We are very pleased to announce that the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston has received a $75,000 grant from the National Endowment for theArts to produce a film about the life and works of VertaMae Grovesnor.

Grosvenor is a poet, actress, culinary anthropologist, writer, and a National Public Radiocorrespondent.

A native of Hampton County, South Carolina, Grosvenor has been involved in making several documentary films including Slave Voices: Things Past Telling; and Daufuskie: Never Enough Too Soon.

She is also the author of the autobiographical cookbook Vibration Cooking, also known as The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl, and of the book Thursdays and Every Other Sunday Off: A Domestic Rap.

The film will be directed by American filmmaker Julie Dash. Dash is best known for her critically acclaimed 1991 independent film Daughters of the Dust.

“I am so thrilled that we have been awarded this prestigious grant,” says Patricia Lessane, Executive Director of the Avery Research Center. “It’s my honor to work with Julie Dash to bring well-deserved attention to VertaMae’s life story and contributions to American culture—her elevation of Gullah culture through her culinary acumen and literary works, but also her role in the Beat and the Black Arts Movements, and her work in American journalism.”

NEA Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, “The NEA is pleased to announce that the Avery Research Center is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation’s artists asthey contribute to our cultural landscape.”