Fairfield CT – The Fairfield Museum has received a highly competitive Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. One of only 115 SHARP grants awarded nationwide, the grant will support the Fairfield Museum’s efforts to resume its on-site programs and install new exhibitions focusing on the fascinating history of indigenous peoples and African Americans in southwestern Connecticut.
“The Fairfield Museum is deeply honored to receive this generous grant from NEH to create a new long-term exhibition that will explore southwestern CT’s diverse and complex history,” said executive director Michael Jehle. “The new exhibit and related educational programs will provide a more inclusive examination of the region’s 17th and 18th century history that includes new archeological discoveries related to pre-colonial Native American history, the role of African Americans in CT’s early history, and how race, gender, and class dynamics influenced the establishment of colonial Connecticut.”
Fairfield Museum and History Center370 Beach Road, Fairfield CT 06824 203-259-1598 fairfieldhistory.org
“The American Rescue Plan recognizes that the cultural and educational sectors are essential components of the United States economy and civic life, vital to the health and resilience of American communities,” said NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson. “These new grants will provide a lifeline to the country’s colleges and universities, museums, libraries, archives, historical sites and societies, save thousands of jobs in the humanities placed at risk by the pandemic, and help bring economic recovery to cultural and educational institutions and those they serve.”
About the Fairfield Museum and History Center:
Fairfield Museum and History Center, located at 370 Beach Road, Fairfield, CT, is a vibrant nexus of community life offering dynamic family programs and exhibitions, sparking dialogue and deliberating the challenges of the future. Central to our community-focused mission is a desire to provide important historical context to pressing issues of our time, and to offer a safe, trustworthy environment where multiple perspectives can be heard, and collective solutions explored. www.fairfieldhistory.org.
About the National Endowment for the Humanities:
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at neh.gov.