Humanities DC
Founded in 1980 as the D.C. Community Humanities Council, Humanities DC funded several high-profile documentary films including "The Stone Carvers" in 1984, "Fishing in the City" in 1986, and "Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9" in 1989. During the 1990s, Humanities DC began producing its own public programming, to complement the public-humanities work of its grantees. In 2005, in partnership with the DC Office of Historic Preservation, Humanities DC launched the DC Community Heritage Project, a combination of grants and programs aimed at empowering DC residents to research, disseminate, and preserve their own community histories. In 2010, Humanities DC created the DC Digital Museum, an online repository of projects funded through its grant programs. The DC Digital Museum's collection of interpreted and primary source materials are available for download, streaming, or to borrow depending on copyright limitations. Humanities DC continues to offer a combination of grants and public programs. The DC Digital Museum is an archive of interpreted and primary source materials related to life in Washington, DC. The collection is built around the funded projects Humanities DC has collected since its founding. In 2014, Humanities DC launched Your DC Digital Museum, a series of public digitization events aimed at teaching residents about personal digital preservation and encouraging new submissions to the digital collection.
History
Humanities DC was founded in 1980 to fund and produce public humanities programming in the District of Columbia.