# UK Gaines Center opens minigrant applications for humanities projects **Published:** 2026-07-17T14:11:35.000Z **Source:** [University of Kentucky News](https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/gaines-center-accepting-applications-2026-27-minigrant-program) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/uk-gaines-center-opens-minigrant-applications-for-humanities-projects LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky [Gaines Center for the Humanities](https://gaines.uky.edu/) is accepting applications for its 2026-27 minigrant program, which provides grants of up to $500 to support humanities programming across campus. The grants are available to faculty and staff in any UK college or department and may be used to support either an honorarium for a virtual or in-person speaker or an interactive humanities experience for the UK community and the public, according to the [original announcement](https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/gaines-center-accepting-applications-2026-27-minigrant-program). "The Gaines minigrants help to fuel the creative intellectual life of our university," said Michelle Sizemore, Ph.D., Gaines Center director. "Through campus-wide programming, we aim to demonstrate that everyone has a stake in the humanities at UK." Since the program launched in 2021, the Gaines Center has awarded 69 minigrants totaling nearly $35,000 to colleges, departments and programs across the university. The grants have supported a wide range of humanities-focused initiatives, including guest speakers, symposiums, conferences, wellbeing events, publications and think tank events, expanding opportunities for engagement both on campus and in the broader community. The Gaines Center will award grants to projects that demonstrate a strong humanities focus, take place on or before May 1, 2027, allow for maximum participation of faculty, students and community members when possible, and list the Gaines Center for the Humanities as a sponsor on all relevant announcements and marketing materials. [Applications are available online](https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_czJdRsMCkmZHUup) through October 5 and will be reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis. Questions about the program may be directed to Chelsea Brislin, Ph.D., associate director of the Gaines Center for the Humanities, at [chelsea.brislin@uky.edu](mailto:chelsea.brislin@uky.edu). ## Sources - [University of Kentucky News](https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/gaines-center-accepting-applications-2026-27-minigrant-program) - [Gaines Center for the Humanities official website](https://gaines.uky.edu/) - [Minigrant application form](https://uky.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_czJdRsMCkmZHUup) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from University of Kentucky News, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/gaines-center-accepting-applications-2026-27-minigrant-program.