 |
LEH receives Getty grant to help museums recover from Katrina and Rita |
|
 |
The Getty Foundation of Los Angeles, California, has awarded the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) and Louisiana Association of Museums (LAM) a two-year $80,000 "Roadmap to Recovery" grant to help provide services and programs for Louisiana museums struggling to recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In the months immediately following Katrina and Rita, it became clear that museums located in urban neighborhoods and at rural crossroads throughout south Louisiana suffered such devastating losses - physical, financial, personnel and constituency - that it was difficult if not impossible to gauge them. In response, the LEH and LAM commissioned in 2006 an in-depth survey of museums affected by the storms to determine their immediate needs and how they could best be served to reduce the likelihood of such catastrophic damage in the future.
The $80,000 grant from The Getty Foundation and the $480,000 in matching funds and services from the LEH and LAM will be used over two years to provide professional development workshops for museum staff especially in areas of emergency preparedness and security, preservation and conservation of museum collections, and museum staff care and development. To provide follow-up training and information, LAM will develop a "mentor web chat program" to give workshop participants continued on-line access to museum professionals who will serve as ongoing mentors.
The project is a collaborative effort between the Louisiana Association of Museums and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, which is recognized nationally for its family reading program. LAM will coordinate the programs underwritten by the grant and the LEH will serve as fiscal agent for the project as part of its statewide mission.
Getty Foundation support was provided through the Getty's Fund for New Orleans, established to help revitalize cultural organizations in the New Orleans region following Hurricane Katrina. To date, the Foundation has awarded 14 grants totaling more than $2 million to support conservation surveys and transition planning for arts organizations in the region. The Foundation is part of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts.
Louisiana museums and museum staff interested in participating in these Getty-sponsored programs should contact LAM director Genny Nadler Thomas in Baton Rouge at (225) 383-6800 or genny@louisianamuseums.org or LEH grants director Walker Lasiter in New Orleans at (504) 620-2631 or lasiter@leh.org.
|
|
LEH kicks off American history teacher workshops in Calcasieu & Caddo Parishes |
|
|
The LEH - funded by two $1 million grants from the U.S. Department of Education's Teaching American History program - has organized graduate-level institutes in American history this June for elementary, middle and high school public school teachers in Caddo and Calcasieu parishes. Three summer institutes for 85 public school teachers are now underway in Caddo Parish in partnership with LSUS and four institutes with approximately 65 teachers in Calcasieu Parish in partnership with McNeese State University. The LEH also is serving as the fiscal agent for the Algiers Charter School Association's Teaching American History summer institutes for New Orleans public school teachers.
|
|
LEH sponsors college summer institutes for teachers |
|
|
Since 1985, the LEH has conducted 189 summer institutes at colleges and universities throughout the state for middle and high school teachers who in turn teach over 500,000 children. This summer the LEH will sponsor the follow summer teacher institutes:
- New Orleans - African-American Louisiana Writers: A Critical Introduction, Tulane University, June 2 - July 2, Dr. Nghana Lewis, (504) 957-2684, nlewis2@tulane.edu. Taken as a group, African American Louisiana writers present an imposing array of talent. However, their accomplishments remain largely unrecognized, and their resourcefulness in understanding key aspects of American history remains largely untapped.
- Hammond - Searching for Our Mothers' Gardens: African-American Women in Literature, Southeastern Louisiana University, June 9 - July 3, Dr. Ruth Caillouet, (985) 549-2100, ruth.caillouet@selu.edu. This institute is designed for teachers in grades six through twelve who want to enliven their classrooms with new approaches to literature and writing.
- Hammond - Picturing America/We the People: American Art History in the K-12 Classroom, Southeastern Louisiana University, June 2 - 26, Dr. Kim Finley-Stansbury, (985) 549-2193, finstansbury@selu.edu. This Institute will present American Art history through the use of the National Endowment for the Humanities instructional resources, Picturing America/We the People.
- Monroe - Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, University of Louisiana at Monroe, June 2 - 26, Dr. Christopher A. Blackburn, (318) 342-1550, blackburn@ulm.edu. This Institute will address the background, events and consequences of the extermination of European Jews during World War II.
|
|
LEH-Sponsored Events |
|
|
Kenner - Cannes Brulee Native American Museum Programs and Powwow, Cannes Brulee Native American Museum, June, Renee Gaitan, (504) 468-7274, rgaitan@kenner.la.us
All facets of Native American heritage and culture explored.
Ruston - A major traveling Smithsonian exhibition on the roots of American music opens June 1 at the Lincoln Parish Library. New Harmonies explores the American story through the 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. While in Ruston, library and Grambling State University organizers have planned a series of programs aimed at telling the story of north Louisiana's tremendous influence on American roots music. June events include:
- June 1 - opening day, reception and informance featuring the Petty Bones.
- June 6 (6:30 p.m.) Piney Hills Chorus folk music informance.
- June 14 (2 p.m.) Elvis Presley look-a-like contest for children (3 p.m.) Todd C. Martin performs as Elvis.
- June 19 (6:30 p.m.) Dr. David Anderson of Louisiana Tech University presents a lecture entitled "Hank Williams - the Shreveport Years."
- June 22 (3 p.m.) Children's roots music talent show.
- June 26 (6:30 p.m.) Maurice Johnson jazz informance. The exhibition closes July 12, after which it travels to the Jeanerette Bicentennial Park and Museum. Ruston is the second stop on New Harmonies' six-town tour of Louisiana, which began April 12 in Abita Springs and concludes Jan. 15, 2009, in Oil City after six-week runs in Jeanerette, Kaplan, and Ferriday. For more information on events in Ruston, contact project director Vivian McCain at (318) 251-5030.
St. Francisville - The Day the War Stopped: Peace in the Midst of the Civil War, June 13 - 15, Shirley Dittloff, (225) 635-4791, shirley@topteninn.com
The Day the War Stopped is, at heart, a re-enactment of the burial of a Mason, Union Lt. Commander John Hart, who fought on the Union side but was buried on Confederate ground at the Grace Episcopal Church Cemetery of June 13, 1863, stopping the Civil War there for a day. The re-enactment will take place the weekend of June 13, 14 and 15.
Shreveport - The Highland Restoration Association hosts a complimentary trolley tour and public lecture by author/historian Eric J. Brock highlighting the architectural gems of Shreveport's historic Highland neighborhood. The event coincides with the release of an updated guide to the area's historic properties. Program begins at 10 a.m. June 4 at the Meadows Museum of Art on the campus of Centenary College. For more information, contact project director Sue Ball at (318) 221-5629.
|
|
PRIME TIME selects fall sites
|
|
|
The LEH completed 19 PRIME TIME sites this spring in Louisiana. The fall 2008 schedule includes programs in Alexandria, Dry Prong, Eunice, Gonzales, Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Laplace, Luling, Metairie, Monroe, New Orleans, Port Allen, Saint Francisville, Saint Gabriel, Shreveport, Sicily Island and Welsh. PRIME TIME continues to pursue private funding (in addition to the state funding) to support additional program sites around Louisiana. In 2008 the Zemurray Foundation awarded PRIME TIME a $25,000 grant for bilingual programming and the Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier presented PRIME TIME and the LEH $50,000 for pilot sites at Bethune Middle Academy and the Sixth Grade Academy in Shreveport. PRIME TIME also received $7,500 from the German Protestant Orphans Asylum Foundation for programming in New Orleans.
|
|
NEH grant funds two more PRIME TIME programs
|
|
|
The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the nationally acclaimed PRIME TIME a $275,212 grant to support a total of 20 Spanish-speaking bilingual programs in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Oklahoma.
|
|
PRIME TIME goes to college: Two slots remain |
|
|
From July 7 to July 31, New Orleans kindergarten through 8th grade teachers will participate in the "Prime Time for PRIME TIME in New Orleans Schools" Institute for Advanced Study at the Louisiana Humanities Center. Twenty-three applications have been received to date. Two openings remain. Participating teachers will receive a $750 stipend and be eligible to receive 3 hours of graduate credit from the University of New Orleans (UNO), as well as 45 CLUs. Additionally, UNO is waiving tuition. A partnership between the LEH and the UNO, the institute will be co-directed by Dr. Nancy Dixon, who teaches at the UNO and has been a PRIME TIME scholar for several years, and Dr. Olivia Pass, the associate director of PRIME TIME, who has served as a PRIME TIME scholar for 7 years as well as a program coordinator for PRIME TIME. Teachers will learn how to employ PRIME TIME methodologies and books to enhance their ability to teach reading and critical thinking skills in grades K-8. Teachers also will learn to incorporate humanities issues in a student-centered classroom by presenting award-winning children's and young adults' books into their lesson plans. Teachers will employ open-ended discussions to fulfill grade expectations and benchmarks. Interested teachers in New Orleans should contact PRIME TIME assistant director Miranda Restovic at (504) 620-2486 or PRIME TIME director Faye Flanagan at (504) 620-2485.
|
|
American Library Association Annual Conference |
|
|
The American Library Association (ALA) will host its 2008 annual conference in Anaheim, California, from June 26 - July 2. LEH's PRIME TIME staff will give a presentation titled "PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME: Bilingual Programs Expand Nationally." The panel will include Thomas Phelps, director of Public Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities; Lainie Castle, project director of Public Programs Office at the American Library Association; Anne Masters, director of the Pioneer Library Systems in Norman, Oklahoma; and Pat Lawson-North, executive director of Vision Literacy in Santa Clara County, California. PRIME TIME director Faye Flanagan will serve as panel moderator and PRIME TIME senior consultant Dianne Brady will introduce the panelists.
|
|
RELIC draws enthusiastic group in New Roads |
|
|
For six weeks an enthusiastic audience in New Roads participated in the RELIC program "Creole Identity and Experience in Louisiana Literature and History," facilitated by Dr. Olivia Pass at the New Roads Public Library. Approximately 20 to 30 individuals attended each week, which, according to library volunteer Penny McCarthy, was phenomenal. The group watched and discussed the award-winning LEH film Reconstructing Creole by Jennifer John Block, and read and discussed the following novels: A Feast for All Saints by Anne Rice, Cane River by Lalita Tademy, and Catherine Carmier by Ernest Gaines. The group also read Creole New Orleans: Race and Americanization, edited by Arnold R. Hirsch and Joseph Logsdon, which supplied historical information for the group discussions. According to one participant, this RELIC program had a tremendous impact on the people of New Roads: "Point Coupee is beginning to heal," said one participant. "The sessions and the instructor really got everyone thinking about how wonderful our culture is. We had a chance to learn a lot about why things are the way they are and why some of us think the way we do. Education of your culture and your community makes life better." If this program interests you, ask your local library to request it.
|
|
1st Annual Tennessee Williams/N.O. Literary Festival Fiction Writing Contest |
|
|
The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is sponsoring its first fiction writing contest. The judge will be Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ford and the Grand Prize will be $1,500, a VIP festival pass ($500 value), March 25-29, 2009, publication in the New Orleans Review, domestic airfare and accommodations to attend the festival in New Orleans and a public reading. Second Prize will include a $200 cash prize, a public reading and a festival pass. The Third Prize will be $100, a public reading and festival pass.
Eligibility: Short stories, written in English, up to 7,000 words
Deadline: November 15, 2008 (postmark)
Entry Fee: $20
- Unlimited entries per person
- Only open to writers who have not yet published a book of fiction. Stories must be previously unpublished.
- Please include a cover page with only your TITLE, NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, and E-MAIL ADDRESS. Do not include your name on any other pages.
- No manuscripts will be returned.
- Winner and finalists will be announced on this website by March 1, 2009
How to enter: If entering by mail, make checks or money orders payable to Tennessee Williams/N.O. Literary Festival, and send your check and entry to:
Writing Contest
Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
938 Lafayette Street, Suite 514
New Orleans, LA 70113
If entering online, begin your online entry submission here: www.tennesseewilliams.net/staticpages/index.php/contest1 or see www.tennesseewilliams.net/contest
|
|
