Cranston, RI: Mev Miller has received a $2,000 grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities for her new project: Wanderground: Archiving Lesbian Legacies, Words, Creativity in Rhode Island.
This one-year individual grant supports research into Rhode Island Lesbians’ relationships with and contributions to the late-twentieth-century Women in Print Movement, and their existing personal collections related to the Movement. The research will primarily take the form of surveys and interviews as well as visits to existing Lesbian archives, and will culminate in a presentation of findings via a website/blog, physical display, and presentation event.
Lesbians who live or have lived or worked in Rhode Island are invited to reply to a survey to share their ideas and experiences. ALL responses are anonymous (unless individuals add their name to the mailing list). Surveys can be accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/r/Wanderground. A Spanish version is available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/Wanderground-Spanish. Paper copies in English or Spanish can be received by contacting Wanderground. The survey will remain open until November 15. COVID-safe focus groups for more in-depth discussions will be offered starting in June.
The Wanderground project will use the survey responses, focus groups, and additional research to lay the foundation for developing Wanderground, a Lesbian Archive in Rhode Island. Its mission will be to collect and display a broad array of Lesbian publications and artifacts from many places (including Rhode Island) in order to keep them alive and visible to current and future Lesbians.
This Wanderground Research Project is made possible through major funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Council seeds, supports, and strengthens public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders.