As 2024 draws to a close, we celebrate an extraordinary year at PA Humanities, marked by groundbreaking programs launched as part of our 50th anniversary, expanded partnerships, and celebrating our shared humanity across Pennsylvania. From the magic of Rain Poetry to the deeply personal storytelling of Voices of History, we engaged Pennsylvanians of all ages and backgrounds in the transformative power of the humanities. Our commitment to amplifying youth voices flourished with the Youth-Led Humanities cohort, while initiatives such as PA CultureCheck shed light on the profound impact of arts and humanities organizations across the state.
Through advocacy, research, and community-centered programs such as Heart & Soul, we continued to demonstrate the humanities’ capacity to drive innovation, foster belonging, and inspire action. As we look forward to new milestones in 2025 – including the expansion of Rain Poetry to Reading and Voices of History to Scranton, the celebration of 10 years of PA Heart & Soul, and special events to share the findings of the Discovery Project – we remain energized by the collective impact of our partners, participants, and supporters. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the highlights and achievements of this transformative year that closes out our memorable 50th anniversary — where we showcased our commitment to equity, advocacy, research, and social impact.
Rain Poetry makes a splash across PA
Philadelphia
Rain Poetry gives young people the opportunity to explore their voices and express themselves through poetry, and transforms everyday spaces into opportunities for the community to engage with the humanities and foster learning and conversation. The program launched in Philadelphia in 2023, and wrapped in January 2024 with the Rain Poetry Philadelphia book launch, where we gathered students, parents, educators and teaching artists to celebrate poetry and the words written by young people from across the city.
Pittsburgh
Following the success of Philadelphia, Rain Poetry moved to Pittsburgh where we engaged teaching artist Karen Howard to lead haiku workshops at Assemble (Garfield), YouthPlaces (Northview Heights) and YMCA Lighthouse (Homewood). Each partner chose their own theme for the students to explore based on what was most meaningful to them. The elementary school students at Assemble wrote about the future, the young teens at YouthPlaces wrote about “Northview Nights” as a way to counter outside narratives about their community as a dangerous and scary place, and the high school students from YMCA Lighthouse continued their ongoing exploration of cryptids – creatures whose existence has never been proven but are prevalent in cultures and folklore around the world.
Partnering with artists Shane Pilster and Max Gonzales, we installed the poems on the ground in each site partner’s neighborhood, where the students could not only see their words come to life on the sidewalks but their family, friends and neighbors could also see the works of their young people.
The project culminated with a book launch event that brought poets and project partners together to celebrate and receive their copies of a beautifully illustrated book, designed by local artist April Hartmann. We were also excited to have our Rain Poetry project nominated for a Schwartz Prize, which recognizes exceptional humanities programs across the country.
Join us in looking back at the project in Pittsburgh with this video by The Shop 6 Films.
Johnstown
In addition to Pittsburgh, Rain Poetry also expanded to Johnstown this year. Working with teaching artists Aspen Mock, Eric Schwerer and Denise Urban, we led haiku workshops at the Children’s Book Festival at the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center, at the Cambria County Library, and at the Bottle Works’ summer cryptid camp.
Our partners at the Bottle Works then installed the poems outside their facility, at the library and along the library’s StoryWalk along the Johnstown Greenways Trail. We celebrated with a big reveal party in September! Design of a book that will include the poems is currently in progress, with a celebration to come in 2025.
Isabel Wilkerson helps launch Voices of History in Pittsburgh
The Voices of History project is capturing and celebrating the stories, family histories, struggles and triumphs of Black Pennsylvanians from the 20th and 21st centuries, and there was no better way to introduce it to the public than by hosting an evening with Isabel Wilkerson. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author shared stories gleaned from 15 years of researching and writing her book, “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center early this summer, holding the sold-out audience in rapt attention.
Following that auspicious start we held story circles in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Homewood and East Liberty neighborhoods, inviting residents to share their stories and special memories. Some were selected to be recorded and included in a digital archive as part of the project, and we debuted them at a special premier event at the August Wilson Center in mid-December. Watch PA Humanities’ Dawn Frisby Byers discuss the project here, and read the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s account of the premier event here.
Voices of History moves to Erie
The second stop for Voices of History after Pittsburgh was Erie. We partnered with Erie’s Black Wall Street and the Historical Institute of Culture and the African American Experience to hold two story circles. Select stories will once again be recorded and entered into the digital archive available for all to view on our website. Kyra Taylor, executive director of Erie’s Black Wall Street, said of the project, “Knowing your history can give you a sense of pride in who you are and what you’re capable of. It lets you know what can be accomplished.”
Learning and sharing through our research initiatives
PA CultureCheck 2023/2024, a study by PA Humanities and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, collected data on how Pennsylvania’s arts and humanities community drives innovation and growth, amplifies culture and connects people throughout the region and more, and the results are available on the interactive PA CultureCheck website. Check out some of the media coverage about the study in The Philadelphia Citizen, Axios Philadelphia, and Artblog.
Some other highlights:
- Executive director Laurie Zierer and development & research manager Nick Crosson gave a presentation with findings from PA CultureCheck tailored to museums and historical sites at PA Museums’ Annual Conference. Laurie also introduced a session led by one of our incredible PA Heart & Soul communities, “Community of Changemakers: Ambridge Heart and Soul.” It explored how this initiative has boosted civic engagement and fostered a sense of belonging using the tools of the humanities.
- Laurie participated in the Pennoni Panels event, “Sunset on the Humanities?” at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia and shared about how we are redefining the humanities in a way that centers well-being and civic action — as a model for students and faculty at colleges and universities. The panel was featured on the PBS series “The Civil Discourse.”
- PA Humanities was honored to join María Rosario Jackson, PhD, Chair, National Endowment for the Arts, and an all-star line up of leaders in the cultural sector, for Cultural Dynamics: Co-Creating a Vision for Philadelphia! Laurie Zierer presented “The State of Philadelphia’s Cultural Community” alongside Patricia Wilson Aden, President and CEO of Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. They shared our latest research, including the PA Humanities Discovery Project and PA CultureCheck. Laurie also participated in the panel, “The Role of Arts & Culture in Building a Thriving Philadelphia” with Prema Katari Gupta (President & CEO, Center City District), Alba E. Martínez, Esq. (Director of Commerce, City of Philadelphia), Isaiah Thomas (Councilmember At-Large, City of Philadelphia), and Tayyib Smith (Founding Partner and Chief Strategist, The Growth Collective / 7th Ward Tribute). Read more at WHYY.
- We also had the privilege of presenting More Than Metrics: Uplifting the People Behind the Numbers at the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums’ annual conference in Philadelphia with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
- Finally, board and staff from PA Humanities headed to Providence, RI for the National Humanities Conference, where we led and/or participated in facilitating seven powerful sessions. We were grateful for the opportunity to share about our impactful work in Pennsylvania, from our PA Humanities Discovery Project to our DEI initiatives to our people-centered approach to grantmaking.
Centering young voices through Youth-Led Humanities
We were thrilled to welcome 22 public libraries and out-of-school time (OST) organizations to participate in the 2024-2026 Youth-Led Humanities cohort. These sites, representing both rural and urban communities across the state, have demonstrated a strong commitment to fostering youth leadership and engagement through the humanities. The program supports projects and activities that reflect the interests and needs of young people and gives participants access to professional development opportunities, including individualized coaching, community of practice meetings, and workshops led by library leaders and humanities professionals.
We also hosted the second annual Community Culture Changers Convening – or C4 – that brought librarians and out-of-school time leaders together to learn how to create spaces where the humanities can flourish using processes developed through Project Ready. PA Humanities also led a number of special webinars for the Teen Reading Lounge/Youth-Led Humanities communities, including one on engaging diverse learners and another on how to better support LGBTQIA+ youth in meaningful ways.
Ongoing advocacy for the humanities
Every year, PA Humanities board and staff share with lawmakers how humanities funding and programs impact their districts as well as the state, and make the case for robust funding and support for the humanities throughout Pennsylvania. This includes appearances at Humanities on the HIll in Washington D.C., as well as Arts Advocacy Day in Harrisburg where executive director Laurie Zierer joined Patricia Wilson Aden, PA Humanities board member and President & CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, to speak at a networking breakfast with the Pennsylvania Legislative Arts & Culture Caucus, sharing about our latest PA CultureCheck research and the sector’s need for additional support.
We also raised the alarm over the summer about two House amendments that would have slashed funding to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. Both amendments were defeated as humanities and arts advocates across the country rallied together to voice their opposition and help protect these critical institutions. Thank you to everyone who joined us in this successful advocacy effort!
Recognition for our partners
We are thrilled whenever our program partners, board members and others are recognized for their hard work and outstanding accomplishments and contributions to their communities! Here are just a few from 2024:
- Teen Reading Lounge at Brandywine Community Library was named an “Outstanding Program” at the Berks County Public Libraries’ 21st Annual Awards Celebration, which honors leadership and excellence in the library system.
- Carbondale Heart & Soul, one of six communities along the Route 6 corridor using the Community Heart & Soul model to creatively engage residents in planning and decision-making, celebrated their successful completion of the process. PA Humanities and the PA Route 6 Alliance presented a recognition plaque to the City Council and Heart & Soul team to honor their community engagement work. And just before the year was out, Ambridge also completed the process and was named an official Heart & Soul community with a plaque presentation at the December borough council meeting.
- The volunteer effort to preserve the circa 1870 Mt. Tabor African Methodist Episcopal Zion church and nearby Black cemetery in Mt. Holly Springs grew from the Greater Carlisle Heart & Soul project, and that effort was recognized with the Albert B. Corey Award. Given by the American Association for State and Local History, it is the organization’s most prestigious award for all-volunteer institutions and initiatives, and recognizes organizations and projects that best display the qualities of vigor, scholarship and imagination in their work.
- Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown named PA Humanities board member Dan Kimbrough as the Grand Marshal for the city’s Multicultural Parade & Festival and proclaimed September 4th to be “Dan Kimbrough Day”.
- One of our Wingspan grantees was featured in a City Cast Philly interview about their fight to save an important piece of Black history in the city. Check out this interview with Christoper R. Rogers, co-coordinator of the Friends of the Henry O. Tanner House, here.
New board members join PA Humanities
We were joined in 2024 by five new board members. Aiman Shahab and Steve Starinsky, two dynamic young leaders from the McNulty Leadership Nonprofit Board Fellows Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, joined the board as part of an initiative to develop future civic leaders by pairing talented MBA and law students with local nonprofit boards to gain hands-on governance experience as non-voting volunteers. We were also excited to announce the addition of John Jackson, Shawn Mooring, and John Sanchez as the three newest members of our Board of Directors!
Welcoming four new Heart & Soul communities
Etna, Mansfield, Port Allegany and Venango Area joined the PA Heart & Soul family in 2024, bringing us to a total of 16 communities that are either in the midst of or who have completed the Heart & Soul process of resident-driven community engagement. In the spring, we brought all four communities together at the Oil City Library in Oil City for initial training on Phase 2 of the four-phase process, led by PA Humanities staffers and certified Heart & Soul coaches Jen Danifo and Karen Price, fellow coach Alice Trowbridge and Community Heart & Soul senior program associate Leanne Tingay.
Jen and Alice also spoke about our successful PA Heart & Soul work along Route 6 and led a workshop on gathering stories at the PA Route 6 Alliance’s 2024 Educational Workshop and Annual Meeting in Honesdale.
Board alum build Legacy Circle during historic gathering
An important part of our 50th celebration was to bring together board alums, current board members and staff whose experiences with PA Humanities span over five decades. Together they shared memories, learned about our 50th anniversary projects, and laid the groundwork for the creation of a Legacy Circle to support and grow PA Humanities’ work across the state.
Our first executive director in the formative years of the early 1970s, Charles MacKay, was also in attendance. He said, “You have laid out an agenda and a vision which is remarkable… I wish I was still out there in the field working with you.” The reunion was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect and underscored the enduring impact of PA Humanities’ work.
Thank you to our funders
None of this would be possible without the support of our generous funders, including: the Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Grable Foundation, The William Penn Foundation, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance from the 1889 Foundation Creative Health Impact Grant, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 ARPA PA Arts and Culture Recovery Program, Erie Insurance, Tom Hagen, Spring Point Partners, Community Heart & Soul, PA Department of Commerce & Economic Development, PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, the Route 6 Alliance, U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, our many private donors and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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