The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies’ Oral History Program, in partnership with the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts’ Athens Music Project, is the recipient of an inaugural Preservation, Education and Outreach Grant from the Georgia Music Foundation.
Oral history archivists and UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music faculty are building an oral history collection to support the research focus of the AMP. Administered by the university’s special collections libraries, the oral history project will collect, preserve and provide access to oral history interviews documenting music history in Athens. Russell oral history and media archivists Christian Lopez and Callie Holmes will oversee the project, which will train community members to record and conduct in-depth oral histories focusing on interviewees’ personal experiences as part of a Georgia music culture and community.
Another Athens-based organization, Nuci’s Space, joins the Russell Oral History Program in receiving one of the grants, which will provide $60,000 in awards to benefit 12 Georgia schools and nonprofit organizations. The awards are for projects that take place in 2016.