aRTlIT2021
Prepare to be delighted and inspired on Saturday, January 9, 2021, from 10AM to 2PM as Broward County Library and the City of Pompano Beach present ArtLit 2021: Rhythms & Rhymes.
This will be the fourth year for this popular community celebration. For the first time ever, ArtLit will be held online so that anyone in the world can enjoy and interact with this unique event from the comfort of their home.
This free, all-ages celebration of art and literature will feature live interactive art creation, music, craft demonstrations, special performances and more on Broward County Library’s Facebook page. Everyone is encouraged to join in the fun by taking a photo of their own artwork and posting it on Facebook or Twitter with the #ArtLit2021 hashtag. Be sure to sign up for the event now on Facebook so that you don’t miss out on the fun.
A highlight of the Art Lit event is watching the professional chalk muralists create live art on the pavement, and this year they will be live streaming from their location all around the country.
“ArtLit has outdone itself every year. Now in its fourth year, we are excited to branch out and bring this signature event to the world through the power of online streaming media,” says Broward County Library Director Kelvin Watson. “I cannot think of a better way to bring people together than by celebrating the transformative power of art and literature. We are thrilled to once again partner with the City of Pompano Beach, to make this event possible.”
ArtLit 2021 is sponsored by Broward County Library and the City of Pompano Beach. It is the signature event for the NEA Big Read, where participants are encouraged to read An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo, United States Poet Laureate. Harjo is the first Native American to hold the position. A variety of online entertainment and educational events will be held in conjunction with the Big Read. The Big Read celebrates the power of the written word and features events for all ages.
The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. It is designed to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. For more information about the Big Read, visit http://read.broward.org/.
NEA Big Read 2021 events include a special “NEA Big Read: A Conversation with Joy Harjo” presentation on January 30, 2021 from 2-3PM, EST as well as poetry and art workshops, interactive and American Sign Language book discussions and more. NEA Big Read 2021 kicks off with a special online event, “Celebrating Indigenous Peoples” with Lakota and Anishinaabe storyteller, educator, hoop dancer and recording artist Kevin Locke on January 7, 2021, from 2-3PM, EST.
An American Sunrise: Poems is a nationally best-selling volume of wise, powerful poetry from Harjo, the first Native American Poet Laureate of the United States. She is a member of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation and the author of nine poetry collections, most recently An American Sunrise: Poems, and a memoir, Crazy Brave. Named Poet Laureate of the United States in 2019, Harjo lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she is a Tulsa Artist Fellow saxophone player of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation.
Copies of An American Sunrise: Poems, Out of Wonder and For Every One are available in various formats from Broward County Library.
NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in Partnership with Arts Midwest. Additional sponsorship is provided by the Broward Public Library Foundation and the Florida Center for the Book.