February 7, 2024
The AIA Finger Lakes Society was awarded a grant in the fall for their upcoming April event in which the community will be celebrating National Poetry Month with a workshop on the materials used to write poetry in the Ancient Mediterranean World. Participants will receive papyrus, replica reed kalamos pens, and carbon-based ink and taught about how to use these materials to write their own poetry. This workshop will be accessible to people of all ages. By organizing this workshop, they hope to educate and engage the community with the ancient past and the material aspect of the ancient poetry tradition.
The Houston Society was awarded a grant in the fall for their upcoming spring event. The Society will be hosting this event with the support of the Ukrainian Consul to Houston, and there will be three components to the event to cater to a variety of different audiences. There will be a Zoom panel discussion with a Ukrainian archaeologist, speakers from the Smithsonian, and possibly speakers from the US Committee of the Blue Shield about current events in Ukraine; a family day featuring Ukrainian activities with the goal of educating the public about Ukrainian heritage; and a culinary event at a Ukrainian restaurant. Focusing on the history of Ukraine and its relationship with Russia, learning about the cultural heritage of Ukraine, preservation of cultural heritage, and archaeology during wartime are the main goals.
The Tucson Society was awarded a grant in the spring for their April event, and coordinated a community workshop and colloquium led by a guest artist from Cerveteri, Italy. Three schools with art programs in Tucson developed modules in their spring semester to be part of the workshop and have scheduled additional visits for observation during the artist’s stay in Arizona. There were several hands-on activities for the visitors; the guest-artist painted the entire time, explaining the use of different tools, and the compositional challenges of different shapes and scenes. Select Greek vases from the small Mediterranean collection of the Arizona State Museum were on display so visitors could see the originals and further appreciate the skills of the guest artist. Visitors were able to easily contextualize the process unfolding in front of their eyes with the live demonstrations.
The Nashville Society was awarded a grant in the spring for their October event “Meet an Archaeologist,” a three part educational event which occurred during the Tennessee STEAM Festival and International Archaeology Day timeframe. The Society hosted a Greek archaeologist for two in-person and one virtual event with programming adapted to different audiences, including children, middle school students, families, adults, and experts.
