The Michigan Humanities Council has awarded 13 public humanities projects with nearly $155,000 in grant money. The funding is supporting programs and exhibitions at museums, heritage festivals, research and publishing projects, theater programs, and other types of arts and culture programming in cities across Michigan. Find out what the 13 arts, cultural, and educational institutions plan to accomplish with the money. Recipients are spread out across the state in Sault Ste. Marie, Hancock, Marquette, Traverse City, Holland, Kalamazoo, Whitehall, Saginaw, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Dearborn, MI. The money will go a long way towards ensuring that these culturally enriching projects succeed and fulfill their potential.

Also, the Arts & Humanities Touring Program is accepting grant applications for traveling exhibits and performances happening until September 30, 2010. The award supports “touring performers, artists, exhibitors, and humanities presenters listed in Michigan's 2009-2012 Arts & Humanities Touring Directory,” an online directory offered by the Michigan Humanities Council and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Eligible applicants include “any Michigan nonprofit organization, institution, school, library, museum, chamber, association, or local government agency” that is “the sponsoring organization,” according to the program’s website. Grant applications will be accepted through September 2, 2010.

Jennifer Eberbach is a professional journalist and writer. Find contact information on her website www.jenthewriter.info

The Ford Foundation has given itself 10 years--and a $100 million budget--to positively impact the arts. The foundation’s new Supporting Diverse Arts Spaces initiative funds arts groups undertaking three types of projects; 1) Developing new arts spaces; 2) Launching new programs and addressing sustainability; and 3) Expanding and renovating established facilities. 

In general, the initiative argues that having spaces for art and artists (things like sustainable arts facilities, incubators and affordable living for artists) not only supports the health of the creative economy, it can also impact an entire local economy and revitalize neighborhoods. The initiative involves granting funds for development and redevelopment projects, as well as seminars on “topics related to sustaining arts centers,” which will be presented by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., over a two year period. 

According to the Ford Foundation, “The cultural richness of our country is no less important in times of economic uncertainty. We must promote the creative work of individual artists and institutions in these difficult times," said Luis Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation. "We also believe that this investment in arts infrastructure will advance the well-being of our communities because artists and art spaces can play a significant role in boosting local economies,” he said.

Call for Proposals: The Ford Foundation, Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) and the MetLife Foundation have teamed up to offer Ford Foundation Space for Change planning and predevelopment grants for “organizations that are in the early stages of planning facilities that support artistically innovative and culturally diverse endeavors that will strengthen relationships between the community and artists,” according to the Ford Foundation. Grants of up to $100,000 will be distributed through an open RFP process.