NEA Big Read
NEA Big Read
Galesburg Public Library is a recipient of a grant of $10,000 to host the NEA Big Read in Galesburg. An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Galesburg Public Library is one of 84 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant to host a community reading program in 2021.
Check back here soon for a complete schedule of events!
The NEA Big Read in Galesburg will focus on In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez during the month of April in 2021. Galesburg Public Library and its partners will bring fun and educational programming celebrating the book to Galesburg during this time. There will be free speakers, including a Skype discussion with Julia Alvarez, the author of In the Time of the Butterflies, craft programs, book discussions, and other fun activities for all ages. Free copies of the book will be given away at the library. If your private book club is interested in receiving free copies of the book, please contact the NEA Big Read Coordinator at 309-343-6118 or reference@galesburglibrary.org.
“We have become even more aware this year of the important ways the arts help us connect with others, and how they bring meaning, joy, and comfort to our lives,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “By bringing the NEA Big Read to Galesburg, the Galesburg Public Library will provide opportunities for deep discussion and ways to help us better understand one another.”
The NEA Big Read offers a range of titles that reflect many different voices and perspectives, aiming to inspire conversation and discovery. The main feature of the initiative is a grants program, managed by Arts Midwest, which annually supports dynamic community reading programs, each designed around a single National Endowment for the Arts Big Read selection.
Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,600 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $22 million to organizations nationwide. Over the past thirteen years, grantees have leveraged more than $50 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.7 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, approximately 91,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and 39,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. For more information about the NEA Big Read, including book and author information, podcasts, and videos, visit arts.gov/neabigread.
Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the Arts Endowment supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. Visit arts.gov to learn more.
Arts Midwest promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people’s lives. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 35 years. For more information, please visit artsmidwest.org.
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
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