NCPH Outstanding Public History Project Awards

Two $750 awards recognizing projects–digital, print, film, exhibit, etc.–that contribute to a broader public reflection and appreciation of the past or that serves as a model of professional public history practice. One award will go to a Large Institution and the other to a Small Institution (defined below).

2025 Large Institution Winner

Ancestral Spaces: People of African Descent at Tudor Place, Rob DeHart, Tudor Place Historic House & Garden
*Excerpts of stories and audio recordings can be accessed on Tudor Place’s guide on the Bloomberg Connects app. https://www.bloombergconnects.org/guides/

Honorable Mention

History & Hope for Climate Action: An Interpretive Toolkit for the National Park Service, Donna Graves, Independent Historian and Urban Planner, and Elizabeth Villano, National Park Service

2025 small Institution Winner

Co-Creating Southern Alberta Japanese Canadian Histories: The Bunka Centre and Nikkei Memory Capture Project Heritage Collaboration, Carly Adams, University of Lethbridge; Darren Aoki, University of Plymouth (United Kingdom); and Michelle Day Miles, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden

Honorable Mention

Refusing to Forget – Board of Directors: Christopher Carmona, Our Lady of the Lake University; Juan Carmona, Donna High School; Benjamin Heber Johnson, Loyola University; Sonia Hernández, Texas A&M University; Leah LaGrone, Weber State University; Monica Muñoz Martinez, University of Texas at Austin; John Morán González, University of Texas at Austin; and Annette M. Rodríguez, University of Texas at Austin

2025 Submission Guidelines

Acknowledging the value of historical understanding to the general public, and the fact that this understanding results from a variety of public history projects, the National Council on Public History’s Outstanding Public History Project Awards recognize excellence in work completed within the previous two calendar years (2023 and 2024) that contribute to a broader public reflection and appreciation of the past or that serve as a model of professional public history practice. The annual Outstanding Public History Project Award was updated in 2021 to include a second award, so one is for a Large Institution and one for a Small Institution, defined roughly as having five or fewer paid staff and/or an operating budget of less than $250,000. Each award consists of a $750 cash prize and a certificate presented at the NCPH Annual Meeting (to be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada, in 2025). Award winners also receive complimentary registration for the awards breakfast.

Note: groups with a limited budget that are part of a larger organization would be considered a small institution. For example, a past winner was a library project at a large university with 2 paid staff members and a $100,000 budget.

Eligibility

Projects–from digital to print, and from exhibits to brochures to films–by individuals, groups, community organizations, businesses, or other organizations or work done in support of such projects may be nominated. Individuals or organizational entities responsible for the project may nominate themselves, be nominated by others familiar with the project, or be nominated by the award selection committee itself. These projects include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

Media – webpages, web-based video, audio, blogs, documentaries, and films (DVD, etc.)

Exhibits – in museums, cultural centers, and other public venues

Public Programs – lecture series, walking tours, oral history projects, outreach activity, educational offerings, workshops, etc.

Written Works – research, reports, brochures, working papers, etc. or historical fiction (including books), that contribute to larger public history efforts to broaden public history understanding. *Please note that non-fiction books and journal articles are not eligible for this award.

Student projects that were completed as part of or as a continuation of a class assignment, please submit your nomination to the Student Project Award.

Award Criteria

Nominations and supporting materials should specifically address four equally weighted criteria:

  1. the creativity and/or innovativeness of the approach
  2. the quality of historical research and interpretation resulting from the use of material culture, oral history, or any other appropriate form of documentary evidence
  3. the social, civic, and/or intellectual impact of the project
  4. the professionalism of the history practitioner(s) involved

Submission Process

  1. Nominations should be submitted in the form of a written narrative between 300 and 1,000 words and clearly address the four criteria and provides a clear project statement. The project’s primary and secondary audience, if applicable, should also be identified in the narrative.
  2. Nominations for projects such as DVDs, videos, CDs, books, etc. should include digital copies of the production, submitted with the written narrative and other materials. If the digital file you wish to submit is too large to attach, then please include links to other digital storage systems (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive) in the “Shipping Information” section of the form, so that award committee members can view or download the materials.
  3. Nominations should include pertinent supporting documents, such as a copy of the nominee’s resume or curriculum vitae if available. If the nominee is an organization or institution, information on its governance, mission, and size should also be provided. Other materials, including letters of support or formal reviews from newspapers, magazines, or professional journals, are encouraged. Nominations for exhibits, public programs, and most media projects should include examples of feedback from the public; wherever possible and appropriate, nominations for written works also should include such feedback.
  4. Fill out the form with the nominee’s information (the form is closed for the 2025 award).
    The form includes a file upload for the CV or resume and a file upload for supplemental material (the narrative and any additional media); all supplemental materials must be uploaded in one Word document or PDF. The completed form will be sent to each of the Outstanding Public History Project Award Committee members and to the NCPH executive office. Where possible, please send digital copies of physical materials. However, if you must ship physical materials then please mention it in the “Shipping Information” section of the form and send it to each of the committee members and the NCPH executive office at:
    NCPH
    127 Cavanaugh Hall – IUI
    425 University Blvd.
    Indianapolis, IN 46202

Nominations must be received (not postmarked) by December 1, 2024.

Questions?  (317) 274-2716; ncph@iu.edu

A challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities makes possible our expanding awards program and other uses of earned income on the NCPH endowment. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 

Past Project Award Winners