Earlier this month the National Endowment for the Arts announced seventy-five nonprofit organizations will receive grants totaling more than $1 million to host an NEA Big Read project between September 2017 and June 2018. 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.
The National Endowment for the Arts awarded a $10,000 Big Read project grant to the Chesapeake Children’s Museum for a community reading program celebrating and promoting literature. This years “Big Read- Anne Arundel County will focus on the book Sun, Stone and Shadows featuring a superb selection of the finest Mexican short stories of the twentieth century. No one can read this arresting volume without experiencing the wonder and surprise of discovery. The book was selected as a way to build bridges of cultural understanding within our community. “We have a growing Latino population in Anne Arundel County and we wanted to reach out and welcome them to our community and learn more about their culture” says Deborah Wood from the Chesapeake Children’s Museum. “We can work on that with Big Read events. We hope to give away hundreds of copies books at various Big Read events throughout Anne Arundel County in September and October of this year”.
“Through the NEA Big Read we are bringing contemporary works to communities across the country, helping us better understand the diverse voices and perspectives that come with it,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “These 75 organizations have developed unique plans to celebrate these works, including numerous opportunities for exploration and conversation.”
The Chesapeake Children’s Museum has teamed up with co-sponsor Anne Arundel County Public Library and partners including Anne Arundel Department of Parks and Recreation, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Inner West Street Association, Maryland Theater for the Performing Arts, the City of Annapolis and others to bring a diverse group of events to Anne Arundel County to celebrate Latino culture and read the book Sun, Stone and Shadows. “We are looking for additional sponsors and partners to continue building bridges and bring our community together through the arts” says Erik Evans, who is handling the marketing locally for the Big Read. Erik Evans has worked with several community organizations to help market and/or manage popular Annapolis events including First Sunday Arts, Dinner Under the Stars, Maryland Day and the Chocolate Binge Festival.
Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,400 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $19 million in grants to organizations nationwide. In addition, Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past eleven years, grantees have leveraged more than $42 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 4.8 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, approximately 79,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and 37,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. Last summer, the NEA announced a new focus for the NEA Big Read Library on contemporary authors and books written since the NEA was founded 50 years ago. For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit neabigread.org.
