HUMANITIES NOW
July 2016
FRANK Talks Launch at Arizona Libraries

In partnership with the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, Arizona Humanities is excited to announce the launch of FRANK Talks. The goal of FRANK Talks is to inspire people to practice the skills of citizenship - to listen respectfully and engage thoughtfully with one another.  Taking place in Arizona Libraries this summer, attendees can participate in face-to-face conversations on important issues that affect our communities. Topics can include: education, incarceration, civil rights, and more. 

FRANK Talks are named in part to honor Lorraine W. Frank, the founding Executive Director of Arizona Humanities. During her tenure from 1973 to 1989, she elevated public discourse and understood that engaging communities in dialogue was critical to the life of our state.

Mini Grant Hightlight: Payson Book Festival July 23

Meet Arizona authors and celebrate books at the Payson Book Festival! The festival takes place on Saturday, July 23 from 9:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. at Gila Community College (201 N. Mud Springs Road) in Payson. Presented by the Arizona Professional Writers and Gila Community College with support from Arizona Humanities, the festival includes 90 authors, a Young Writer's Workshop and story time sessions. As the recipient of a Mini Grant Award, the festival aims to nurture a love of reading by providing a friendly environment to cultivate personal interaction between authors and readers. Visitors won't want to miss children's author Conrad J. Storad and his beloved "Story Monster." Additional authors include Roger Naylor, Jan Cleere (also on our AZ Speaks roster) and dozens more!
 
Arizona Humanities partnered with the Payson Book Festival to bring Navajo Nation Poet Laureate Laura Tohe for a special presentation to share her poetry and stories. An award-winning poet and professor at ASU, Laura Tohe is also on the Arizona Humanities AZ Speaks roster and gives presentations about the Navajo Code Talkers and Indigenous Arizona Women across the state.
 
Carol Osman Brown, Project Director remarked, "The Payson Book Festival is an important free community event that promotes reading in families and voluntary reading among children; more than twenty children's book authors are participating."  She adds, "Our stories connect us, and this book festival engages diverse audiences in creative conversations that cross boundaries of age and culture. It also nurtures a rural writing community and creates an awareness of literacy groups, libraries and museums." 
 
For the full schedule of events, click here or check out the website at http://www.paysonbookfestival.org.
Project Grant Highlight: Archaeology Road Show in Springerville July 30th
Escape the heat and head up to the White Mountains and Springerville, AZ (about an hour east of Pinetop-Lakeside) for the Casa Malpais Archaeology Road Show event. Similar to "Antiques Road Show," the public is invited to bring in their artifacts or collections for identification, documentation and discussion. No monetary value will be assigned.  You may be able to discover who made an item, how it was made, or where it originated. Dr. Doug Gann of Archaeology Southwest will be on site to discuss findings with attendees and to share about the cultures of the White Mountains through these artifacts. The Road Show event will be open 10am-3pm Saturday July 30th at the Springerville Heritage Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Our Common Humanity, 2015 Annual Report Now Available

The Arizona Humanities Annual Report 2014-2015 is now posted online.Check out programs and grants highlights, as well as the induction of our founding Executive Director Lorraine W. Frank into the Arizona Women's Hall of Fame. The year was filled with many memorable moments and programs. Please enjoy our 2014-2015 Annual Report (electronic PDF), and discover the ways we connect Arizonans to the stories that make us human.


If you would like to receive a printed version, please email [email protected]
Apply for the Storying Arizona Special Initiative Grant

New grant alert! Storying Arizona, a one-time grant of $10,000 will be awarded to a team of 2 or more organizations proposing public programming focused on the peoples and places of Arizona. Programs may include those which educate, interpret, and/or promote awareness of the architectural, cultural, and archaeological resources of Arizona using a community-centered approach.

Organizations are encouraged to utilize the community-centered methods pioneered by the Papago Salado Association Inc.'s Story Tour Project (http://storytour.org), although projects do not have to revolve around the Papago Salado region. Proposals may focus on and conduct programs in any region of Arizona. Full proposals are due November 1, 2016.

Join us for an in-person workshop on Thursday, July 21st or an online webinar. Click here to register.

Upcoming Grant Deadlines and Workshops for your Calendars

The next Mini Grants deadline is Friday, July 15th at 5:00pm (AZ time). Organizations can apply for up to $2,000 to support humanities projects and public programs.

Grant workshops and webinars are now posted on our website. Check out the many online webinars for Storying Arizona, Mini Grants, and Project Grants this summer and fall. Click here to register for grant workshops.

Now Booking Speakers for 2016-2017

The wait is over! Organizations can now schedule AZ Speaks presentations that occur between November 1, 2016 to October 31, 2017. We encourage you to read through our online catalog and explore different speakers and topics that engage audiences with diverse cultures and histories.

Click here to read more about AZ Speaks and to view the catalog.

A glimpse inside an Arizona Humanities program...Hop, Skip & Jump in Aguila
On Saturday, June 25th, Arizona Humanities brought Hop, Skip & Jump into Summer Reading to the Aguila Branch Library, a rural town about 30 minutes west of Wickenburg. The afternoon was filled with lively banter and music and local youth gathered to sing and read stories together. Local children's authors Rodo Sofranac and Ellen L. Buikema read and acted out sections of their children's stories they authored. Musician Al R. Beasley provided musical interludes throughout the afternoon to help demonstrate to kids that reading has cadence and musicality. 

Former Board Chair Elected President of Arizona Citizens for the Arts

Congratulations to Dr. Thomas H. Wilson, Director of the Arizona Museum of Natural History! Dr. Wilson was elected President of the Arizona 
Citizens for the Arts which "acts as the eyes, ears and voice of the nonprofit arts and culture sector in Arizona." As the only statewide arts advocacy organization, Arizona Citizens for the Arts works to expand public and private support for arts and culture as well as maximize its positive impact on our state. Dr. Wilson served on the Arizona Humanities Board of Directors for many years including Board Chairman from 2012-2013 and wrote a series of essays for the e-newsletter titled My Humanities. 

Dr. Wilson remarked, "We at Arizona Citizens wish to make Arizona a better place through robust arts and culture in our state.  We look forward to working with Arizona Humanities, other humanities organizations, and individuals to engage our publics and enhance our already vibrant communities though the power of the arts and humanities."

IMLS Seeks Nation's Top Museums and Libraries for 2017

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is now accepting nominations for the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service awards.  An employee, a board member, a member of the public, or an elected official-can nominate an institution. To be considered, the institution must complete and return a nomination form by October 3, 2016. Click here for more information.
Opportunities with the National Endowment for the Humanities

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is offering a new set of grant offerings. According the NEH website, the "new Public Humanities Projects grants support a wide range of projects that bring the ideas and insights of the humanities to life for general audiences. The grant program goes beyond the traditional large-scale museum exhibition to also include grant support for smaller public programs, projects that engage citizens with historic U.S. sites, and work in communities to spur important public dialogue about the humanities." Click here to learn more about NEH grants.
Volunteers Needed at the Western Museums Association Annual Meeting

The Western Museums Association (WMA) in partnership with the Museum Association of Arizona will hold the 2016 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona on September 25-28, 2016. The meeting will bring together over 500 museum professionals and is an excellent way to explore new ideas, network and learn at over 40 educational sessions. In exchange for volunteer hours, Annual Meeting volunteers will be permitted to attend an equal amount of hours of non-ticketed WMA Annual meeting events. 

Click here to learn more and sign-up. For questions, contact Nancy White at 480-481-8197 or [email protected].
Thanks to our Generous Supporters - June 2016

Andrea Ahmed*
Gail Bradley*
Ryan Bruce*
Evan Burks*
Tina Clark*
Anne Doyle*
Martha V Perez Duena
Rita Hamilton*
Dianna Soe Myint*
Thomas Nakayama
Mary Lu Nunley*
Esh� Pickett*
Phoenix Writer's Club
Rodo Writes (Rodo Sofranac)

*Current Board Member
The Social Buzz

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Important Dates
  • July 15 - Mini Grants Deadline
  • July 21 - Storying Arizona Workshop @ Arizona Humanities
  • August 19 - Board of Directors Meeting - Prescott, AZ
About Arizona Humanities

Mission: Arizona Humanities builds a just and civil society by creating opportunities to explore our shared human experiences through discussion, learning and reflection.

Arizona Humanities is a statewide 501(c)3 non-profit organization and the Arizona affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Arizona Humanities supports public programs that promote understanding of the human experience.
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Arizona Humanities | 1242 N. Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85004 | 602-257-0335
[email protected] | www.azhumanities.org
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