Humanities Washington has awarded nearly $85,000 in grants to 13 Washington organizations working to nurture creativity, promote dialogue and spark critical thinking.

Orcas Island Public Library is one of them.

The library received a $7,500 grant to fund its Crossroads Lecture Series, which satiates what Orcas Center Executive Director Barbara Courtney calls “a hunger for humanities programs on our island” by offering lectures on a series of topics, including “Cognition and Creativity,” “Justice in Public Policy” and “The History and Future of China.”

“The depth and variety of the work happening around the state is exciting,” said Julie Ziegler, executive director of Humanities Washington. “From El Centro de la Raza’s work to capture its history in the context of the Pacific Northwest’s Chicano/Latino community to Reel Grrls’ project to involve young women in the creation of a documentary on women’s suffrage in Washington, people are telling the rich stories of our communities in new and different ways.”