PRINTBetween 2006 and 2010, institutions and individuals in Delaware received $5 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Delaware Humanities Forum for projects that explore the human endeavor and preserve our cultural heritage. Below are some examples.
- Graduate-level study for thirty future conservators of material culture at the University of Delaware, Newark, became possible through three grants totaling $737,600 to the Winterthur/University of Delaware master’s-level Art Conservation Program, one of only five in the country training conservation professionals to care for America’s cultural heritage.
- The Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington interprets the site of the original DuPont Company Powder Mill and holds several major collections on the history of American business. A $450,000 grant was used to help renovate its Hall of Records to better preserve its archives.
- A $40,000 planning grant to the Delaware Art Museum supported an exhibition and catalogue on the works of John Sloan, American realist painter and illustrator. “Seeing the City: Sloan’s New York” was the first major traveling exhibition to focus on Sloan’s images of New York and the first since 1970 to present significant new scholarship on the artist.
- The Corbit Calloway Memorial Library, Odessa, was granted $3,900 toward the preservation of about 150 oversize maps and posters in its Del-Mar-Va special collection depicting counties and towns on the Delmarva Peninsula during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Historic Red Clay Valley, operator of the Wilmington and Western Railroad’s Delaware’s Operating Railroad Museum, received a $6,000 grant for a preservation assessment of its collection of documents and artifacts on railroad history and operations in northern Delaware.
- The Old Swedes Church Foundation, Wilmington, was awarded $6,000 for a preservation survey of its early records and manuscripts documenting the history of the New Sweden Colony and of the congregation of Holy Trinity Old Swedes Church going back to 1697.
- Assisted by a $40,000 grant, the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation is planning expanded interpretive programs in First State Heritage Park in Dover. New interpretative materials, including living history programs, self-guided audio tours, and wayside signage, will cover the eighteen years (1774–92) before and after 1787, when Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution.
- The Delaware Industrial History Initiative, a grant program for state heritage agencies administered by the Delaware Humanities Forum, is digitally documenting Delawareans’ experiences with industrialization and industrial decline, creating a valuable resource for students and researchers.
- Established in 1986, the Delaware Humanities Forum’s Visiting Scholars Program brings university professors and subject experts to speak in local classrooms at no cost to the school on topics such as Delaware history, African-American history, anthropology, literature, and teen ethics.
- Hard at Work, a book discussion series reflecting the history of labor and industry in Delaware, was conceived and produced by the Delaware Humanities Forum and is offered in various communities throughout Delaware at no charge to residents. The events include a scholarly discussion of a chosen book, dramatic readings, and other book-related entertainment.