Missouri Humanities Council (MHC)

Missouri Humanities offered 204 live and asynchronous council-conducted programs in 2023, engaging 67,975 participants. 60 subrecipient-conducted activities took place with 322,885 participants. 390,860 total missourians were served throughout the year. Signature serieswe promote public dialogue through scholarly lectures, symposia, interpretive exhibits, and interactive events. In 2023, we asked missourians to join Missouri Humanities on our "roots & routes" journey as we dedicated our signature series to the movement of people, both voluntary and involuntary, and its influence on the cultural heritage, natural environment, and the modern makeup of Missouri. 2,807 individuals joined us in person for seven tent-pole signature series programs. Missouri Humanities also produced five episodes of the roots & routes podcast, which was downloaded 954 times. Missouri Humanities produced the short documentary si otsedoha (we are still here): remembering cherokee removal in alignment with the 2023 signature series theme. The film follows the remember the removal bike ride and highlights the endurance, emotions, and bonds of cherokee people over nearly 1,000 miles along the trail of tears. The film was nominated for a mid-america regional emmy in august 2023.veterans programsour veterans programs offer support to both new and experienced writers through workshops, readings, and an annual publication: proud to be. Together, these programs encourage hundreds of veterans each year to tell their stories. In 2023, Missouri Humanities presented three veterans writing and film workshops with 50 participants, hosted a virtual readers' theater, and published volume 11 of proud to be: writings by american warriors. Digital programmingmissouri Humanities' digital programming connects missourians to specialized content anywhere, at any time. Missouri Humanities produced 24 digital programs in fy23. Mh engaged 55,289 participants across all digital platforms for videos, podcasts, and post-event recordings. 4,456.4 total hours were watched on youtube throughout the year. In 2023, we launched a new platform. Humanities tv (h-tv) is a curated collection that connects viewers with people, places, and ideas rooted in the Humanities. Much of the films currently featured on h-tv tell stories about rural life in Missouri. In the small town showcase (sts) series, we strive to highlight the uniqueness of rural communities. In 2023, we debuted four sts films which were viewed 15,987 times. Five sts podcast episodes were downloaded 1,080 time. Speakers bureauwe partner with the state historical society of Missouri to provide expert historians, storytellers, and scholars to give in-person presentations about Missouri's culture, history, art, and people to audiences across the state. A total of 143 speakers bureau programs were hosted at local educational and cultural organizations across Missouri, reaching a total audience of 3,822 rural missourians in 2023. Literary programswe commemorate and promote our state's rich literary heritage through mo Humanities magazine, read from the start, and events that bring awareness to local authors. As the library of congress's designated home for the Missouri center for the book, we encourage reading for pleasure and expanding literary education for missourians of all ages. In october 2023, we co-hosted the heartland book festival in Kansas city. 2,181 people attended in person with 387 participating virtually. Traditional and social media for this event reached 21,161,731.in 2023, 287 read from the start family literacy kits were requested from 69 counties across the state. 647 children from rural, urban, and suburban communities were impacted by this program. Each kit included two to three books, enrichment activities, and printed literacy resources. Virtual readings, discussion ideas, read-aloud information, and dial-a-story were offered electronically to participating families. Cultural heritageour heritage programs promote Missouri's rich cultural heritage and historical significance. We offered 21 unique programs, digitally and in-person, including scholar panels, cultural heritage workshops, a podcast series, and a traveling exhibit. Our programs focused on preserving native american, german, civil war, and rural cultural heritage.in 2023, Missouri Humanities partnered with the Missouri division of tourism and the Missouri arts Council to support a cultural heritage tourism initiative titled "horizons". The partners selected nine organizations to participate as a cohort in the pilot year. The goal of the "horizons" initiative was to drive visitors to experience culture, art, and the Humanities. 152,466 people attended cultural heritage festivals in nine Missouri communities. Grantsmajor grants were awarded to humanities-based proposals twice a year for up to $10,000. Mini grants were awarded to nonprofit organizations for projects of up to $2,500. In fy23, mh awarded $569,996.64 in mini and major grant subawards statewide to Missouri nonprofits. Projects funded by these awards reached 170,419 participants in 2023.