The Michigan League of Handweavers, in conjunction with the MSU Museum, have been awarded a $15,000 Public Humanities Development Grant for the evolving project "Fascination with Fiber: Michigan's Handweaving Heritage" along with an additional $2,800 in matching funds for the exhibit.
"Our goal is to promote awareness of weaving guilds and fiber arts in Michigan as a part of our shared cultural heritage," said Lora Helou, spokeswoman for the MSU Museum. "We hope the public will learn more about weaving, and we want to inspire new fiber arts at the same time."
Helou said the money will go toward designing, fabricating and installing the display into the MSU Museum along with creating public programs and producing promotional materials for the handweaving exhibit.
She added that the exhibit will be for anyone who's interested in seeing it - not just those attracted by the fiber arts - and that it primarily will be based in the MSU Museum, although the display is expected to travel.
Scott Hirko, spokesman for the Michigan Humanities Council, said there was a total of $65,019 in grants and $25,200 in matching funds awarded to five different humanities projects in Michigan. The projects in development were awarded money through a specific program called "Creating Vision for the New Century: The Humanities and the Strengthening of Michigan's Communities."
"The council has a grant review committee that reviews all requests for grants," Hirko said of the process. "We received 13 grant applications and awarded five."
He said the committee looks at the projects and then a panel of judges reviews each application against the criteria for the current 2002-05 grants program.
According to Hirko, the grants program is intended to meet the needs of applicant organizations of different kinds, sizes and varying levels of expertise. The program intends to provide suitable incentive for larger institutions with humanities resources to use them off-site or off-campus as well as to complement or enhance council initiatives and to encourage nonprofit entrepreneurship.
"This project is a perfect example of how Michigan Humanities Council seeks to bridge communities and ideas by providing funding to local organizations which collaborate on public humanities programming," Hirko said.
As for the exhibit itself, Marie Gile, project director for the Michigan League of Handweavers and the exhibit's curator for the MSU Museum, said the exhibit will be hands-on and will provide the community with a closer look at weaving.
She said there will be a weaver's studio set up with two looms and a spinning wheel, skeins - threads or strands - and cones of yarns, woven samplers on the walls and weaving books and magazines for patrons to peruse through.
"There will be fibers and woven samples for visitors to feel and compare," Gile said. "Weavers and spinners will also demonstrate on particular days throughout the exhibit."
One of the biggest attractions to the exhibit is going to be the loom available for all people to try out.
"The community loom is for all visitors who would like to try their hand at weaving," Gile said. "We hope everyone will enjoy weaving a small or larger section and make it a wonderful community event."
For more information about the types of grants awarded from the Michigan Humanities Council, visit www.michiganhumanities.org/grants/mhcgrants/index.htm
