By Staff of Nevada Humanities
Nevada Humanities is pleased to announce that Humanities Heart to Heart, a virtual essay program of Nevada Humanities, has won the 2021 Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for outstanding public humanities programming conducted or supported by a state humanities council in 2020.
The Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize, awarded by the Federation of State Humanities Councils, was established in 1982 as an endowment by founding Board Member Martin Schwartz and his wife Helen. This is the highest honor awarded to humanities councils by the humanities community. Nevada Humanities shared the honor with the Minnesota Humanities Center, who also received a 2021 Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for their program How Can We Breathe in a virtual ceremony held at the National Humanities Conference on November 12, 2021.
Humanities Heart to Heart, Nevada Humanities’ first entirely virtual program, was created in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Envisioned in April 2020 and launched in July 2020, Humanities Heart to Heart is an ongoing program series that features commissioned essays and creative works by a wide spectrum of Nevadans about the day-to-day concerns of what it means to be human in a time of isolation, loneliness, uncertainty, and cycles of rebuilding and retreat. Schwartz Prize judges praised the way this program promoted creative activity across multiple media platforms, embraced a wide variety of participants, and inspired deep collaboration with community organizations around the state.
“The stories and experiences shared as a part of Humanities Heart to Heart have brought us together during the most challenging of times,” notes Christina Barr, executive director of Nevada Humanities. “In our work at Nevada Humanities, we understand the humanities to be lived by all, and Humanities Heart to Heart – through its stories and ideas shared by a wide variety of people, gives us an inspirational archive of the thoughts of Nevadans and their communities in this pandemic moment and beyond. We are honored to receive the Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for this work, and we share this award with all of the program participants.”
“In a year that demanded so much from our humanity, Nevada Humanities’ program Humanities Heart to Heart brought opportunities for community members to express themselves, gather together in virtual community, and provide much-needed context for what we were experiencing as a nation,” said Phoebe Stein, president of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. “Humanities Heart to Heart grounded communities in vital conversations about healing and the complexity of humanity, and underlined the importance of innovation and creativity in moments of crisis.”
About the Federation of State Humanities Councils: Founded in 1977, the Federation of State Humanities Councils is the national member association of the US state and jurisdictional humanities councils. The Federation’s purpose is to provide leadership, advocacy, and information to help members advance programs that engage millions of citizens across diverse populations in community and civic life.
About Nevada Humanities: Nevada Humanities is one of 56 independent, nonprofit, state and territorial humanities councils that partner with the National Endowment for the Humanities. With offices in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada Humanities creates public programs and supports public projects statewide that define the Nevada experience and facilitate the exploration of issues that matter to Nevadans and their communities.
