Sailors, auto workers, and entrepreneurs: collecting and preserving arab american stories [funds from the american rescue plan: humanities organizations are requested to restore aanm's curatorial…

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) was awarded a $200,000 Project Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities under the Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access federal grant program (CFDA 45.149). The grant will fund oral history collection efforts focused on Yemeni seafarers, women in the automotive industry, and entrepreneurs to expand the Arab American National Museum's collections. Specifically, the funding will support the production and dissemination of 30 video interviews and associated physical materials from October 2021 through November 2022. It will also partially cover staff salaries, including for a Community History Specialist position, to reinvigorate the museum's oral history work paused during the pandemic. The expanded collections will be used for new exhibits, programs and outreach, as well as research. The project aims to strategically diversify the museum's collections through a broader range of Arab American experiences.

Activities

  the project will & nbsp; reinvigorate'the'arab american national museum's oral history collection work, which'paused'during the pandemic as the organization let go of its core project team and pivoted to'focus on'digital'programming.'during the'project, the applicant'will & nbsp; produce and make accessible'30'video & nbsp; interviews'with'yemeni'seafarers,'women'in the automotive industry, and'entrepreneurs,  as well as collect associated physical materials,'photos,'and documents'that'the museum'will'digitize and/or accession accordingly.'&nbsp

Expected outcomes

'the & nbsp; expanded oral history collections & nbsp; will be used for & nbsp; new exhibits, programs, and educational outreach, as well as being of interest to researchers.'  the proposed activity – oral history collection – and targeted communities for these oral histories,  will & nbsp; strategically diversify the & nbsp; museum's & nbsp; collections & nbsp; by encompassing a & nbsp; broader range of arab-american & nbsp; experience & nbsp; and history.' &nbsp

Intended beneficiaries

  visitors to the physical museum and online & nbsp; visitors & nbsp; will benefit from the oral history collections which will be used for new programs and outreach. Scholars and researchers could benefit from the oral history collections.&nbsp

Subrecipient activities

'the recipient does not intend to subaward funds. ]