Indiana Humanities is a nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis that funds and produces public humanities programming throughout the state of Indiana. It is one of 56 humanities councils in the United States and is affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

History

The first iteration of Indiana Humanities was established in 1972 when the National Endowment for the Humanities encouraged the formation of the Indiana Committee for the Humanities, a statewide grantmaking organization made up of five Hoosiers. Since its inception Indiana Humanities has been a part of many special projects around the state, including leading a task force in 1991 that resulted in the establishment of the International School of Indiana. Indiana Humanities has been headquartered in the historic Georgian Revival home of Indiana author Meredith Nicholson and civic leader Eugenie Nicholson since 1986.

Current Activities

Grants

Programs

Thematic initiatives

In 2017–2018, Indiana Humanities deployed a series of programming exploring the relationship between STEM disciplines and the humanities called Quantum Leap. This initiative included a slate of statewide programming around the classic novel Frankenstein, for which Indiana Humanities was given a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Past thematic initiatives include Food for Thought, Spirit of Competition and Next Indiana.

General references