiana by O. Winston Link, a photographer who became most famous for his photographs of steam locomotives.
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PRIME TIME holds bilingual program in Oklahoma
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 With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to expand bilingual PRIME TIME nationally, the Pioneer Public Library System in Oklahoma has implemented successful programs in three of their libraries. PRIME TIME Senior Consultant Dianne Brady conducted a site visit on Oct. 21 to the Moore, Okla., Public Library where some 50 enthusiastic Spanish-speaking participants gathered for their third session.
Community building was in evidence with the Rotary Club of Moore providing and serving the meals each week. Churches, schools, TV and radio stations serving the Latino communities assisted in recruiting families and the local newspaper is donating copies for each session.
Anne Masters, director of the Pioneer Library System, confirmed that PRIME TIME is effectively reaching this segment of their population and changing their attitudes and behaviors toward reading and the library. One participant approached Brady and library staff to express appreciation for the library offering a program that has changed the way she and her husband read and talk with their children about books. She also thanked them for the library resources and services she and her family now use on a regular basis. The Pioneer Public Library System is in the process of securing funding to sustain PRIME TIME in these and other communities in the library system.
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PRIME TIME holds focus groups at New Jersey sites
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 From Oct. 1 to 4, PRIME TIME associate director Dr. Olivia Pass visited three sites in New Jersey, soliciting feedback from focus groups regarding the PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME programs that had taken place there due to a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. First visiting the Princeton Public Library, Pass met with the program coordinator for the Princeton PRIME TIME, and one bilingual (Spanish-English) family who had attended the PRIME TIME there. Although Princeton is a university town, there are many low-literacy families that benefited greatly from the PRIME TIME program that was offered in the lovely, new Princeton Public Library. According to Johnson, PRIME TIME has been very important to their library, allowing them to bring in families who had not been regular visitors to their library. She hopes to target area African-American families for their next PRIME TIME venture. The second PRIME TIME focus group was held at the Kearny Public Library. Staff there met with Pass and gave her details about the challenges and benefits that PRIME TIME had posed for them. Overall, Kearny's PRIME TIME was exceptionally successful. Eleven multicultural families attended the focus group, and Pass discovered quickly that the group had been drawn back to the library specifically to see an energetic performance by their beloved PRIME TIME storyteller Julie Pasqual, who enacted two folk tales for the group. The families at Kearny simply couldn't praise PRIME TIME enough. All felt more comfortable at the library since they attended the PRIME TIME, and all simply adored the talented storyteller, who had quickly learned all of the children's names and made each person who attended feel quite special. The final focus group was held at the Paterson Public Library. Its staff met with Pass, along with two families who had attended the bilingual PRIME TIME there. Much like the other New Jersey families, they concluded that PRIME TIME had allowed them to use their library more, bond more closely with their children through the act of reading, and feel more comfortable in the library when they return (often weekly). PRIME TIME in New Jersey drew families with Chinese, Portuguese, Indian, Mexican, Brazilian and Puerto Rican roots.
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PRIME TIME to hold three-state workshop
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 PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME® is scheduled to host its first Training Workshop of 2009 on Jan. 17 - 18 in the LEH's state-of-the-art Education Center at Turners' Hall in New Orleans. PRIME TIME staff will welcome team members from approximately 20 sites, representing Louisiana, Georgia and Florida. PRIME TIME Training Workshops offer intense instruction and practice in program philosophy, methodology and implementation for new scholars, storytellers and program coordinators. For more information regarding the PRIME TIME Training Workshop, contact Shantrell Adams at adams@leh.org or 504-620-2625.
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LEH-sponsored events
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 Abbeville: Abbeville Main Street, Nov. 8. Abbeville Main Street presents "If Headstones Could Talk ... St. Mary Magdalen Old Catholic Cemetery Tour," a living history presentation that illuminates the lives of "residents" interred at the historic French Catholic cemetery. This program is presented in conjunction with the second annual Main to Main: A Cultural Road Show event. Tours are scheduled throughout Saturday, Nov. 8. For more information, contact Abbeville Main Street at 337-898-4110
Arnaudville: Moncton Rock, Acadiana Cri, Steeple Vu Gallery. Oct. 1-Jan. 16. This public exhibition sponsored by the Cultural Research Institute of Acadiana will deepen Acadiana's knowledge of the interconnectivity of art forms between Cajun Louisiana and Acadia in the Canadian Maritime provinces. The exhibition will feature visual art, music, film, video, ephemera and literature circa 1968-2008, demonstrating the close cultural relationship between these two historically linked cultures.
- Friday, Nov. 13 - Movie night with films from the exhibition, 7 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 22 - Table Française (social activity to meet and converse in French), Steeple Vu Gallery, 9 a.m. - noon.
For more information, contact project director Lucius Fontenot at Lucius.fontenot@gmail.com, or 337-280-3798.
Baton Rouge: Standing Among Giants: Ida Kohlmeyer -A Louisiana Modernist, Louisiana Art & Science Museum. Oct. 4 - Jan. 4. Ida Kohlmeyer (1912-1997) was one of New Orleans's few modern art pioneers and arguably the region's best known female artist at the time of her death at age 84. This exhibition, along with accompanying interpretive materials and educational programming, seeks to place Kohlmeyer into the context of other American masters, while demonstrating the influence her work (and others, including Latin American folk art) had upon the development of her own aesthetic. This will be Kohlmeyer's first solo museum exhibition in Louisiana, outside of New Orleans. For more information, visit www.lasm.org, or contact project director Elizabeth Chubbuck Weinstein at eweinstein@lasm.org, or at 225.344.5272, ext. 114.
Gonzales: 42nd Annual LIHA Fall Powwow, Lamar-Dixon Arena Complex, Nov. 29 & 30. The Louisiana Indian Heritage Association powwows, which are inter-tribal, serve as vehicles to bring together isolated Native Americans from metropolitan New Orleans and Baton Rouge with Native Americans throughout Louisiana and the nation. At a powwow, the general public is totally immersed in Native American culture. The public benefits from personal experiences that cannot be obtain from book knowledge alone. The powwow allows the spectator to pen his/her mind into Native American ways of living and the essence of the Indian experience. For more information, contact Andrea Randazzo at andi4769@aol.com, or at 504-391-5254.
 Lafayette: Louisiana Crossroads, November. This year, the annual seven-month, 17-event season unites accomplished performers with deep understandings of their diverse genres' histories and aesthetics. Louisiana Crossroads is a meeting ground defined not by geography but by experience where songs, stories, traditions and history are shared and explored. Pass performers include Marcia Ball, Michael Doucet, Chris Thomas King, Sonny Landreth, Ander Osbourne, George Porter, Jr., Jerry Douglas, Doyle Bramhall, Zachary Richard and so on.
- Lake Charles - Wednesday, Nov. 12 - Terrance Simien, Susan Cowsill and Friends, live broadcast, Central School Theater, 7 p.m.
- Lafayette - Thursday, Nov. 13 - Terrance Simien, Susan Cowsill and Friends, Vermilionville Performance Center, 8 p.m.
- New Iberia - Friday, Nov. 14 - Terrance Simien, Susan Cowsill and Friends, Sliman Theater, 7 p.m.
For more information, visit www.louisianacrossroads.org or contact project director Vicki Chrisman at Vicki@acadianaartscouncil.org or at 337-233-7060.
Metairie: The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival presents "Coffee and Conversations: A Series of Library Discussions," Nov. 20. A collaborative effort with the Jefferson Parish Library, the series consists of four scholar-led public interviews with noted authors, followed by a question-and-answer session. All presentations take place at the Jefferson Parish Library's East Bank Regional branch. This month's presentation, a discussion with Tom Piazza, author of the recently released novel City of Refuge, is scheduled for 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20; moderator TBA. For more information, contact the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival at 504-581-1144.
Monroe: The Twin City Art Foundation/Masur Museum of Art, Nov. 23. The museum will present an exhibition of the works of legendary New Orleans artist John Scott, which includes pieces that have never been previously displayed. The exhibition, which is presented in conjunction with an interpretive catalogue, opens at the Masur Museum of Art on Sunday, Nov. 23. For more information, contact the Masur Museum of Art at 318-329-2237.
New Orleans: The New Orleans Ballet Association, Nov. 16-22, presents a series of public humanities programs complementing a week of performances and master classes featuring noted choreographer Trey McIntyre. For more information, contact the New Orleans Ballet Association at 504-522-0996.
Opelousas: Opelousas Main Street, "Talking History: An Historical Re-enactment Tour," Nov. 8. "Talking History" is a living history presentation that recalls the lives of colorful and memorable figures who helped shape the region. This program is presented in conjunction with the second annual Main to Main: A Cultural Road Show event. Three afternoon tours are scheduled for 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30, Saturday, Nov. 8; all begin at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse Square. For more information, contact Opelousas Tourism at 337-948-5227.
Ponchatoula: Ponchatoula Trade Days, Nov. 1-2. This year's Ponchatoula Trade Days event features interpretive public programs exploring the impact of Louisiana's culture and environment on local artists. Lectures followed by question-and-answer sessions are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 1-2. This program is presented in conjunction with the second annual "Main to Main: A Cultural Road Show" event. For more information, contact Ponchatoula Chamber of Commerce at 985-386-2536.
 Shreveport: Paintings and Photographs from the Permanent Collection, Recent Gifts, and Current Loans, Meadows Museum of Art, Nov. 16 - Feb. 1. Because the thematic approach to exhibitions and programs has proven successful, the museum chose for its 2008-2009 season the title Open the Vault: Masterpieces from the Meadows Museum of Art Permanent Collections, Recent Gifts, and Current Loans Series. The exhibition features newly acquired work by Nancy Graves titled Riphaeus Mountains Region of the Moon and the photographic collection by Andy Warhol recently donated to the museum by the Andy Warhol Foundation. Artists whose works are on loan for this exhibition are American impressionist Ernest Lawson and Louisiana artists Robert Gordy and Ida Kolhmeyer. Public educational programs developed in tandem with this exhibition include a Sunday, Nov. 16, lecture titled The Photographs of Andy Warhol with Dr. Lisa Nicoletti, art historian from the Art Department at Centenary College of Louisiana, 2-3 p.m. in the museum galleries. For more information, visit www.centenary.edu/meadows or contact project director Diane Dufilho at ddufilho@centenary.edu or at 318-869-5014.
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LEH grants deadlines
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Louisiana Publishing Initiative - Feb. 15, 2009. Contact John Kemp, kemp@leh.org or 504-620-2481.
Outreach Grants - Nov. 15. Contact Rachel Norman, norman@leh.org or 504-620-2479.
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Give the gift of Louisiana to family and friends |
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 Here is your chance to send loved ones, your friends from college, a neighbor or maybe a few business associates one full year of the best Louisiana has to offer through a gift subscription of Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine!
Four times over the next year they will be able to paddle the bayou, walk the French Quarter, and explore the Cane River. They will learn Louisiana's history from Hot Sauce to Hot Jazz and travel our towns from Abbeville to Zwolle. And finally, they will enjoy the work of our finest writers, photo-essayists, and artists all bringing forth the magic that comes from Louisiana's people and places, history and culture. With this special offer, your first gift subscription is the regular price of $16, after that they are only $12 each - a full 25% discount! To purchase your gift subscriptions to Louisiana Cultural Vistas online, please click on www.leh.org for the order form or contact Jan Clifford at clifford@leh.org or call 504-620-2630.
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NEH Picturing America deadline extended
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 The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced today that the deadline for Picturing America applications has been extended to Nov. 14 2008. Private, public, parochial and charter schools, libraries, and school and library districts will have the opportunity to apply for Picturing America, an innovative, free resource that provides educators with an engaging way to teach American history and other subjects through great American art.
Picturing America includes 40 laminated large, high-quality reproductions of significant American art and a comprehensive teachers' resource book with lesson ideas to facilitate the use of the images in all K-12 grade levels and subject areas. Schools and libraries may apply for the program in a simple, online application process. School and library districts may also apply for every institution in their jurisdiction with one, single application. Details and instructions are available at PicturingAmerica.neh.gov.
To date, more than 26,000 schools and public libraries - representing an estimated 10 million K-12 students across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories - have received Picturing America. Schools and public libraries submitting their applications prior to the new Nov. 14 deadline will receive their Picturing America materials in spring 2009. Please note that previous recipients of the Picturing America collection are not eligible for a second award.
To learn information about Picturing America, read testimonials from educators, or view the images available in the collection, please visit the Picturing America Web site (PicturingAmerica.neh.gov).
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