NORTHAMPTON, MA — Mass. Humanities announced this week it had awarded $713,876 in Expand Massachusetts Stories (EMS) grants to 42 cultural nonprofit organizations across the Commonwealth, including to the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and the Armenians of Whitinsville. The funded projects will surface new narratives about the people and ideas that shape Massachusetts.
NAASR was awarded $9,570 for their project, “Exploring Hybrid Identities of Armenian-Americans in Mass.” The project will support a series of public programs on Armenian- American identities and how they interact with the diverse community of Massachusetts.
The project will Expand Mass Stories by encouraging and inviting members of the Armenian-American community in Massachusetts to share their voices and perspectives on the multiple facets of their identities and how they have been shaped through interactions with the broader, diverse Massachusetts community. “Exploring Hybrid Identities of Armenian-Americans in Mass.” will encourage fruitful conversations and reflections on the importance of the diversity within the Armenian-American community and the overall Massachusetts population.
Armenians of Whitinsville was awarded $7,500 for their project “Whitinsville Armenians, Stories Past to Present.” The project will produce 10 to 15 oral history recordings from Armenians with ties to Whitinsville. The recordings will sit on the Armenians of Whitinsville project website alongside recently translated and subtitled recordings of Armenian Genocide survivors done in the 1970’s. They will also reside with the University of Southern California Center for Armenian Studies for research purposes.
The project will Expand Mass Stories through oral histories that will explore issues around the diaspora, the transformation of the Armenian community of Whitinsville, and how their identity has changed over the last 130 years. The oral history project will dovetail into a web-based project organized over the last 12 months and recently launched, www.armeniansofwhitinsville.org. They will sit inside both the Recordings section and inside their family collection, providing additional narrative and context. If interested in contributing your story, please contact the project through info@armeniansofwhitinsville.org.
Rooted in Mass Humanities’ mission to create opportunities for the people of Massachusetts to transform their lives and build a more equitable Commonwealth, the new EMS initiative kicked off last year with support to projects across the state that included audio tours, documentary films, oral histories, and public events. The new grant program will strive to promote an equitable and inclusive society that recognizes all people’s perspectives, especially those that have been marginalized and underrepresented.
