Kentucky Historical Society
KHS to Host "Picturing America: Faces, Spaces and Places"

FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 29, 2011) — The Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) Foundation has received a Picturing America grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  This grant will enable KHS to offer a three-day conference for elementary teachers and librarians at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort.

Public, private and home school educators are invited to apply by May 31, 2011 to attend this conference.  Those accepted will receive a stipend of $300 and are required to attend all three days: Wednesday and Thursday, July 6-7, 2011, and the follow-up on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012.

Through the Picturing America initiative, the NEH aims to tell the story of America through its art, and inspire students across the country to gain a deeper appreciation of American history and character.

KHS’s “Picturing America: Faces, Spaces and Places” will include panel discussions by leading scholars; museum and gallery talks; site-specific field studies; the study of visual and primary sources; and hands-on workshops.  The conference will provide resources to educators, as well as support NEH’s goals and strengthen the understanding of the connections between great works of American art and significant events, themes and topics in the American experience.

Keynote speakers are James Klotter, Ph.D., professor of history at Georgetown College and State Historian of Kentucky, and Dr. Janice Simon, associate professor of art history at the University of Georgia.  Presentations and workshops include keynote speakers addressing American history and American landscape as a reflection of its socio-cultural context; content panels covering American photography, American architecture and public art and monuments; and technology professionals providing training in digital storytelling, blogging and podcasting.  Each presenter will also create an audio podcast, which will be made available to all participants during the conference and online.

The conference follow-up in January 2012 will provide an opportunity for teachers to share the ways in which they utilized images from the Picturing America portfolio in the classroom and applied material from the July conference.

A completed application and letter of recommendation is required for consideration, and must be submitted by May 31, 2011.  Accepted educators will be notified by June 10, 2011.  To download an application form, visit www.history.ky.gov/picturingamerica.  For more information on “Picturing America: Faces, Spaces and Places” at KHS, contact Mike Deetsch at 502-564-1792, ext. 4425 or Mike.Deetsch@ky.gov.

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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, established in 1836, is committed to helping people understand, cherish and share Kentucky's history. The KHS history campus includes the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum at the Old State Arsenal.  For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit the website at www.history.ky.gov.

The National Endowment for the Humanities: Because democracy demands wisdom.  Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.