In a competitive granting cycle, Wyoming Humanities recently awarded Wyoming Crossroads funding to organizations throughout the state.
These grants support programs and projects that dig deep into the larger themes of the Wyoming Crossroads initiative: Wyoming’s identity, sense of community, connection to the land, persistence, and ability to manage change.
“I’m thrilled with the variety of projects we’re able to support,” said Chloe Flagg, director of grants and programming for Wyoming Humanities. “Using inspiration and idea-sharing, these organizations are helping to create a larger, more accessible environment for high quality humanities programming and events.”
Prior to the current cycle, Wyoming Humanities awarded 17 Wyoming Crossroads grants totaling $218,490, reaching every corner of the state. Funding was made possible by the Wyoming legislature through the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources.
The latest grant recipients are:
• Wyoming Outdoor Council - $6,550: Funding will provide for a film screening and discussion that explores the historical, cultural, and spiritual connection local tribes have to the state’s Red Desert, inspiring a largely indigenous audience to visit the landscape and learn about conservation efforts.
• Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum - $10,000: The museum and Grand Teton National Park will develop a multi-disciplinary and multi-media exhibition featuring the cultural, environmental, and social history of recreating on the Upper Snake River for the area’s locals and visitors.
• New Moon Productions - $10,000: The documentary series “Most Dangerous Women” places a focus on women becoming assured, visible changemakers confronting critical issues of their time/place, historically and today - as it aims to inspire audiences to locate and reclaim the often untold stories of their own communities.
• Off Square Theatre - $9,000: The theatre company will host a community read of “Fault Lines in the Constitution” to promote civic education focused on youth, including bringing authors Cynthia and Sanford Levinson for visits in schools and throughout the community.
• University of Wyoming Arabic & Middle Eastern Studies Program - $3,585: This project will unpack contrasting narratives surrounding a conflict via examples in the Middle East in order to encourage the empathy necessary to bridge lines of division and counter polarization in Wyoming residents’ own local communities.
A new round of Wyoming Crossroads grants is underway. Applications for digital media and preservation projects are due by Friday, April 24. For more details, visit thinkwy.org/grants.