When we think of documentary, we might not immediately consider its broader uses in transmedia and digital applications. For example, Tracy Fullerton’s Walden, a game, takes us into "a real-time 3D environment, which replicates the geography of Walden Pond and the woods in which Thoreau made his home." The game allows individuals to explore complex humanities themes outlined by Thoreau in a newly immersive environment. Telling Stories with the AIDS Memorial Quilt Project is a work currently in development that will result in web-based "public interactives" that will provide a cultural and social history for the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
From VR to interactive documentary and museum installations, the form is expanding. Luckily organizations like the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) offer generous funding for this type innovative work, providing support to projects that creatively use emerging technologies to help make humanities content accessible to the general public. Since this is relatively new territory for all of us - on the funding side of things and for the art makers - we want to take the opportunity in this #FunderFriday installation to share some information about funding for this new frontier.
NEH's Digital Projects for the Public grant deadline is fast approaching on June 8th. To help us out, they’ve graciously made their recent webinar slides available to the IDA community so we may be more prepared for the application process and gain some insight into what kinds of projects they are looking to support. They offer funding for three categories: discovery, prototyping and production. Maybe this fund is right for your latest endeavor. Check out the grant guidelines to find out more.
Please contact Senior Program Officers Marc Ruppel or Jeff Hardwick with NEH related questions. Need a fiscal sponsor? Send us an email at sponsorship@documentary.org.