Columbus Celebrates The Big Read During April and May
Congratulations to the winners of our 2009 Community Arts Partnership Awards!
GCAC's Art in the House Student Exhibition at Main Library
GCAC's Franklin County Neighborhood Arts Program Grants over $25,000 to Community Organizations
Save the Date for the 2009 Artist Preview Night!
German Artists Live, Work in Columbus Thanks to GCAC Partnership
Columbus Arts in the News
Looking for Something to do? Visit ColumbusArts.com
The Big Read Events:
5/9
As part of a series of Big Read book discussions, GCAC and the Thurber Center welcome Susan Tomasky, named a Woman of Achievement in 2008, to lead a Mother/Daughter Tea and Discussion of The Joy Luck Club.
5/12
The Big Read Book Discussion presented by Barnes & Noble Polaris
5/13
Big Read book discussion from noon-1:30 p.m. at the YWCA downtown. Rebecca Nelson will lead the discussion.
5/16
Join CMA Executive Director Nannette Maciejunes for this special edition of Art Book Club.
5/21
The OSU Libraries present a Read Aloud event featuring The Joy Luck Club as part of the Big Read Columbus.
5/22
Join GCAC and The Ohio State University's Office of Minority Affairs for an evening with Amy Tan. Tan will read from her novel and will discuss her work.
Columbus Celebrates The Big Read During April and May
From now until May 23, the Greater Columbus Arts Council will promote Asian culture, mother-daughter bonding, exploration of family history and literary discussion through the launch of its first Big Read program in celebration of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club.
Columbus' Big Read began with a free kick-off event on Wed., Apr. 22 at the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Main Library, featuring a reading by Charlene Brown of WOSU's ArtZine, along with presentations by City Council members Andrew Ginther and Priscilla Tyson and Franklin County Commission President Paula Brooks.
Throughout May, GCAC and its partners will present multiple arts-based events surrounding The Joy Luck Club to encourage Columbus residents to read it and celebrate family bonds and the diversity that connects our community. Programming will culminate in a presentation by Tan, who will read excerpts and lead a discussion of her book at a free event as part of The Ohio State University's President and Provost's Diversity Lecture & Cultural Arts Series on Fri., May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Mershon Auditorium. Tan will also make a special appearance at the Asian Festival at 11 a.m. on Sat., May 23. To reserve tickets for the May 22 performance, call the Mershon box office at 614-292-3535.
Columbus is one of more than 200 communities to participate in The Big Read, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts created to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Support for The Big Read is provided by the W.K. Kellogg foundation.
"By reading, we become more engaged, and the more we read, the more we have a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us," said GCAC President, Bryan W. Knicely. "We are looking forward to the discussions that will emerge during the many exciting Big Read programs the Columbus community has planned around this book, and we're thrilled that Amy Tan will be here to end the program."
The Big Read in Columbus is presented locally in partnership with The Ohio State University, WOSU Public Media, the Wexner Center for the Arts, The Asian Festival, Thurber House, the Westin Great Southern Hotel, the Ohio Statehouse, the Columbus Museum of Art and the YWCA of Columbus.
For more information about the Big Read in Columbus, including an online events calendar and blog, go to www.ColumbusArts.com.
Photo: Amy Tan