Program/Grant: NEA Big Read

Prairie Cultural Commons is a non-profit that is dedicated to creating opportunities, equity, and understanding for High Plains communities through arts and culture. Rooted in the geographical terrain of the Colorado High Plains, Prairie Sea Projects', part of Prairie Cultural Commons, work reflects creative transformation of our regional landscape and rural communities.

The project will offer opportunities for the community to learn about disability and accessibility through programs, discussions, and engagement events centered on the book Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body. We will partner with community organizations to provide a showcase of events that unite the community in a shared literary and cultural experience.

Write Pittsburgh will present a year of community workshops and activities based on Ross Gay's Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, centering gratitude, abundance, and joy, and bringing together the voices and artistry of community members from all corners of Allegheny County.

The Nacogdoches Public Library's Big Read explores "Where We Live" through the lens of There There by Tommy Orange. Through book discussions, workshops, and related activities, the program promotes literacy, engages the community, and celebrates the joy of reading, while also examining the historical displacement of the indigenous people who settled the area long before us.

Sarah Smarsh's 2018 memoir Heartland, a book about rural issues, was discussed in rural communities across South Dakota.

Ross Gay’s poetry book Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude spurred murals, conversations, and connection in this small Kentucky city.

Two art films, one focused on land and another an homage to the sky, were inspired by Andrew Krivak’s The Bear.

Applications are now open for the 2024-25 cycle of our two national grants programs: the NEA Big Read and Shakespeare in American Communities.