MEMBER SIGN IN
Not a member? Become one today!
         iBerkshires     Berkshire Chamber     Berkshire Community College     City of Pittsfield    
Search
Berkshire Organizations Awarded Stories Grants
11:20AM / Thursday, November 07, 2024
Print | Email  

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Manos Unidas, of Pittsfield and Multicultural BRIDGE, of Lee were both awarded Mass Humanities' Expand Massachusetts Stories (EMS) grants.
 
The EMS grants support storytelling projects that provide a more complete, more nuanced picture of life in the Commonwealth, according to a press release. Since launching EMS in 2021, Mass Humanities has prioritized funding projects that give voice to those who are often excluded from mainstream histories and stories. In total, the foundation has distributed more than $3 million to date, supporting the completion of audio tours, documentary films, oral histories, public events, and archival research.
 
This fall, Mass Humanities concluded its fourth round of the EMS initiative by providing $1.2 million in grant funding to 64 cultural nonprofit organizations across Massachusetts.
 
Manos Unidas was awarded $20,000 to supoport Raíces de Cuentos, an oral history project that will collect under heard stories related to the resilience and struggles of flight and relocation across generations from Latino immigrants in Pittsfield.
 
Multicultural BRIDGE was awarded $20,000 to support Migration Stories, an oral history project expanding on Multicultural BRIDGE's Berkshire Mosaic, in partnership with BTW Berkshires as an oral historian and journalist, to create a community digital archive, of, for and by Black, immigrant and indigenous communities in the Berkshires, involving a series of events.
 
"We live in a moment that calls for new narratives and new opportunities to reimagine the past, present, and future of Massachusetts," said Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities. "This year's Expand Mass Stories projects give local people the chance to chronicle and celebrate their communities with dignity and hope. On behalf of our board and staff, congratulations to these bold, courageous storytellers."
 
The number of EMS grantees increased by 50 percent from last year, from 42 to 64 organizations. The percentage of BIPOC-led grants is the highest it has ever been, at 89.6 percent.
 
The grants complete Mass Humanities' funding cycle for 2024, in which the foundation delivered more than $1.6 million in direct support to nonprofits, the most in the foundation's history.
 
 
 
 
 
Comments
More Featured Stories
Pittsfield.com is owned and operated by: Boxcar Media 106 Main Sreet, P.O. Box 1787 North Adams, MA 01247 -- T. 413-663-3384
© 2008 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved