ATTLEBORO PUBLIC LIBRARY IS ONE OF 84 ORGANIZATIONS NATIONWIDE TO RECEIVE A NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS BIG READ GRANT
Attleboro to Read and Celebrate Circe by Madeline Miller
From September 9 through October 22, 2020
Attleboro Public Library, representing our Attleboro 1ABC Community Partnership, is pleased to announce that we are a recipient of a grant of $15,000 to host the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read in Attleboro. An Arts Endowment initiative 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. Attleboro Public Library is one of 84 nonprofit organizations selected to receive an NEA Big Read grant to support a community reading program between September 2020 and June 2021. The 2020 NEA Big Read: Attleboro will focus on the novel, Circe by Madeline Miller. Activities will take place during the months of September and October.
“On behalf of our entire 1ABC coalition of partners, I am so pleased that, for the 13th time in the last 14 years, our community has received a generous grant to host the NEA Big Read in Attleboro,” stated Christine Johnson, Director of the Attleboro Public Library. “2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment giving American women their long overdue right to vote. It is our hope to encourage thoughtful conversations around the topic of women’s rights and struggles as portrayed in the themes of this year’s selection of Circe by Madeline Miller, whose powerful female title character embodies the fortitude that women, since ancient times, have needed to overcome the many challenges faced in their daily lives.”
“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 Attleboro, the Attleboro Public Library and its 1ABC partner organizations 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.
“We are honored to continue our partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts on this incredible program,” said Torrie Allen, president & CEO of Arts Midwest. “For more than 14 years this national effort has invested in communities as they gather to discuss the stories and ideas that connect us to one another. We are especially inspired by the projects and organizations that are finding new, virtual ways of creating those connections with their communities and are thrilled to support them at this critical time.”
As in previous NEA Big Reads, over 600 copies of the book will be distributed for free to our Attleboro community members because of this generous grant funding. In this new time of COVID-19, it is anticipated that some of our events, including our Keynote Address with the author, and book discussions will be offered virtually, or when possible, in person while following the social distancing guidelines that will be in place this fall. More details on planned events and book distributions will be shared in August.
In addition to the Attleboro Public Library, Attleboro’s 1ABC partners include the APL Writers Group, Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro Area Industrial Museum, Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative, Attleboro Council on Aging, Attleboro Garden Club, Attleboro Land Trust, Attleboro Public Schools, Bishop Feehan High School, Bridgewater State University, Bristol Community College, Christopher Heights Assisted Living, La Salette Retreat Center, The Literacy Center and An Unlikely Story Bookstore and Café. Our 2020 NEA Big Read: Attleboro is provided to our community thanks to the generosity of this grant and additional funding provided by the Attleboro Cultural Council, Bristol County Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, Friends of Attleboro Public Library, Rotary Club of Attleboro, and the Trustees of the Attleboro Public Library.
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.
Since 1885, the Attleboro Public Library, has provided books and reference services to our community. Currently offering a collection of over 100,000 physical items for readers and learners of all ages, the library serves as a facility that remains “free and open to the public” as was the wish of our benefactor Joseph L. Sweet. While our physical building remains closed in accordance with State Guidelines for COVID-19 reopening, we are offering convenient curbside pick-up of library materials along with a large collection of digital resources and virtual programming. Visit our website at attleborolibrary.org or call us at 508-222-0157 during the following hours: Monday-Wednesday & Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Thursday, 12:30 pm to 8:30 pm and Saturday, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm.
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.