Recipients of the 2010 LEH awards include:

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, or LEH, is pleased to announce that a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition will tour six Louisiana towns from May 28, 2011 to March 11, 2012. The six communities were selected through an open competition to host the exhibition entitled Journey Stories, which examines the intersection between human migration to and within America and the transportation technology that enabled the settling of our nation. The Journey Stories exhibit will appear in the following communities in this order:

Journey Stories examines the intersection between modes of travel and Americans' desire to feel free to move. The story is diverse and focuses on immigration, migration, innovation, and freedom. It is accounts of immigrants coming in search of promise in a new country; stories of individuals and families relocating in search of fortune, their own homestead, or employment; the harrowing journeys of Africans and Native Americans forced to move and their courage and resiliency in maintaining and renewing their cultures across generations; and, of course, fun and frolic on the open road.

Besides covering all exhibition rental costs - $9,000 over the three-year cycle - and dedicating up to $39,000 in grants (contingent on the availability of funds) for planning, local exhibitions and public programs to the six host sites, the LEH will provide continuous technical assistance to the sponsoring organizations on exhibition and program development, fundraising, publicity and promotion, collaboration and budget planning - all of which will benefit these organizations long after Journey Stories leaves town.

Journey Stories is the fifth LEH-sponsored Louisiana tour of a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition. Since 2000, the LEH has invested more than $113,000 in projects in 23 small towns in 23 different parishes throughout the state, where exhibitions and ancillary public programs have attracted a total audience of more than 100,000 people.

Journey Stories is an initiative of the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program. Museum on Main Street brings together the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), state humanities organizations like the LEH, and small rural museums in a collaborative effort to serve rural audiences. The partnership, established in 1991, was formed as a creative response to the challenges faced by rural museums to enhance their own cultural legacies.

By hosting a Smithsonian exhibition augmented by humanities programs, participating rural museums embrace new opportunities for professional training in volunteerism, philanthropy, marketing, and collections care and handling. The Smithsonian exhibition service also provides staff to help in exhibit management and object care. The LEH trains rural organizers in program planning and proposal writing. Working with distinguished Louisiana humanities scholars, the LEH also provides resources to help museums prepare exhibition-related events for and about their communities. Through the combined resources of SITES and state humanities councils, the program provides a lasting legacy of professional development and tools for future growth.

For additional information, contact Rachel Norman at 504-620-2479 or norman@leh.org.

Effective Feb. 1, 2010, the LEH Outreach Grant deadline schedule will be reduced from six to four annual deadlines. The next Outreach Grant deadline the LEH expects to offer will be June 1, 2010. Outreach Grants support projects of up to 90 days' duration and budget requests up to $2,500. Applicants must submit a draft proposal no later than four weeks prior to the deadline to qualify for the full $2,500 award; otherwise, the maximum request is $2,000. The new deadline schedule is as follows:

For more information, contact Director of Grants Rachel Norman at norman@leh.org.

The PRIME TIME staff is now accepting applications for future Louisiana programs, with emphasis on the fall 2010 session.  Public libraries, schools, community centers and other public institutions throughout Louisiana are eligible for this opportunity. Agencies in Caddo, Evangeline, Jefferson, Lafayette, Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John, St. Mary, Tensas, and Terrebonne parishes are particularly encouraged to apply.

The grant provides:

Using state and private funds, PRIME TIME grants are awarded twice annually to fill fall and spring/summer sessions. The deadline to apply for fall 2010 grants is April 15.  Eligible applications will be provisionally approved for the PRIME TIME award pending approval of LEH's state appropriation. Applicants will be kept up-to-date on the status of their PRIME TIME grant applications. Applications also are being accepted for future terms; those deadlines will be announced at a later date.  

Interested agencies should note that some of PRIME TIME paper forms are being phased out, and applications for fall 2010 and beyond should be filed online. Click here to access the online PRIME TIME grant application, and contact Shantrell Adams with questions or concerns regarding the online system.  

For more information about PRIME TIME, please download our program brochure at www.leh.org or contact Miranda Restovic at 504-620-2486, restovic@leh.org or Shantrell Adams at 504-620-2625 or

Baton Rouge: Louisiana Crossroads presents New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist Theresa Andersson at 7 p.m., Feb. 25 at the Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St. Andersson's latest work draws from a wide range of roots and pop influence and makes the most of her ability to perform on more than one instrument simultaneously via digital looping technology. Her voice is as much of an instrument as the drums, guitar, violin and improvised sonic devices she features. For more information, call 337-233-7060 or visit www.louisianacrossroads.org.

Lake Charles: Louisiana Crossroads presents New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist Theresa Andersson at 7 p.m., Feb. 24 at the Central School Theater, 809 Kirby St. Andersson's latest work draws from a wide range of roots and pop influence and makes the most of her ability to perform on more than one instrument simultaneously via digital looping technology. Her voice is as much of an instrument as the drums, guitar, violin and improvised sonic devices she features. For more information, call 337-233-7060 or visit www.louisianacrossroads.org. This event will be broadcast live on KRVS 88.7 FM and krvs.org.

Lafayette: Louisiana Crossroads presents New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist Theresa Andersson at 8 p.m., Feb. 27 at Vermilionville Performance Center, 300 Fisher Road. Andersson's latest work draws from a wide range of roots and pop influence and makes the most of her ability to perform on more than one instrument simultaneously via digital looping technology. Her voice is as much of an instrument as the drums, guitar, violin and improvised sonic devices she features. For more information, call 337-233-7060 or visit www.louisianacrossroads.org.
 
New Iberia: Louisiana Crossroads presents New Orleans-based multi-instrumentalist Theresa Andersson at 8 p.m., Feb. 26 at the Sliman Theater, 129 East Main St. Andersson's latest work draws from a wide range of roots and pop influence and makes the most of her ability to perform on more than one instrument simultaneously via digital looping technology. Her voice is as much of an instrument as the drums, guitar, violin and improvised sonic devices she features. For more information, call 337-233-7060 or visit www.louisianacrossroads.org.

New Orleans: The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) has partnered with The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) to develop Musical Louisiana: America's Cultural Heritage, a multi-year, statewide education initiative focusing on the unique music and cultural heritage of New Orleans and Louisiana. This year, the project focuses on the significant role played by Louisiana in the development of classical music in the United States and Europe. On Feb. 3, the LPO and the HNOC will host a free performance in St. Louis Cathedral featuring pieces that illustrate Louisiana's lesser known contributions to classical music. For more information, call 504-523-6530.

Shreveport: The Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College of Louisiana, 2911 Centenary Blvd., continues its Uniquely Louisiana Collectors series with Focus Gallery: Selections from the Collection of David and Nicole Holcombe. The exhibit will include approximately two dozen works in a variety of media by Louisiana artists, some well-known and others not as well, collected over a period of 25 years by David and Nicole Holcombe of Alexandria. Included in this collection are works by Latin American artist Maria Lopez, Natchitoches State University Professor of Art Bill Bryant, and ceramist Chris Kelly among others. Beginning Feb. 28, The Second  Northwest Louisiana Artists' Triennial Competition will highlight the art produced by contemporary working artists in the Northwest region of the state. The event will be juried by Louisiana collectors David and Nicole Holcombe and Louisiana artist Maria Lopez. For more information, visit www.centenary.edu/meadows or call 318-869-5014.

In 2010 RELIC Library Reading programs will add a new location to its winter/spring schedule.  DeQuincy in Calcasieu Parish will host its first program, "I'll Be Seeing You.... .America and World War II" in April.  "We are excited to have the 'I'll Be Seeing You... America and World War II' RELIC program at the DeQuincy branch," said library branch manager Janet Jordy. De Quincy is an example of RELIC's commitment to developing viable venues for the humanities in Louisiana. An initial meeting with the branch manager more than a year ago resulted in an agreement to try a program if a survey indicated public interest. While these responses do not guarantee an audience response, the survey is an important practice in basing programming decisions on opinion research.

State cuts in funding to the LEH have reduced RELIC opportunities for adults in other communities beyond DeQuincy. To avoid the loss of these opportunities, several libraries have volunteered to fund RELIC programs from their own budgets, or will rely upon Friends groups to come to the rescue. Foundations, businesses and individuals interested in securing RELIC adult reading groups for their communities are invited to inquire about how to support the programs. For additional information, contact Jim Segreto, Director of RELIC Library Programs at 504-620-2477 or segreto@leh.org.  

RELIC programs scheduled for winter and spring 2010: