Still Making Lemonade

One year ago, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) terminated all its contracts with all its state and territorial partners (Councils) and began taking steps to dismantle its federal state partnership department. 

The trade association Federation of State Humanities Councils (Federation), which MHC is a member, initiated legal action against NEH. The Federation obtained an injunction to stop NEH from causing further harm to the Councils and has filed a motion for additional relief that includes restoring 2025 funding. 

NEH’s actions have caused some Councils to reduce their staffing and explore closing their doors. The possibility of the Council community contracting in the next 12 months is real. 

Because of Minnesota Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage legislative funding we receive and an increase in annual donations from generous donors, we were able to manage the loss of federal funding. Thank you for your support. 

While understanding we may be in a paradigm shift, I’m excited to continue taking the lemons to make lemonade including the launch of the Voices Forward program as part of the Smithsonian Museum’s (Smithsonian) 2026 Folklife Festival. 

Six Minnesota youth (ages 13–19) will participate in Voices Forward and through mentorship with acclaimed Minnesota poets they will craft poems that remember our past, mark our present, and imagine a shared future. 

The young poets will also participate in workshops to showcase their original works at events such as the Minnesota Book Awards before their capstone event at the Bell Museum, Minnesota’s Smithsonian Affiliate. 

MHC is also partnering once again with the traveling Smithsonian exhibition program, Museum on Main Street. Spark! Places of Innovation will celebrate inventions, innovations, and the amazing ingenuity occurring within small towns across America. Look for information below on how your community can bring the Spark! exhibition to your community. 

Working with the Smithsonian is a uniquely situated work of Councils. MHC is committed to continuing to bring such programming to Minnesota.   

Consistent with NEH’s enabling legislation, raising the visibility of immigrants and ethnic communities is also work that MHC is committed to delivering for the people of Minnesota. 

Accordingly, I’m excited to see the return of the International Festival of Minnesota (IFest–MN), formerly known as Festival of Nations, to Minnesota. 

Last weekend, I spent Saturday afternoon at the Minnesota Museum of American Art participating in a Wonderlust story circle discussing Values. If the excitement in the room—which included St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her—about IFest-MN is reflective of the excitement in the community, we will exceed our goal of 25,000 people. 

We are excited that NUESTRO NORTE , a film that we produced in collaboration with LatinoLEAD, Dual Studios, and film director Martín Blanco, will be premiering at the Minneapolis Film Festival. NUESTRO NORTE is a beautiful short film about life in Minnesota for Latinos that you will want to see — the show on April 18 sold out in a matter of hours, so we have plans in the works for future screenings.   

Finally, I look forward to telling you more next month about a project that we will be launching with the Givens African American Book Collection to highlight ten prominent books to commemorate the legacy of noted historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson. 

Kevin