National Endowment for the Arts Selects Staten Island OutLOUD to Host “The Big Read” in Our Community.
Staten Island OutLOUD has been selected to by the National Endowment for the Arts to host The Big Read, a program designed to revitalize the role of literary reading in American popular culture. OutLOUD is one of only 76 organizations nationwide to receive this honor. The Big Read brings communities together to read, discuss, and celebrate selected books from world literature.Click on the “Upcoming Events” tab for the full schedule of Staten Island OutLOUD’s events for The Big Read.Click here for recent articles & photos in our hometown newspaper, the Staten Island Advance.
For our Big Read program, Staten Island OutLOUD chose Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. OutLOUD will host over 23+ activities based on the novel’s themes: readings & book discussions, a community fence painting session, concerts, spoken-word performances, an academic symposium, film screenings, a “Tom-Becky-Huck” look-a-like competition, and other events presented in a variety of locations around Staten Island.
OutLOUD has already begun outreach to schools, libraries, community organizations and artists, who’ve responded enthusiastically. We’d love to hear from anyone who’d like to be involved in The Big Read, which will take place January-March 2012. Schools participating in The Big Read will receive high-quality educational materials. Teacher’s Guides include lesson plans, essay topics, and classroom handouts.
If you’d like to participate in Staten Island OutLOUD’s planning for The Big Read, please email us at sioutloud@yahoo.com
Since 2001, Staten Island OutLOUD has served over 18,000 participants at over 600 free events conducted in 22 different languages. Our programs are aimed at building the Island’s communities by encouraging dialogue among neighbors. We promote cross-cultural understanding by inviting diverse neighbors to read world classics aloud together, to explore our differences, our commonalities, and our shared history.
Staten Island OutLOUD’s programs are made possible in part by a award from the National Endowment for the Arts-The Big Read, and by a 2012 Encore Award from the Council on the Arts and Humanities for Staten Island, with public funding from the New York State Council for the Arts. Additional support from Partnership for Parks and the City Parks Foundation, and by donations from generous individuals, like you!
The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.