Nevada Humanities Staff Reflections on the National Humanities Conference
Nevada Humanities’ staff (from left to right): Bobbie Ann Howell, Stephanie Gibson, Christina Barr, and Kathleen Kuo. Photo by Christi Shortridge.
By Staff of Nevada Humanities
Staff of Nevada Humanities had the pleasure of attending the 2022 National Humanities Conference that was held on November 10-13, 2022, in Los Angeles. This year’s conference was held in person for the first time since the conference was held in Honolulu in 2019, providing staff the opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the country, listen and learn at workshops and sessions, and participate in cultural tours around Los Angeles. This blog post features reflections on our time at the conference in Los Angeles.
Artwork by Steven Loscutoff.
Christina Barr, Executive Director
Every year Nevada Humanities staff and board members participate in the National Humanities Conference, which is a gathering of state humanities councils from across the nation filled with opportunities for networking and sharing ideas and best practices. This year, the conference was held at the beginning of November in Los Angeles with online components. It had been three years since we had met in person, and the conference theme "Energy of Motion" felt just right as we emerged back into the momentum of spending time together. This annual conference is very important for our staff— it is the only time we get to connect at length with humanities council colleagues around the nation. We learn a great deal from our colleagues, and they also learn a great deal from us. Our time in Los Angeles felt like a burst of momentum and inspiration and the perfect way to wind up 2022 and kick off the New Year.
Stephanie Gibson, Assistant Director
Throughout 2021, I had the honor of curating a series of conversations about civics and the importance of electoral participation, called Why It Matters. I got to reflect on the impact of this work at the National Humanities Conference in Los Angeles this past November, where I was joined by, Tammi Tiger, a program participant of Why It Matters, for this conversation. Tiger serves with the Nevada Indian Commission and is a Native Vote Coordinator. She was part of a conversation called Why It Matters: Native Voting Rights in Nevada. With an audience of national colleagues, we talked about Tiger’s insights and experiences expanding access to the ballot box in Indigenous communities across the state and the work that remains to be done to secure this fundamental right for all Nevadans.
Bobbie Ann Howell, Program Manager
Connecting again with colleagues in person is always one of the best aspects of the conference. Taking time to learn how their work, community, and families are faring. Sharing our struggles and triumphs with others who are engaged in the work of humanities and the arts. It is a special kind of profession, filled with curious and caring individuals strewn across the globe, celebrating what it means to be conscious of our humanity, in all its forms of expression. To actively be seeking to share the voices, work, and hopes of the communities we serve. What can lead us forward together, to listen more closely, to hear ideas, and seek solutions is what each session, meeting, or dinner together brings to us.
Many things stay with me long after the conference is over, for example learning about The K.N.O.T: Knowledge to Nurture Our Traditions by the California Indian Basketweavers Association are working to increase basketweaving knowledge in the California Indian community, with an emphasis on connecting tribal youth to cultural bearers and increase public appreciation, knowledge, and support for California Indian basket weavers.
Kathleen Kuo, Program Manager
My previous experiences with the National Humanities Conference were the virtual iterations, which took place in 2020 and 2021, but the most recent conference in Los Angeles from November 9-13, 2022 was my first time going as an in-person attendee. Below are some highlights from my conference experience.
I appreciated the many options for exploration and learning more about the city’s rich and varied history. On the morning of Wednesday, November 9, I participated in a program staff pre-conference meetup where we explored and had lunch in the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District, which contains the site of the original pueblo of Los Angeles established in 1781. We were guided by Sarah Portnoy, a professor at the University of Southern California, who also screened her documentary Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories, which I found to be a moving and inspirational vehicle for sharing stories alongside food culture. The following day, I attended the Los Angeles Chinatown Legacies Tour, which was led by members from the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. I was especially struck by our tour guides’ pride and love for preserving and sharing their community’s heritage and history as we walked through the streets together, visited the Chinese American Museum, learned about important historic events, and ended with lunch at a local restaurant.
From a networking point of view, there is nothing like being able to meet and converse face-to-face with fellow humanities council programming staff at panels and breakout sessions that were designed to facilitate sharing of experiences, resources, and advice. I presented at a panel on “A Hybrid Approach to Audience Growth and Community Engagement” organized by my coworker, Christi Shortridge, where I made productive connections afterwards with fellow humanities council staff and members of other non-profit organizations. Perhaps the most thought-provoking panel that I attended was entitled “The Public, The Humanities, and the Public Humanities” where the panelists represented the humanities from different fields, institutions, and perspectives. In particular, the slides presented by professor Alan Liu from the University of California, Santa Barbara, were eye-opening in their findings regarding how the humanities are viewed and understood by the public. You can learn more about these important projects and advocacy initiatives at WhatEvery1Says and 4Humanities.
Image courtesy of Federation of State Humanities Councils.
Finally, I was blown away by the special conversations that were in my mind the true highlights of the National Humanities Conference. The rapport and exchange between authors and professors Viet Thanh Nguyen and Susan Straight at the annual Capps Lecture made me wonder how else I could capture the magic of storytelling and learning about others’ perspectives for future programming. Ending the conference was the morning conversation between educator endawnis Spears ( (Diné/ Ojibwe/ Chickasaw/ Choctaw) and National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Shelly Lowe (who is a citizen of the Navajo Nation), where everyone in the audience listened in rapt attention to these two incredible Indigenous women as they talked about their hopes, communities, and the humanities.
Overall, I had an extremely positive experience at my first ever in-person National Humanities Conference. I was reminded of why we do the work we do, and I was re-energized to continue learning and to always keep improving when it comes to serving our public. I look forward to 2023 when the National Humanities Conference will take place in Indianapolis and will be hosted by Indiana Humanities!