FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2006
Julie Levak, Director of External Affairs, California Council for the Humanities
(415) 391-1474
jlevak@calhum.org
California Council for the Humanities Awards 24 Grants Across the State to Chronicle Personal Stories of Californians From All Walks of Life
California Story Fund gives veterans, immigrants, inmates and many others the opportunity to tell surprising and often unheard stories through multimedia projects
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Council for the Humanities announced today grant recipients of the California Story Fund, a program that provides opportunities for individual Californians to contribute their stories to the evolving story of our state. The Fund is an ongoing program of California Stories, a multiyear initiative designed to connect Californians and foster understanding by uncovering personal and community stories that tell the story of today’s California.
The 24 projects use a variety of media including photography, audio recordings, film and personal essays to gather and share stories of Californians from all walks of life. Many will be presented to the public via museum exhibits and community performances across the state. To learn more, visit: www.californiastories.org.
“In today’s media-rich environment, we are often presented with stereotypical images of California and its residents, which just don’t tell the whole story about who we are,” said James Quay, executive director of the Council. “The projects made possible by California Story Fund grants offer us stories that paint a far richer and more accurate picture of life in the most diverse state in the nation.”
Some highlights:
- People in West Contra Costa County relate how chronic mental illnesses affect their daily lives and reveal how different cultures conceive of and react to such illnesses;
- Fifteen refugee youth in San Diego document their experiences and those of their elders using photography and oral histories;
- At-risk youth are trained to interview former East Los Angeles gang members about what it takes to leave the gang world (a project of Father Greg Boyle’s Homeboy Industries and Pen USA);
- Photographs and interviews with residents 55 and older in the East Bay who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender;
- Inmates enrolled in college classes at San Quentin State Prison draft personal essays and are interviewed and photographed to better connect with people outside the prison walls; and
- Three Japanese families forced into internment camps at the beginning of World War II from their homes in Riverside relate their experiences to the Riverside community.
The following is a complete list of projects funded by the 2007 California Story Fund:
LOS ANGELES:
- The Azusa Heritage Project, by the Friends of the Azusa City Library: The stories of early pioneer and immigrant families in Azusa – on DVD and audiotape.
- A Divided Community, by the Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles): A dramatic reading of the stories of World War II Japanese American draft resisters.
- Homeboy Stories Project, by Pen USA and Homeboy Industries: East Los Angeles at-risk youth are trained to record the stories of former East L.A. gang members.
- The Oliver Clubs: Sports and Community in Japanese American Los Angeles, by the Little Tokyo Service Center: Stories from Japanese American sports clubs.
- Our Stories in Our Voices, by the American Chinese Culture Association: Photography and digital storytelling project about the Cultural Revolution by Chinese immigrants in San Gabriel Valley.
- Stories of the Pomona Valley, by the Historical Society of Pomona Valley: A collection of stories and photographs depicting Pomona’s ethnic history in the 20th century.
- Voices of Valley Veterans, by the Patrons Association of Los Angeles Valley College: Stories from World War II and Korean War veterans living in the San Fernando Valley.
- Word Nektar: an Open Mic, byJustice by Uniting in Creative Energy (J.U.I.C.E.): Los Angeles youth involved in hip-hop culture tell their stories at monthly open mic sessions.
- Work in Southern California: A Retrospective, by Studio for Southern California History: Oral histories and photographs on people’s experience of work in greater Los Angeles.
INLAND EMPIRE:
- Local, by Newtown Pasadena: Photographs, silent films, audio and text chronicling development in the Inland Empire, the most rapidly growing area in California.
- Reading the Walls: Riverside Stories, by the Riverside Metropolitan Museum: Stories from Riverside’s Japanese American residents about their internment experiences.
SAN DIEGO:
- Bilingual Literacy Project, by the Chicano Federation of San Diego County: Weekly classes for Latino youth and seniors on the art of storytelling and how to develop and record stories.
- El Cajon Story Project, by the AJA Project San Diego: Teaching refugee youth at El Cajon Middle School how to capture their experiences through photography and oral history.
- We Are Still here: The Story of Elder Katharine Siva Saubel and the Cahuilla Indians of Southern California, by the Anza-Borrego Desert Natural History Association: A DVD featuring a play based on a Cahuilla elder and oral histories from tribal members.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA:
- Crazy Quilts and Other Tales of Survival, by ArtsChange: A collection of stories and art from West Contra Costa County residents living with chronic mental illness.
- Dance Palace, by the Dance Palace Community Center: Oral histories and photography about small-town life from a West Marin County community center.
- A Fine and Long Tradition, by the National Women’s History Project: An archive of recorded stories about the grassroots women’s movement in Sonoma County from 1960 to the present.
- The Lavender Scrolls Project, by Lavender Seniors of the East Bay: Photographs and stories on what it means to be old and gay from LGBT seniors in the East Bay.
- Multiply by 6 Million, by Mercy High School: A DVD presentation of the stories of 25 San Francisco Bay Area residents who survived the Holocaust.
- Pioneer Filipino Women in California, by the Foundation for Philippine Folklife: A photography exhibit featuring the courageous women who were among the first Filipino immigrants in California.
- Reaching Out: College Students Inside San Quentin Share Their Lives, by the Prison University Project: Personal essays from San Quentin State Prison college students, accompanied by photographic portraits and audio recordings.
- Shifting Perceptions on the Urban Edge, by the City of Brentwood Arts Commission: Personal interviews and photographs from farm families in a rapidly developing area.
- Stories of Spiritual Traditions, by the Khmu National Federation: Khmu people from Laos now living in Richmond share their stories and spiritual traditions.
CENTRAL COAST
- An Ethnic Mosaic of a Minority-Majority City: Seaside Stories, by the City of Seaside: Documenting the history of Seaside, as told by members of the city’s various ethnic groups.
New guidelines for the California Story Fund will be announced in mid-September. The deadline for submitting applications is Feb. 1, 2007.
About the California Council for the Humanities
The mission of the California Council for the Humanities is to enrich California's cultural life and strengthen communities through public use of the humanities. A state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council has supported and created programs that bring Californians together around their history and culture for more than 25 years. For more information, visit www.californiastories.org or contact the Council's administrative office at (415) 391-1474.
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