Humanities Innovation Lab Awardees
Total Awardees: 24
Total Awarded: $43,331
Total Cities: 9
Chris Martin - $2,000
Minneapolis
Chris will create an audio walk for Bde Maka Ska, one of a series of conversations around the idea of “Restoration”: the lake’s name restoration, ecological restoration, and the ongoing project of restoring the Dakota language to fluency before it disappears.
Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School - $1,500
St. Paul
Staff will read and discuss A Good Time for the Truth and, in consultation with author Sun Yung Shin, examine the school library and approaches towards literacy education, using the lens of equity and restorative justice.
Crystal Creek Citizen-Artist Residency - $2,000
Houston
This project will support an artists-in-residence program to build relationships and develop creative projects with local, rural communities in Houston County.
Eric Avery - $2,000
Minneapolis
Community workshops around reparations, changing economics, and economic solidarity will be conducted with food, activities, and conversation.
Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts - $2,000
St. Paul
Artists with disabilities will be supported in developing a new interactive multimedia piece in collaboration with visual artists.
Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project - $2,000
Minneapolis
Istikan gatherings will be held with Iraqi-Minnesotan storytellers and IARP to come together and create the space to explore, collaborate, experiment, and problem solve together.
Jacob Virden - $2,000
Minneapolis
A podcast and video series exploring the Upper Harbor Terminal riverfront redevelopment in North Minneapolis will be created.
Katie Pratt - $1,000
Minneapolis
A hands-on climate mapping workshop where participants create maps of their personal emotional “terrain” of climate change will be developed and hosted.
New Arab American Theater Works - $2,000
Minneapolis
A dialogue on the topic of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment centering the Arab community will follow a play at the Guthrie on the same topic.
Pang Yang and Jenna Cushing - $2,000
Brooklyn Park
Hmong authors will be brought together to inspire future young Hmong authors and to connect classroom Hmong language educators and Hmong-focused publishers.
Local Solutions to End Poverty - $600
Duluth
Local community members will be supported to speak, lead, facilitate, and ask questions in a community-led, issue-focused candidate forum.
826 MSP - $2,000
Minneapolis
During National Poetry Month (April), 826 MSP will publish and share youth poetry and stories on pizza boxes from local pizzerias.
Brooks Turner - $2,000
Minneapolis
Brooks will research and scan historical archives to create a history of fascism in MN exhibit in St. Cloud.
Chonburi Lee - $1,631
Maplewood
A video podcast will be developed, featuring intergenerational Hmong stories and voices, including elders sharing their experiences with war (outside of being in the military).
Cow Tipping Press - $2,000
Minneapolis
Ten animated video illustrations of poetry by neurodiverse authors will be created.
Department of Public Transformation - $1,000
Granite Falls
A kickoff gathering for the WE CAN! event series will be held to solicit design and planning input from emerging female artists, artists of color, and artists from underrepresented communities in Southwest Minnesota.
GREAT Theatre - $2,000
Waite Park
A post-show conversation with a panel of experts and community members who are a part of or work with the LGBTQ+ community in Central Minnesota will follow performances of “The Laramie Project.” Local resources will also be provided.
Hallie Q. Brown Community Center - $2,000
St. Paul
Youth of St. Paul Public Schools will learn how to digitally archive materials at Hallie Q. Brown (HQB) Community Center, and create a short digital film featuring photos and audio from the elders of HQB.
Kim Heikkila - $2,000
St. Paul
Kim will conduct recorded interviews and share stories with boxers with Parkinson’s.
Lower Phalen Creek Project - $2,000
St. Paul
Intentional outreach to the American Indian and Hmong communities for both storytelling and youth participation in a youth comic book workshop will be conducted.
Park Rapids Independent School District 309 - $1,600
Park Rapids
Author Kao Kalia Yang will speak and work with students through writing prompts and workshops.
Portico Healthnet - $2,000
St. Paul
Healthcare stories of marginalized communities will be shared through written and visual storytelling.
Shanai Matteson - $2,000
Minneapolis
Shanai will collaborate with artist Sara Pajunen to create a sound and poetry performance for the Nashwauk Mine, highlighting the stories of women and the mine.
University of Minnesota Foundation - $2,000
Minneapolis
Community listening/feedback sessions of the pilot episode of a new podcast, Transcripts (interviews from the Tretter’s Transgender Oral History Project), will be held to incorporate community feedback into the final product.