This year’s NEA Big Read will center around the theme America250, honoring the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, marking America’s Semiquincentennial.

The 24 NEA Big Read books available for programming this cycle celebrate America’s culture, history, and resilience through the eyes of its people.

Using a book selection as inspiration, applicants will facilitate discussions, writing workshops, and creative programming activities that explore this theme and celebrate the unique aspects of their communities.

The NEA Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Arts Midwest.

NEA Big Read At-A-Glance

• What is it? The NEA Big Read is a reading program that brings communities together around the central theme America250 using one of 24 available books as inspiration. It offers matching grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.
• Who can apply? Nonprofit arts organizations, universities, libraries, service organizations, museums, school districts, and tribal governments are all encouraged to apply.
• Where? Your organization must be located and operate within the United States or the Native Nations that share this geography.
• When to apply? A mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 15, 2026, with final applications due January 29, 2025. Funded programs will take place between September 2026 and June 2027.

Read more about eligibility and how to apply in the guidelines.

About NEA Big Read

The NEA Big Read supports community reading programs designed around a single NEA Big Read book.

As our nation moves into its 250^th year, the goal of this program is to honor America’s rich artistic and cultural heritage, inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and build stronger connections in each community. 

Grantees will receive funding for their programming and purchasing books, and tools to support them in working with local partners, developing public relations strategies, and leading meaningful book discussions.

NEA Big Read programs vary and can be as short as a week or as long as several months. Beyond discussions of the book, organizations may choose to include a kick-off event, invite the author for a visit, or have other events inspired by the content and themes of the book. These may include panel discussions, lectures, film screenings, art exhibitions, theatrical and musical performances, poetry slams, writing workshops and contests, and community storytelling events.

The NEA Big Read welcomes applications from a variety of eligible organizations, including first-time applicants; organizations serving communities of all sizes, including rural and urban areas; and organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets.

Explore the 2026-27 NEA Big Read Library

The 24 titles available this cycle span fiction and nonfiction books that celebrate America’s culture, history, and resilience through the eyes of its people.

See the Books

Get Ready to Apply

Learn more about the types of projects that the NEA Big Read supports and review our grant guidelines.

Learn More

New York Irish Center

Queens, NY

NEA Big Read

The post Now Accepting Applications: 2026-27 NEA Big Read appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center

That’s what the Willa Cather Center in Red Cloud, Nebraska, is working to change. They seek to turn a rural community of 938 into a literary destination celebrating Cather’s legacy.

In recent years, the Center has restored five historic sites connected to Cather’s life and writing and opened a boutique hotel. Visitors can walk through Cather’s childhood home, look at stained glass windows she commissioned in the local church, or visit the family farmstead that appears in one of her novels.

“All of those sites help people understand Cather’s life and contextualize her words,” says the Center’s executive director, Ashley Olson. “They can actually step into her childhood room, or  sit on a bench in the train depot and think about what it would’ve been like when there were seven passenger trains a day coming through Red Cloud… It’s an act of literary pilgrimage.”

But for those who can’t visit Red Cloud in person, don’t despair. The Center works nationwide to connect people with Cather’s catalogue. Most recently, the Center took part in the 2024-25 NEA Big Read, leading a community reading program centered on one of her most famous books, My Ántonia.

My Ántonia follows Jim Burden, an orphan who moves to Nebraska, and his lifelong friendship with Ántonia Shimerda, a young immigrant girl. Its themes of friendship, resilience, and frontier life remain as powerful today as when Cather wrote it more than a century ago.

As part of their NEA Big Read programming, the Center distributed books to schools, created traveling exhibits, and organized lectures. The response was enthusiastic: they received 33 requests for programs across seven states, including 14 communities in Nebraska alone.

“I in fact do judge a book by its cover, and My Ántonia looked wordy and plain,” said one senior in Rhode Island whose school participated. “But I found myself going to sleep wondering what would happen next and why things happened as they did. There were many times where I would wish that Cather were alive today to answer all my annoying questions”

Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center

For Olson, the work is about honoring Cather, but also about investing in her town’s future.

Like a lot of kids who grow up in small rural communities, when I left for college, I thought there’s no way I could come back because of a lack of careeropportunities,” she says. “Now tourism and the arts are a meaningful part of the economy; we’ve added jobs, rehabilitated downtown buildings, and received designation from the Nebraska Arts Council as a certified Creative District.”

Their NEA Big Read programming wrapped up at the annual Willa Cather Conference, which drew nearly 150 participants for scholarship, art, and performance—including a preview of a brand-new musical adaptation of My Ántonia by Minneapolis’s Theater Latté Da.

“I think it’s really a testament to Cather’s power,” says Olson. “She isn’t as recognizable in popular culture as we’d like her to be yet, but her star is definitely shining bright.”

Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center

Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center

Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center

Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center

Photo Credit: National Willa Cather Center

The Willa Cather Center’s programming related to sharing the author’s work and legacy was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program. The NEA Big Read provides grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to help bring communities together around the shared activity of reading and discussing the same book.

The post Walking Into Willa Cather’s World with the NEA Big Read appeared first on Arts Midwest.

These grants will support programming centered around a book from the NEA Big Read Library, with the goal of inspiring meaningful conversations, celebrating local creativity, elevating a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and building stronger connections in each community.

Community programming during this cycle of the NEA Big Read is focused on the theme “Our Nature.” Using their book selection as inspiration, grantees will offer book discussions, writing workshops, and creative activities that explore our relationship with the physical environment. In addition, all NEA Big Read grantees are hosting an event in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Grantees are from 33 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, with 38 percent of the recipients receiving their first NEA Big Read grant this year. Each NEA Big Read grantee will receive a matching grant ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to support their project.

The NEA Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

Photo Credit: Julie Umberger

Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information; guidelines will be released in Fall 2025.

The post Announcing the 2025-26 NEA Big Read Grantees appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Becket Athenaeum, a community library serving two small towns in Massachusetts’ Berkshires, has explored themes of coexistence and survival with its members for the last seven months. The book-inspired programming was organized, in part, with the help of an NEA Big Read grant.  

Photo Credit: Nicole Schulze / Becket Anthenaeum

It kicked off last October with a ‘Homesteading 101’ workshop. Twenty-five or so participants and readers of the book (ages 2 to 70+) gathered on the Becket, Massachusetts, property where Tarcisio Ramos Dos Santos, or Taz for short, homesteads.

Born in Brazil, Taz has been homesteading for practically his entire life, from his childhood in South America to his adulthood in the Berkshires.

“It comes very easy to me—I’ve practiced my whole life,” said the homesteader, who appeared in Season 10 of the survival-themed reality show Alone in 2023. “But here in the U.S. it’s more like I’m choosing to do this instead of I have to do this.” 

Now a local in Becket, he’s been involved in previous initiatives at the library. Athenaeum’s Executive Director Nicole Schulze said that Taz was a natural partner for the workshop because surviving off the land is a “really major theme in The Bear.” Plus, the idea of a homesteading workshop came up because it’s of interest in Western Massachusetts, she added. 

At the half-day event, the workshop participants divided into three groups and worked on the day’s typical homesteading tasks. They gathered acorns to feed the donkeys, tended to the fence that encircles the pigs, harvested squash, peppers, and eggplant, and learned how to start a fire without modern accoutrements.

“The fire-making especially resonated with people in relation to the book because that was such a huge part of what helped keep the two people alive,” recalled Nicole Schulze, Athenaeum’s Executive Director. She’s also the lead organizer for its Big Read program, which concludes with a visit from author Andrew Krivak in April.

Photo Credit: Nicole Schulze / Becket Anthenaeum

Photo Credit: Nicole Schulze / Becket Anthenaeum

Photo Credit: Nicole Schulze / Becket Anthenaeum

Photo Credit: Nicole Schulze / Becket Anthenaeum

“The experience of working together in a multi-generational group to accomplish common and human goals felt like a jolt of nurturance and safety that are hard to come by in our modern existence,” said Elizabeth Heller, a participant.

At the end of the day, with a fire roaring, attendees enjoyed homemade pizzas and roasted s’mores as they discussed the book.

“When people are reading [The Bear] and then now they’re on a homestead, it feels like stepping inside the book in a way,” Taz said, referencing the characters’ survival in a much more natural world.

For participants like Heller, the time together was “a reminder of how simple it can be to feel connected to each other as part of the natural world.”

Becket Anthenaeum’s programming related to Andrew Krivak’s novel, The Bear, was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program. The NEA Big Read provides grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to help bring communities together around the shared activity of reading and discussing the same book.

The post Homesteading 101 from a Survival Show Star, Inspired by a Book appeared first on Arts Midwest.

This year, we’re excited to introduce a new theme: “Our Nature: How Our Physical Environment Can Lead Us to Seek Hope, Courage, and Connection.”

The 22 NEA Big Read books available for programming this cycle explore our relationship with the physical environment, from our cities and farms to our mountains and coastlines.

NEA Big Read At-A-Glance

• What is it? The NEA Big Read is a reading program that brings communities together around the central theme “Our Nature,” using one of 22 available books as inspiration.
• Who can apply? Nonprofit arts organizations, universities, libraries, service organizations, museums, school districts, and tribal governments are all encouraged to apply.
• Where? Your organization must be located and operate within the United States or the Native Nations that share this geography.
• When to apply? A mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 23, 2025, with final applications due January 30, 2025. Funded programs will take place between September 2025 and June 2026.

Read more about eligibility and how to apply in the guidelines.

About NEA Big Read

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports a range of events and activities designed around a single NEA Big Read book. The goal of this program is to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, encourage cross-sector collaboration, and build stronger connections in each community.

NEA Big Read programs vary and can be as short as a week or as long as several months. Beyond discussions of the book, organizations may choose to include a kick-off event, invite the author for a visit, or have other events inspired by the content and themes of the book, including panel discussions, lectures, film screenings, art exhibitions, theatrical and musical performances, poetry slams, writing workshops and contests, and community storytelling events.

In addition to funding for purchasing the books themselves, each grant recipient is provided with resources to help them succeed. That includes outreach materials to gather people from all walks of life and training on how to work with local partners, how to develop public relations strategies, and how to lead meaningful book discussions.

The NEA Big Read welcomes applications from a variety of eligible organizations, including first-time applicants; organizations serving communities of all sizes, including rural and urban areas; and organizations with small, medium, or large operating budgets.

Explore the NEA Big Read Library

Each of the 22 titles available this cycle explore our relationship with the physical environment.

Learn More

Get Ready to Apply

Learn more about the types of projects that the NEA Big Read supports and review our grant guidelines.

Learn More

Wichitalks Event

Wichita, KS

NEA Big Read

Photo Credit: Sean Jones

The post Now Accepting Applications: 2025-26 NEA Big Read appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Photo Credit: Chase Castor

Community programming during this cycle is focused on the theme “Where We Live.” Grantees chose their NEA Big Read book based on how its themes, characters, and setting relate to the unique aspects of their community. They will use this selection as inspiration for book discussions, writing workshops, and creative activities in collaboration with a range of local partners.

Grantees are from 35 states with 40 percent of the recipients receiving their first NEA Big Read grant this year. Nearly 30 percent of grantees self-identify as rural. Each NEA Big Read grantee will receive a matching grant ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to support their project.

• Grants sorted by organization name 
• Grants sorted by state 
• Grants sorted by book

Visit arts.gov/neabigread for more information. Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information; guidelines will be released in the Fall.

The post Announcing the 2024-25 NEA Big Read Grantees appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Aberdeen’s K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library used their NEA Big Read grant funding to facilitate conversations about the thorny terrain covered in Sarah Smarsh’s 2018 memoir Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth across rural communities that resemble those of the author’s childhood.

From the perch of childhood, Smarsh’s memoir takes place across a backdrop of farm foreclosures that swept the Midwest during the ‘80s and ‘90s. “She talked a lot about the challenges of poverty and her mom being in and out of abusive relationships. That’s pretty typical of rural America. A lot of women stay with their husbands because they don’t know where else to go. It really resonated with some of our participants,” says Sonya Lang, director of Britton Public Library.

“There are more people in abusive relationships than I think people realize. It’s come to the forefront more in society, but it’s discussed more on the eastern and western costs than it is in the Midwest. We’re a very stoic people. We don’t share our problems,” Lang adds.

By setting up a sign about the Big Read and offering interested community members access to 10 copies of Heartland, the library facilitated rare but moving conversations. “This book brought up a lot of discussion about differences between the generations,” Lang adds. “We talked a lot about educational opportunities. In rural America, we just don’t have the same opportunities that they do in bigger schools, even those in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. It’s difficult to find teachers and paraprofessionals.”

Britton was just one of the five communities that held discussions about Heartland in collaboration with Aberdeen’s library.

In February, the Faulk County Library in Faulkton, South Dakota had a similarly illuminating conversation about the book.

“We’re a very small, older community. A lot of our residents have lived their entire lives here,” explains Holly Demery, director of Faulk County Library. Places like Faulkton are exactly the kinds of places Smarsh wrote about in her book, which is perhaps why the discussions cut across generations.

Photo Credit: Amazon

Photo Credit: K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library

Photo Credit: K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library

Faulk County’s Big Read conversation included Demery, who is in her 30s, a community member in their late 50s, and another in their late 60s. “We had three different generations in one room discussing the same material,” Demery says.

Across both discussions, not everyone loved the book. But that, Demery says, is exactly why the discussions were so important. Conversations that traverse politics, economics, and abuse can be polarizing, but instead the trio had a lovely and deeply civil conversation created by cross-generational perspectives. “It was a very down to earth, honest discussion of what people’s thoughts and ideas were on the book,” she says.

And that — no matter where you are, from big coastal cities to small rural towns — just doesn’t happen every day.

The post Rural Libraries Connect the Heartland, One Book Chat at a Time appeared first on Arts Midwest.

It’s this book of gratitude that anchored Hopkinsville, Kentucky’s ninth NEA Big Read last year. Inspired by the contents of Gay’s pages, a local artist and a cadre of youth arts campers created a mural on the side of the Hopkinsville Brewing Company. Artist Jennifer Bowman guided 15 or so local high school students through the process of creating a garden-inspired mural on a paint-smattered background overarched by a towering sunflower.

Photo Credit: Pennyroyal Arts Council

“For the last three or four summers, the Pennyroyal Arts Council has sponsored a summer camp to have local students paint a mural somewhere in town. It’s not always connected to the Big Read, but this year it seemed natural to illustrate [the book selection] because the cover is just beautiful and colorful,” explains Jennifer Brown, co-founder and editor of the Hoptown Chronicle and a Big Read committee member. “I really love the fact that it has given the folks who live in the senior apartment building [adjacent from the mural] something aesthetically beautiful to be the background of their little spot in downtown Hopkinsville.”

Photo Credit: Pennyroyal Arts Council

One of the most special elements of the mural was its September 7th dedication because Gay himself was present. It’s his presence and how touched he seemed to be by both the mural and the interest in his work that made the day stand out, says Brown. “One thing I noticed was how genuinely touched he seemed to be by the use of his words incorporated into the mural,” she adds. “He seemed really taken with it and it was so great to have him there. This was the first time we’ve ever had the author in person.”

Dozens of community members came together for both the mural dedication and a meet and greet with the author that followed at the Alhambra Theatre across the street. Free copies of Gay’s book were available to the first 100 attendees. Ten gratitude boards—blackboards on which community members were encouraged to inscribe their own words of gratitude—lingered in the lobby before being subsequently distributed around town after the event concluded. In total, roughly 500 copies of the book have been distributed throughout the community, including at events in local schools.

 

After Gay read passages of his book, Francene Gilmer, executive director of the Christian County Literacy Council and a Big Read committee member, moderated a question-and-answer session between Gay and the audience. Delight is the lingering feeling Gilmer remembers from the evening. “He read a couple of pieces from the book, and you could feel his emotion in it. You could see his delight with the people who asked questions. He was just a really down to earth person,” she says.

One audience member asked Gay if he had always wanted to be a poet. Perhaps surprisingly, his answer was that he had wanted to be a football player, describing himself as “not a school kid”. Brown felt like that response endeared him to the crowd and helped questions flow from there.

Photo Credit: Ross Gay

Photo Credit: Pennyroyal Arts Council

Photo Credit: Jennifer Bowman

Photo Credit: Pennyroyal Arts Council

“One thing I was taken with was how I had a deeper understanding of the meaning of his words when he read them as opposed to when I read them myself from the book,” Brown says. “It gave me much more of an appreciation. I went back and read more of his poetry afterwards, which I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. I suspect that was true for others who were there that night.”

In one way, the evening concluded with Gay signing books, staying until the very last one had been signed and having authentic conversations with every person along the way. But in another way, the experience hasn’t really ended at all: community members are still requesting copies of the book daily across Hopkinsville, garnering exactly the interest that Big Read is all about.

The post A Gratitude-Inspired Mural Brought This Community Together appeared first on Arts Midwest.

Without giving any spoilers, this is the premise of Andrew Krivak’s The Bear.

A group of four artists read The Bear as a part of Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota’s National Endowment for the Arts Big Read. What stood out to them was the enduring, omnipresent role that sky and land held throughout. So they set out to create an homage to the terrestrial and celestial characters in The Bear.

With support from The Spirit Room, a Fargo-based community arts nonprofit, the group created two art films, each roughly 15 minutes long. One centered on the sky while another focused on the land, but both were shown on an unexpected screen: Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Planetarium.

Photo Credit: Mike Abramyan

Astrophotographer Mike Abramyan and Doug Harbin, a composer and assistant professor at Moorhead’s Concordia College, teamed up to tackle the sky portion of the book’s interpretation. “One of the things Mike and I talked about while we were working was how it would feel if you were the last people on earth, how there wouldn’t be all these distractions that we think of today. We really wanted to create a sense of isolation and solitude,” Harbin explains.

Abramyan’s work naturally lends itself well to the task. He travels the world taking long-exposure images of the night sky. “With time lapses like this, one night of shooting takes about 12 hours and ends up only being a minute or two of footage, so I had to shoot quite a bit to fill this project,” Abramyan says. He sent Harbin footage of the time lapses he was taking as he developed them to inspire the musical component.

From there, Harbin sourced sound inspiration from NASA’s public archives that host, among other content, sounds recorded from a region of the Milky Way called Cygnus. He paired that with recordings that Abramyan shared with him from his desolate locations. In the end, “all of the sounds I used were generated from source material from the NASA website,” Harbin says.

Photo Credit: Gabrielle Cerberville

Once their work was complete, their film—alongside the land-based one created by Gabrielle Cerberville and Carter Rice that focused on imagery of nature taking over man-made structures—was shown at the planetarium on Saturdays and Sundays across September and October of last year.

“The tricky thing was that we knew it would be projected on the [planetarium’s] dome, but that it would also be shown on regular, rectangular screens as well. So while the time lapses were shot in 360, in the end we did a rectangular, 16 x 9 film,” Abramyan says. “Still, it was really wide when people were in there experiencing it, so it was extremely immersive. It was a really special kind of unplugging from the rest of the world.”

On the final October 8th showing, the planetarium hosted an artist talk with all four artists sandwiched by two showings of their work. “It was cool to sit there with people who had just seen the film and see their initial reactions. They also had great, specific questions about how it was shot and the artistic process,” Abramyan adds.

“Many of the audience members had read the book, so they had really insightful questions about how the work related to it,” Harbin recalls. It was a full-circle moment for him, too. “For me, having childhood memories of going to the planetarium as a kid, filled with excitement from sitting through one of those shows as a kid… I hope that’s what we encapsulated with this project.”

Photo Credit: Gabrielle Cerberville

Photo Credit: Mike Abramyan

Photo Credit: Gabrielle Cerberville

Photo Credit: Mike Abramyan

About The Bear

The Bear by author Andrew Krivak is a post-apocalyptic fable by New England author Andrew Krivak about a father and daughter, the last two people on Earth, who live off the land at the foot of a mountain. When the daughter finds herself lost and alone, a bear appears to lead her back home.

About the NEA Big Read

The Spirt Room’s collaboration with the Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Planetarium. was made possible in part by the the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read.

This national program helps communities realize the benefits of reading together. Each year, grants are given to about 75 community reading programs around the country to create events and opportunities for their community to read and discuss one book together. Since 2006, more than 1,600 NEA Big Read programs have taken place in every U.S. state.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. 

The post Inspired By a Book, These Artists Made a Planetarium Their Screen appeared first on Arts Midwest.

NEA Big Read

An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest, the NEA Big Read supports community reading programs designed around a single NEA Big Read book. The goal of this program is to inspire meaningful conversations, celebrate local creativity, elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives, and build stronger connections in each community.

Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 each, and the Intent to Apply is due on January 17, 2024 (extended from January 10).

Learn More about NEA Big Read

Book Event

Cincinatti, OH

NEA Big Read

Photo Credit: Mikki Schaffner

NEA Big Read At-A-Glance

• What: The NEA Big Read is a reading program that brings communities together around the central theme, “Where We Live,” using one of 50 available NEA Big Read Books as inspiration.
• When: The mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 10, with final applications due January 24, 2024 , and funded projects must occur between September 2024 and June 2025.
• Where: Nonprofit organizations and public libraries located across the United States and the Native nations that share this geography can apply.
• Who: Arts organizations, universities, libraries, service organizations, museums, school districts, and tribal governments are all encouraged to apply.

New this year, community programming during this cycle will focus on the theme “Where We Live.” Applicants will host books discussions, writing workshops, and creative activities that celebrate unique aspects of their community, using as inspiration one of 50 available NEA Big Read books. These 50 titles are drawn from the NEA Big Read archive and showcase a wide range of genres, perspectives, and geographic regions.

Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare in American Communities is a theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Through grants to theater companies, this program supports high-quality productions and educational activities to young audiences throughout the United States. Applicants can choose from two paths: Schools or Juvenile Justice.

Grants range from $15,000 to $25,000 each, and the Intent to Apply is due January 25, 2024.

Learn More about Shakespeare in American Communities

Shakespeare and Social Justice Workshop

Los Gatos, CA

Shakespeare in American Communities

Photo Credit: West Cliff Creative

Shakespeare in American Communities At-A-Glance

• What: Shakespeare in American Communities is a project-based, matching grant that helps theater companies and organizations bring Shakespeare and works inspired by Shakespeare to students.
• When: The mandatory Intent to Apply is due January 25, with final applications due February 8, 2024, and funded projects must occur between August 2024 – July 2025.
• Where: Nonprofit theater companies and organizations located across the United States and the Native nations that share this geography can apply.
• Who: The schools program is available to theater companies producing a play that is a work written or inspired by Shakespeare, an adaption of Shakespeare’s text, or a production that incorporates scenes, monologues, and/or sonnets by Shakespeare, with related educational activities in partnership with schools. The Juvenile Justice program is available to nonprofit organizations providing Shakespeare educational activities in partnership with the Juvenile Justice System.

New this year, grantees applying to the schools path do not need to produce Shakespeare plays. They now have the option to conduct performances and educational activities that use the works of William Shakespeare as an inspiration. Additionally, grantees may conduct performances and educational activities outside of schools, as long as they still reach middle/high school age participants.

The post Now Accepting Applications: 2024-25 NEA Big Read and Shakespeare in American Communities appeared first on Arts Midwest.