NEA Big Read 2019 kicks off in Western Stark County
In an attempt to explore the diversity of Appalachia and establish a visual counter point, the "Looking at Appalachia" project looks at Appalachia 50 years after the declaration of the War on Poverty.
The NEA Big Read 2019 in Western Stark County will launch with a special event at the Massillon Museum on Saturday, March 23 from 3-5 p.m. It will be free with no reservations needed. Free copies of this year’s book selection, "Burning Bright,"by Ron Rash will be distributed as long as the supply lasts. Local food will be served.
Kick-off guests will be invited to participate in hands-on craft activities such as yarn-spinning, loom-weaving and a community paper patchwork quilt project. The Northwest Territory Bluegrass Band will perform bluegrass music.
Online readers’ guides will be available at www.massillonmuseum.org to enhance understanding of the book. Massillon Public Library staff will be on hand during the kick-off to help readers access the guides.
In addition to representatives from Massillon Public Library, other NEA Big Read partners will set up information stations at the kick-off: Massillon/North Canton Elks Lodge 2029, Artful Living and Learning, Walsh University Museum Studies Club, Ohio Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled, and StarkFresh.
Guests at the kick-off will be able to see two new Appalachia-related exhibitions. "Looking at Appalachia,"curated by Roger May, will be exhibited in the main gallery, and "Looking at Massillon," a sister exhibition of contemporary photographs of Massillon taken by residents past and present and exploring a sense of place, will be displayed in the Fred F. Silk Community Room Gallery.
The NEA Big Read 2019 has generated more than three-dozen corresponding events. Free book discussions with various leaders will be held throughout the community, and two film screenings — "Hillbilly" and "The Appalachian Trail" — with discussions have been scheduled.
Washington High School drama students will perform and direct professionally written, original one-act plays, inspired by "Burning Bright."
Gardening, genealogy, digital photography, repurposed art, rag doll-making, recording history, broom-making, quilling and cooking classes are among the diverse educational activities that will relate to the Appalachian theme. Massillon Public Library will host a writing contest and an open-mic read-in.
The museum will distribute 1,400 free copies of "Burning Bright,"along with bookmarks containing information about all the Big Read events, to local schools, organizations and individuals.
The museum has been selected to participate in the Big Read since the second year of the national program. During the first 11 seasons of the Big Read in Western Stark County, the museum distributed more than 23,500 free books ("The Call of the Wild," "The Age of Innocence," "The Shawl," "Tom Sawyer," "The Short Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Fahrenheit 451," "Old School," "In the Time of the Butterflies," "True Grit" and "A Wizard of Earths") to encourage reading among local residents.
Massillon is one of just 79 communities nationally to secure the program for the 2018-19 grant cycle. The Massillon Museum is the only Ohio institution to receive a share of the funding for this grant cycle. The 2019 project marks the 12th year the National Endowment for the Arts has granted funding for the Massillon Museum’s ambitious participation.
“The Massillon Museum sought this NEA grant to help us continue community engagement in an activity everyone can enjoy together. We’re thrilled with the enthusiastic collaboration of individuals and organizations within Western Stark County and so very grateful for this important source of federal funding, which has enabled us to encourage leisure reading within our community over the past decade,” Massillon Museum executive director Alexandra Nicholis Coon said.
The NEA Big Read, the largest federal literature program since the WPA, is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. It presents the NEA Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services; the program is managed by Arts Midwest.
The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Individual communities may choose from among two-dozen book selections from American and world literature. The NEA inaugurated the Big Read as a pilot project in 2006.
The NEA Big Read answers a big need. “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America,” a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the Arts, found that not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but also the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young.
The NEA Big Read aims to address this crisis squarely and effectively. It provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. It supports organizations across the country in developing community-wide reading programs, which encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences. Organizations selected to participate in the NEA Big Read receive a grant, access to online training resources and opportunities, and educational and promotional materials designed to support widespread community involvement.
In addition to the NEA grant, funding is provided by Massillon/North Canton Elks 2029 and Rotary Club of Massillon.
Local organizations and individuals collaborating with the Massillon Museum include the Massillon Public Library, Stark Parks, StarkFresh, The Artful Living Program, Walsh University Museum Studies Club, Washington High School's drama department, Kent State University at Stark, The Wilderness Center and many community volunteers.
The Massillon Museum receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council and ArtsinStark to augment its primary local funding.
The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way E. in downtown Massillon. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots.
For more information about the NEA Big Read, call the Massillon Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org or www.NEABidRead.org. A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free.