As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Humanities New York is convening a statewide series of Community Conversations that asks a deceptively simple question: what does “revolution” mean now?

Democratic societies require roads, bridges, transit systems, and electrical grids. But they also require rooms where people can gather to reflect on what kind of society they are becoming.

Each conversation brings together Humanities New York with scholars, writers, and public thinkers whose work helps illuminate moments of cultural, political, and technological change.

The conversation centered on the Deer Hide Agreement of 1975, an object held at Skä•noñh that is also something more than an object.

Exploring rupture, return and renewal in communities across New York

In our recent editorial on Freedom and Its Futures, our ongoing conversation series with Brooklyn Public Library, we traced the larger arc of the series.

An overview of HNY's partnership series with the Brooklyn Public Library

A definition and brief history of HNY's signature series–plus dispatches from a recent success story and Banned Books Week.

We are not giving up. With your help, we will find new ways to keep doing this work. We ask you to stand with us—to advocate, to give, and to believe, as we do, that dialogue and understanding are not luxuries, but necessities.Read on to see how you can help #SaveHNY!

On April 14, 2025, HNY's Executive Director Sara Ogger talked to Sina Basila Hickey for Hudson Mohawk Magazine. Listen to the full interview.

Last week, Humanities New York (HNY) received notice that funding allocated to us by Congress and disbursed by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was cancelled, effectively immediately.Join the nationwide, bipartisan effort to save the humanities in New York and across the country.

2025 is a milestone year for Humanities New York, marking 50 years since the formation of the National Endowment for the Humanities and our founding as New York’s state council. In advance of the new year and a number of exciting developments including a website redesign and streamlined grants offerings, we’re proud to present a new brand aesthetic. 

By Joe Murphy, Director of GrantsIn 2025, HNY will revise these offerings in order to better serve the needs and interests of public humanities practitioners across New York State.

Congratulations to 21 organizations across the state that have been awarded Action Grants. Take a look at the full list of recipients.

On October 22, 2024, artist and author of "Saving Time: How to Discover a Life Beyond the Clock" and UC Boulder media studies professor Nathan Schneider joined Humanities New York in Poughkeepsie for a conversation on mindfulness and civic engagement in the current era.See the full program.

Performances, workshops, and exhibitions are but a few of the types of programs happening across the state, year–round with the support of HNY's grant programs for community-centric cultural organizations and graduate students.Begin the month with a weekend of outdoor excursions exploring local Indigenous heritage in Cold Spring and the surrounding area, and read on for more grantee goings-on in November.

Join Humanities New York’s presentation of a conversation between best-selling author Jenny Odell and media studies professor Nathan Schneider on the role of digital technology in our lives.In-person tickets are pay-what-you-wish with registration.

Grantee goings-on in August include a screening and Q&A at NYC's Film Forum and a guitar-making demo at the Iroquois Museum in Howes Cave.

Congratulations to 27 organizations across the state that have been awarded Action Grants. Take a look at the full list of Fall 2024 grantees, and watch out for events happening near you!

15 graduate students have been awarded a total of $60,000 in Humanities Centers Initiative (HCI) grants. The HCI grant is given on an annual basis to humanities students based in New York, in partnership with nine state universities. Explore the full list of projects.