By David A. F. Sweet The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff received the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Inspire! grant for its 2024 exhibition Modern in the Midcentury. The center is one of 77 recipients nationally and one of four institutions in Illinois to receive the grant. The $28,184 grant provides the non-profit with some of the costs to plan, write, print, and install the exhibition, which will run from May 2024 through November 2024. It will explore the influences of 1950s modernity on daily life in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, connecting threads of influence from architecture and appliances to the expansion of our communities and the expansion of women’s roles and rights.
Modern in the Midcentury received a nearly $30,000 grant. “Without the combined support of federal grant programs, state grant programs and the incredible generosity of family foundations and individual donors and members, we would not be able to create the quality of exhibitions that we do,” said History Center Executive Director Carol Summerfield. “It is a testament to our local community’s commitment to preserving and presenting history that we are able to provide such an extensive variety of exhibits and programs."
The center will be working with faculty from Lake Forest College, DePaul University, the University of Rochester, and Clarke University, who will assist in writing and editing. The History Center has been the recipient of previous federal grants from The National Endowment of the Humanities, the American Historical Association, and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation.
For more information, please visit the History Center website.