IRIS Center Honored for Curating Digital Archive of “Forgotten Illinois 200” Projects
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville IRIS Center, in partnership with Illinois Humanities and the Illinois State Historical Society, has earned a 2019 Best Practices Award, “Superior Achievement: Virtual Materials,” from the Illinois Association of Museums for the project, Forgotten Illinois 200. IRIS Center Technician Ben Ostermeier and Illinois Humanities
Program Manager for Grants and Evaluation Mark Hallett accepted the award from Illinois Association of Museums President Karen Everingham during the association’s annual conference held on Nov. 19 in Bloomington-Normal.
In celebration of the Illinois bicentennial in 2018, Illinois Humanities partnered with the Illinois State Historical Society to launch the Forgotten Illinois 200 grants program to illuminate significant aspects of the state’s culture and history that might not be widely known. Dozens of groups responded to the prompt, “What can lesser known features of Illinois history tell us about the ever-evolving identity of our state?” and, ultimately, 20 projects received funding.
Jessica DeSpain, SIUE IRIS Center co-director and associate professor of English language and literature, and Ostermeier then worked with Illinois Humanities to curate a digital gallery highlighting the Forgotten Illinois 200 projects, which range from a film on the history of Mexican railroad boxcar communities to a digital story map of vegetarianism.
“During the course of this project, I have been honored to work with a wide variety of exceptional project teams and individuals bringing light to overlooked stories throughout the history of Illinois,” said Ostermeier. “All of these partners were eager to share their narratives online, and allowed me to include photos, videos, lesson plans and other media on the website to both highlight their impressive work and ensure the histories they've told are not lost.”
To view the digital archive of Forgotten Illinois 200 projects, visit forgotten-illinois.org.
Photo: SIUE IRIS Center Technician Ben Ostermeier (left) and Illinois Humanities Program Manager for Grants and Evaluation Mark Hallett (right) accepted a 2019 Best Practices Award from Illinois Association of Museums President Karen Everingham for their Forgotten Illinois 200 project.
