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LEH Awards 2018 Rebirth Grants

Since reconstituting its grants program in 2014, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities has funded projects that provide access to the humanities to Louisiana residents across the state. In September the LEH received applications for the 2018 Rebirth Grants opportunity. A grants review committee of LEH board members, scholars, and staff selected 17 projects in 10 parishes for a total of $53,945 in awards.  The LEH congratulates the recipients and looks forward to enjoying their work to document and celebrate the history and culture of Louisiana.

2019 Book Distribution
One Book One New Orleans
$1,800.00
Orleans
One Book One New Orleans will provide copies of “Vengeance” by Zachary Lazar to adult basic education programs and juvenile justice education programs. The program will also include 8 community events, and a showcase of the education programs’ work.

Black Doctors in Jim Crow Iberia Parish: Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Racial Violence in Iberia Parish Resulting in the Loss of All Its Black Doctors
The Iberia African American Historical Society
$3,313.00
Iberia
A symposium will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 1944 racial incident in Iberia Parish that led to the loss of all African American doctors in the parish. The project will culminate in a podcast episode of “Southern Hollows.”

Representing Slavery in Public: Louisiana’s Past in the Present
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
$3,250.00
Lafayette
Two-day event that will feature nationally-known experts on history, art, and culture of enslavement in Louisiana in order to discuss the ways the history of slavery continues to shape regional footways, public spaces, tourism, society, and economy.

Moscow Nights Presents “Bulgakov: Writing In A Time Of Terror”
Moscow Nights Inc
$3,500.00
Jefferson
Funds support a lecture by Professor Ellendea Proffer Teasley, renowned author of a biography and critical study of Mikhail Bulgakov, adding an analytic interpretation of the Moscow Nights production of “24 Hours in the Life of Pontius Pilate.”

Brass on the Bayou: The History of New Orleans Jazz
Terrebonne Parish Library
$1,500.00
Terrebonne
A multi-faceted project for all ages including a lecture series, film screenings, story times for children, and a jazz poetry class for teens, that will bring the history of jazz to Terrobonne Parish.

2019 All City Teen Poetry Slam Festival
Forward Arts Inc.
$1,500.00
East Baton Rouge
Youth slam poetry competition with education writing and performance workshops held annually in East Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes.

Ki-O or Happy Old Man: A Japanese Legacy in Louisiana
Louisiana State University
$2,160.00
East Baton Rouge
This project will photograph and make available a digital archive of unique wooden haiku carved by the patriarch of a notable Baton Rouge Japanese-American family.

Interpreting Norbert Rillieux and the Multiple Effect Evaporator at the West Baton Rouge Museum
West Baton Rouge Museum
$5,000.00
West Baton Rogue
Funds will help produce a permanent exhibit at the West Baton Rouge Museum highlighting the life of Louisiana Creole engineer Norbert Rillieux and his contributions to the sugar industry.

Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, 33rd annual event, March 27-31, 2019
Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, Inc.
$5,000.00
Orleans
The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is the largest, oldest literary event in New Orleans, drawing locals and tourists from around the globe. The Festival aims to inspire, challenge, and educate through a variety of programming.

Louisiana Book Festival
Louisiana Library Foundation
$5,000.00
East Baton Rouge
The Louisiana Book Festival features over 250 authors and panelists presenting book talks or participating in discussions as well as an abundance of book-related activities for all ages and reading interests.

NOLA Jewish Women Online
Longue Vue House and Garden
$5,000.00
Orleans
Funding for website highlighting Jewish women’s contributions to the socio-economic life and culture of New Orleans.

Elders of Bayou Teche Towns in St. Martin Parish: Preserving the Lifeways of a Place
Teche Center for the Arts
$1,600.00
St. Martin
Oral history project that will collect stories and images of the traditional and historic life-ways of people in the towns surrounding Bayou Teche.

The Quinceanera Tradition Among Hispanic Families of North-Central Louisiana
Union Museum of History and Art
$1,060.00
Union
This 5-week exhibit and panel discussion will explore the tradition of the Quincenera, the deeply ingrained Hispanic custom of observing a girl’s 15th birthday with religious customs and lavish celebration.

Cherchez La Femme: New Orleans Women
Cheryl Gerber
$1,912.00
Orleans
“Cherchez la Femme: New Orleans Women” is a publishing project that highlights the contributions of women to the cultural landscape of New Orleans. This project will include exhibits and public events.

Don Cincone’s Oral History: A Series of Recorded Interviews Regarding His Renowned Artwork; His Childhood in Segregated, Rural Northeast Louisiana; His Military Service; and His Faith.
Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, Inc.
$5,000.00
Ouachita
Project will collect an oral history of artist Don Cincone, tracing his journey from a sharecropper’s home in Alto, LA, to his burgeoning art career in the segregated South, to his time in the Navy, and his artistic development in Europe.

Vermilionville Culture Days
Vermilionville Living History Museum Foundation, Inc
$4,000.00
Lafayette
Culture Days demonstrate and celebrate the three primary cultures that contributed their foods, music, folklife, and traditions to the diverse culture of the Acadiana region: the Acadians, the Creole and African peoples, and the Native Americans.

Antenna::Signals Live Events and Online Documentary Series
Press Street
$3,350.00
Orleans
A ‘live-action arts and culture magazine’ that features artists, writers, scientists, historians, musicians, and others presenting or performing on a theme. Events are supplemented with a print publication and online documentary series.