By Rick Bass We are pleased to share the introductory essay for our newest Reading & Discussion theme: “Place and Story.” Humanities New York commissioned noted novelist, essayist, and environmentalist Rick Bass to curate a selection of texts that explore the manifold ways the American landscape influences our experiences and way of life. As with all R & D groups, the texts selected–which include fiction, nonfiction, and poetry–explore the theme from a variety of perspectives. We also ask our R & D Scholar-Advisors to pen an original essay contextualizing the selected readings. Below, in the “Place and Story” essay, Rick discusses each reading in the series within the […]
HNY Board & Staff News
SARAH G. CARNEY APPOINTED CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sarah G. Carney will lead the organization’s Board of Directors as it enters a new phase of programming, which includes working with populations affected by mass incarceration, and the celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment (2020) and the fifty year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (2019). HNY also continues its grant-making and direct programs that encourage in-person engagement with issues and challenges in our democratic society; all are available to tax-exempt entities in New York State. Sarah is the founder of Sarah G. Carney LLC. In nearly 28 […]
“There is No Texting at James Baldwin’s Table”
“James Baldwin’s America” continues to be one of the most popular and challenging discussion programs Humanities New York offer. Here, we check in with two of the discussion facilitators for the program as they recount how the program has changed their lives and the communities they have worked in. HNY: You talk in your essay about your initial encounter with Baldwin’s writing, and I’m wondering if there are any other experiences or history that you have reading Baldwin’s work, or moments that stand out to you that might have prompted your desire to share Baldwin with other people, or re-engage […]
Portable History: Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow
Museums continually test new ways to produce exhibits that are accessible to people beyond the doors of the institution. Sometimes exhibitions are extended through websites or phone apps, but digital approaches have their limits as well. With this new exhibit, the New-York Historical Society goes a step further, by producing a panel exhibition that presenters with even the smallest venues can download and publish. Touching on current events, the exhibition “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow” explores the struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War. Humanities New York […]
Breaking Down Stereotypes at the Iroquois Indian Museum
Museums increasingly strive to provide exhibit content that is relevant and inclusive, presenting visitors with a range of perspectives and voices in order to spark reflection and dialogue. Many now offer thoughtful interpretation supported by collections and archives while allowing audiences to participate in the process of meaning-making. Given their unique position in the civic landscape, museums are well-equipped to help audiences navigate difficult histories and issues. This is apparent in a recent HNY grant-funded exhibition at the Iroquois Indian Museum, an anthropological museum located in the Mohawk Valley less than an hour west of Albany. The Museum’s current exhibit, […]
Virtual Reality Immerses Visitors at Albany History Fair 2018
Participatory experiences top the list of expectations for today’s visitors to historic house museums and other cultural institutions, which presents both challenges and opportunities for the field. One new avenue for audience engagement is the incorporation of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Humanities New York spoke with Deborah Emmons-Andarawis, Acting Director of Historic Cherry Hill, and Krysta Dennis and Michael Lounello from Siena College’s Creative Arts Department to discuss the debut of VR at the Albany History Fair in May 2018. Historic Cherry Hill and the college’s Creative Arts Department laid the groundwork for this VR experiment through last year’s celebration […]
Cultural Field Survey
Humanities New York first circulated its Cultural Field Survey in 2016, in order to complement other data sets important to the public humanities (these include Data Arts and the National Humanities Indicators). This year’s survey used both quantitative and qualitative questions to build on the previous year’s survey in order to help HNY better serve its grantees and program partners. A printable version can be found here. Method The survey data was collected in January and February of 2018 using data from 376 responses, with 208 complete and 168 partial (responses that were less than 50% completed were not tabulated). […]
Humanities Behind Bars: Educational Programs for Incarcerated Youth on Rikers Island
Humanities New York sits down with Josie Whittlesey of Drama Club and Cameron Rasmussen and Ryan Burvick from the “Beats, Rhymes and Justice” program. They discuss the Action Grant-supported projects they offer to incarcerated youth (men and women under the age of 21) on Rikers Island. HNY: Rikers Island sounds like a difficult place to get an educational program going. How did you start it? Josie: I started with one class at the Robert N. Davoren Complex. It took a long time to get invited in. When I finally got there, it was just a matter of doing a weekly […]
Excerpt: “Making Mass Incarceration”
The following is an excerpt from Elizabeth Hinton’s From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime. Elizabeth is Assistant Professor in the Department History and the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Hinton’s research focuses on the persistence of poverty and racial inequality in the 20th century United States. If you’d like to explore the broader historical context of mass incarceration, you may watch After Attica: Criminal Justice and Mass Incarceration on our YouTube channel. In the century between the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865 and Johnson’s call for the War […]
“History from Below” An Interview with Jen Hoyer, Interference Archive
Powerful graphic design and social mission intersect in “Finally Got The News,” an exhibition at Brooklyn’s Interference Archive funded through a Humanities New York Action Grant. The mission of Interference Archive is to explore the relationship between cultural production and social movements. This work manifests in an open stacks archival collection, publications, a study center, and public programs including exhibitions, workshops, talks, and screenings; all of which encourage critical and creative engagement with the rich history of social movements. Last month we sat down with project director Jen Hoyer to discuss the Archive and this exhibition. HNY: Tell us a […]
