About the NEA Big Read Grant: Great Lakes Bay Region
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum is one of 61 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project. The timeline of this grant is September 2021 to June 2022.
The NEA Big Read: Great Lakes Bay Region is not just a book club, but a series of programs and events centered around one book and its themes with the goal of bringing people together from our neighboring counties: Bay, Midland, and Saginaw. The partner organizations in these counties have selected the book ‘The House of Mango Street’ by Sandra Cisneros in part because it is accessible to a wide range of ages and abilities and has a children’s companion book called ‘Hairs/Pelitos’ that helps to ensure everyone in the community can connect around the stories and themes, including ‘neighbors and neighborhoods.’
Program partners include: Creative 360, Studio 23, Saginaw Art Museum, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, Bay County Library System, Public Libraries of Saginaw, Delta College Public Media, Grace A. Dow Memorial Library.
Funding for the “NEA Big Read: Great Lakes Bay Region” comes from, the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program in partnership with Arts Midwest, the Hemlock Semiconductor Community and Regional Empowerment Fund, the Bay Area Community Foundation, the Saginaw Community Foundation, and the Midland Area Community Foundation; who provides philanthropic leadership to strengthen our community by fostering collaboration and giving today and in the future.
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum is one of 61 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project. The timeline of this grant is September 2021 to June 2022.
The NEA Big Read: Great Lakes Bay Region is not just a book club, but a series of programs and events centered around one book and its themes with the goal of bringing people together from our neighboring counties: Bay, Midland, and Saginaw. The partner organizations in these counties have selected the book ‘The House of Mango Street’ by Sandra Cisneros in part because it is accessible to a wide range of ages and abilities and has a children’s companion book called ‘Hairs/Pelitos’ that helps to ensure everyone in the community can connect around the stories and themes, including ‘neighbors and neighborhoods.’
Program partners include: Creative 360, Studio 23, Saginaw Art Museum, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, Bay County Library System, Public Libraries of Saginaw, Delta College Public Media, Grace A. Dow Memorial Library.
Funding for the “NEA Big Read: Great Lakes Bay Region” comes from, the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program in partnership with Arts Midwest, the Hemlock Semiconductor Community and Regional Empowerment Fund, the Bay Area Community Foundation, the Saginaw Community Foundation, and the Midland Area Community Foundation; who provides philanthropic leadership to strengthen our community by fostering collaboration and giving today and in the future.
NEA Big Read Public Art Program
The book's themes, particularly neighbors and neighborhoods, was the basis for three community artmaking projects from the following three counties in the Great Lakes Bay Region: Bay, Midland, and Saginaw Counties. Working with the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum (MFSM) and our Big Read arts partners, each of the three counties selected a local artist from their county to facilitate county residents in the making of a shared community artwork. Below are the three projects that were funded from each county.
Bay County
Artist Mark Bleshenski
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Artist Mark Bleshenski of Bay County created a sculpture that will be located in Defoe Park located on Marquette Avenue in Bay City.
Midland County
Artist Annie Stout
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"The Key House"
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The Key House by Midland artist Annie Stout is a permanent sculpture of a house frame made of steel beams and steel tension wire coated in vinyl. The sculpture stands 8 feet by 8 feet by 10 feet and is in front of Creative 360, facing Bayliss Street in Midland, Michigan.
“The house structure is representative of the community as a whole,” Annie Stout said. “I want to invite the community to help complete the sculpture by adding keys all over the walls. The keys represent the individuals in our community with open hearts, minds, and doors, which is how we can make real connections and strengthen relationships with our neighbors.”
“The house structure is representative of the community as a whole,” Annie Stout said. “I want to invite the community to help complete the sculpture by adding keys all over the walls. The keys represent the individuals in our community with open hearts, minds, and doors, which is how we can make real connections and strengthen relationships with our neighbors.”
Saginaw County
Artist Luka Dziubyna
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Artist Luka Dziubyna looks over a young artist work with his mural sketch in the background.
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Artist Luka Dziubyna of Saginaw County created this mural to be placed at the Mexican American Cultural Center located at 1537 South Washington Avenue in Saginaw, Michigan.
All public artworks will be available on the Public Art Passport website which is a guide to public art in Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region.
All public artworks will be available on the Public Art Passport website which is a guide to public art in Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region.