CHICAGO — A report detailing the hardships and successes of 177 Illinois-based community organizations underscores the need for more support in protecting our social fabric in a post-COVID world. Illinois Humanities, the Illinois affiliate to the National Endowment for the Humanities, released "On Wisdom and Vision: Humanities Organizations in Illinois during COVID-19," detailing COVID-19's impact on 177 public humanities organizations from across the state.
The organizations featured were awarded COVID-19 relief grants by Illinois Humanities, part of a $710,000 initiative made possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities federal CARES Act funding.
"As we look ahead to building the strongest economic recovery for Illinois, this report will provide insights on how to support our humanities organizations. Given the role these organizations play, there is a clear need to celebrate the sector, bring more visibility to their work, and invest in organizations as community anchors," said Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker. "On behalf of the state of Illinois, I want to commend Illinois Humanities on the ways in which the team has so quickly shifted their work, finding ways to advance their mission in an incredibly difficult landscape."
Through grantee reports and interviews, the 177 organizations revealed that even though they faced a collective $10m in lost revenues in 2020 and 1,700,000 fewer visitor engagements than they had anticipated pre-COVID-19, these institutions kept their doors "open," documented the pandemic's impact on their communities, supported work on racial inequity, and responded to their diverse communities in ways that they previously had not.
The report findings include that the majority of the 177 organizations are located in Illinois ZIP codes where a significant portion of households experience poverty and which were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The locations of the 177 organizations and grant details are available through a searchable map.
"Humanities organizations are designed to bring us together. So, it may not be surprising to find that they have had something substantial to offer Illinoisians during the pandemic," said Illinois Humanities executive director, Gabe Lyon. "It has been surprising to realize, however, the profound ways in which — despite being under duress — they have helped communities feel less isolated, documented incredible stories, and transformed the ways they've ensured access, inclusion and creativity — often for the Illinoisians most severely impacted by the effects of COVID-19.
Along with its original data, Illinois Humanities relied on U.S. Census Bureau and Illinois Department of Health data sets to provide a detailed look at the state's network of public humanities organizations. The report makes recommendations for funders, organization leaders, policymakers and researchers.
Through the Illinois Humanities COVID-19 Emergency Relief grants, the Effingham Public Library worked with local photographer Tytia Habing to take portraits of local teachers, administrators and students, with and without their masks ("Effingham: At the Crossroads of Education"). The photographs were combined with interviews that capture the way those photographed pivoted during the pandemic. Johnna Schultz, assistant director of the library, said "On one level the work celebrates collaboration between parents, students, school support staff and teachers as they work to keep each other safe while providing quality education. But on a deeper level, the work acknowledges the tension that the American promise of equal education for all simply isn't possible — and this pandemic has created an education gap that will negatively affect many."
Illinois Humanities 2020 COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Recipients
1820 Col. Benjamin Stephenson House, Edwardsville
6018North, Chicago
826CHI, Chicago
Abe Lincoln Project/Looking for Lincoln in Pike County, Pittsfield
About Face Theatre Collective, Chicago
Adler Arts Center, Libertyville
African American Museum of Southern Illinois, Carbondale
African-American Cultural & Genealogical Society of Illinois, Decatur
Al Raby Foundation, Chicago
American Blues Theater, Chicago
American Farm Heritage, Greenville
Artists Reenvisioning Tomorrow, Peoria
Atlanta Public Library and Museum, Atlanta
Aurora Historical Society, Aurora
Aurora Regional Fire Museum, Aurora
Backbones, Prospect Heights
Ballet Quad Cities, Rock Island
Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, Chicago
BECOME: Center for Community Engagement and Social Change, Chicago
Bishop Hill Heritage Association, Bishop Hill
Bronzeville Black Chicagoan Historical Society, Chicago
Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, Riverwoods
Bureau County Historical Society, Princeton
Canal Corridor Association, LaSalle
Carbondale Community Arts, Carbondale
Cedarville Area Historical Society, Cedarville
Center for Racial Harmony, Belleville
Centralia Area Historical Society, Centralia
Changing Worlds, Chicago
Charnley-Persky House Museum Foundation/Society of Architectural Historians, Chicago
Chicago Blues Museum, Chicago
Chicago Collections Consortium, Chicago
Chicago Cultural Alliance, Chicago
Chicago for Chicagoans, Chicago
Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), Chicago
Chicago Poetry Center, Chicago
Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago
Chicago Youth Shakespeare, Chicago
Children's Theatre of Elgin, Elgin
CivicLab, Chicago
Collaboraction Theatre Company, Chicago
Colonel Davenport Historical Foundation, Rock Island
ConTextos, Chicago
contratiempo, Chicago
Crossing Borders Music, Chicago
Crossroads Blues Society, Byron
Cumberland County Historical & Genealogical Society, Greenup
David Davis Mansion Foundation, Bloomington
Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Chicago
Definition Theatre Company, Chicago
DeKalb County History Center, Sycamore
Design Museum of Chicago, Chicago
Discovery Depot Children's Museum, Galesburg
Easley Pioneer Museum Foundation, Ipava
East Bluff Community Center, Peoria
Eastlight Theatre, East Peoria
Effingham Public Library, Effingham
Elgin History Museum, Elgin
eta Creative Arts Foundation, Chicago
Ethnic Heritage Museum, Rockford
Fifth House Ensemble, Chicago
Firebrand Theatre, Chicago
Free Write Arts & Literacy, Chicago
Full Spectrum Features, Chicago
Galena Center for the Arts, Galena
Galesburg Civic Art Center, Galesburg
Gallatin County Historical Society, Shawneetown
General John A. Logan Museum, Murphysboro
Genesius Theatre Foundation, Rock Island
Glessner House, Chicago
Glidden Homestead and Historical Center, DeKalb
Global Girls, Chicago
Greater Livingston County Arts Council, Pontiac
Guild Literary Complex, Chicago
Hairpin Arts Center/Logan Square Chamber of Arts, Chicago
Hamilton Wings, Elgin
Hegeler-Carus Foundation, La Salle
Heterodyne Broadcasting/WDBX Radio, Carbondale
Hinckley Historical Society, Hinckley
Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, Quincy
History Center Lake Forest Lake Bluff, Lake Forest
Honey Pot Performance, Chicago
Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield
Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project, Springfield
Illinois Rural Heritage Museum, Inc., Pinckneyville
Illinois State Historical Society, Springfield
Illinois State Museum Society, Springfield
Imagine Hillsboro Theater Group, Hillsboro
In My Brother's Shoes, Chicago
International Children's Media Center, Chicago
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago
Iroquois County Historical Society, Watseka
Jacksonville Main Street, Jacksonville
Jefferson County Historical Society, Mount Vernon
Joliet Area Historical Museum, Joliet
Kartemquin Educational Films, Chicago
Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, East Saint Louis
Korean Cultural Center of Chicago, Wheeling
Kuumba Lynx, Chicago
La Grange Area Historical Society, La Grange
LaSalle County Historical Society, Utica
Lawrence County Historical Society, Lawrenceville
Lincoln Heritage Museum, Lincoln
Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center, Franklin Grove
Lincoln Log Cabin Foundation, Lerna
Lithuanian Archives Project, Chicago
Livingston County Historical Society, Pontiac
Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, Springfield
Macoupin County Historical Society, Carlinville
Madison County Historical Society, Edwardsville
Magnolia Township Preservation Association, Magnolia
McHenry County Historical Society & Museum, Union
McLean County Museum of History, Bloomington
Media Burn Archive, Chicago
Mexican Cultural Center, West Chicago
Midway Village Museum, Rockford
Midwest Writing Center, Rock Island
Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Evanston
Museum of the Grand Prairie, Mahomet
Musical Arts Institute, Chicago
Muslim American Leadership Alliance, Chicago
MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, Elmhurst
NAJWA Dance Corps, Chicago
National Public Housing Museum, Chicago
NON-OP, INC (NON:op Open Opera Works), Chicago
Old School Museum, Winchester
OPEN Center for the Arts, Chicago
P.A.S.T. of Union County, Jonesboro
Peoria Historical Society, Peoria
Pilot Light, Chicago
PlayMakers Laboratory, Chicago
Preservation and Conservation Association of Champaign County, Champaign
Preservation of Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb
Public Media Institute, Chicago
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, Chicago
Quad Cities Jazz Festival, East Moline
Que4 Radio, Chicago
Ray Bradbury Experience Museum, Waukegan
Red Mask Players, Danville
Reddick Mansion Association, Ottawa
Repertorio Latino Theater Company, Chicago
Robbins Historical Society Museum, Robbins
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, Dixon
Savanna Museum & Cultural Center, Savanna
Shabbona-Lee-Rollo Historical Museum, Shabbona
Silent Theatre Company, Chicago
Silk Road Rising, Chicago
Sixty Inches From Center, Chicago
South Side Community Art Center, Chicago
South Side Weekly, Chicago
Springfield Theatre Centre, Springfield
St. Charles History Museum, St. Charles
St. Clair County Historical Society, Belleville
Stark County Historical Society, Toulon
Stephenson County Historical Society, Freeport
Still Point Theatre Collective, Chicago
Strategy for Access Foundation, Chicago
Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society, Pekin
The Corn Stock Theatre, West Peoria
The Haitian American Museum, Chicago
The Hub-Arts and Cultural Center, Rushville
The Paper Machete Group, Chicago
The Raupp Museum, Buffalo Grove
The Rebuild Foundation, Chicago
The Ukrainian National Museum, Chicago
The Vegan Museum, Chicago
The Voices and Faces Project, Chicago
Thebes Historical Society, Marion
Third Coast, Chicago
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, Urbana
Wabash Roots'n'Que Festival, Mt. Carmel
Washington County Historical Society, Nashville
Western Illinois Museum, Macomb
Wheels O' Time Museum, Dunlap
Williamson County Historical Society, Marion
Y'all Rock Carbondale (Libre), Carbondale
Young Chicago Authors, Chicago
Media Kit: bit.ly/COVID19reportMEDIA .
Entire Report: ilhumanities.org/COVID19report .
Searchable Grants Map: bit.ly/COVID19reportMAP .
