Big Read Partner Series - The Art Theater
- Post Date: 02/12/2019
- Author: Beth Watkins
- Reading Time: 4 minute read
Meet the partners and key collaborators on the NEA Big Read in Champaign-Urbana! This project, centered on Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, is a partnership among the Spurlock Museum, the International & Area Studies Library, the Urbana Free Library, the Champaign Public Library, the Art Theater, and the Indian Cultural Society of Urbana-Champaign.
A national initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts 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. This local partnership linking campus, Champaign, and Urbana is one of 79 to receive an NEA Big Read grant to host a community reading program in the winter of 2019. To date, approximately 39,000 community organizations nation-wide have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible. For more information about the NEA Big Read, please visit arts.gov/neabigread. (external link)
The International and Area Studies Library: Grant Partner and Program Host
The International and Area Studies Library (external link) has Big Read programs for on- and off-campus community members. IASL Book Clubs with community discussants (February 21 and 28 and March 7), Chai Wai (February 6) and Indian Comics program (February 13) are all open to UIUC students, staff, and faculty, as well as to folks from throughout our community. IASL is also hosting a book discussion at Riggs Brewery on March 9. IASL is on the third floor of the University Library at the corner of Wright Street and Armory Avenue on campus. There is a CUMTD bus stop at this corner, and parking suggestions are listed online (external link).
The Art Theater
The Art Theater hosted a screening and discussion of Mississippi Masala on Monday, February 4 at 7:00 pm.
Porshé R. Garner is the Executive Director of the Art Film Foundation/Art Theater. Founded in 2015 as a 501(c)(3), the mission of the Art Film Foundation (AFF) is to promote culture and education through film and cinema. Our main program, The Art Theater's, mission is to:
- Cultivate and engage audiences for US independent and international cinema;
- Promote culture, education, and dialogue through and about film;
- Foster awareness and understanding of the human condition;
- Enrich the cultural landscape of Champaign-Urbana.
Porshé received her PhD in educational policy studies with a graduate minor in gender and women’s studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. No stranger to the Champaign-Urbana local community, for the past 10 years Porshé has organized with the local collective SOLHOT to collaborate with youth around art. As the executive director of the Art Film Foundation, Porshé enjoys engaging and learning from the very rich film community of the Art Theater and working with the community to bring our dreams and vision around film into fruition.
Upcoming Events
Calling all cinephiles and trivia enthusiasts: come out to the Art Theater and test your knowledge of Academy Awards nominees and winners at our Oscars-themed trivia night. Tickets are $7 per person. Individuals and teams of up to 6 people can compete for prizes. The top three scores at the end of the night will be awarded prizes. Sunday, Feburary 17, 7:00 pm.
For more information on upcoming events and showtimes, visit the Art Theatre website (external link).
-
- Share: 𝕏
- Subscribe to Newletter
- Giving
