RUTGERS-CAMDEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS

STEDMAN GALLERY
GORDON THEATER
Third and Pearl Sts.
Camden, NJ 08102

856-225-6306
FAX: 856-225-6597

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The Big Read


The Big Read

The Big Read is an initiative of the national Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.  The Big Read is managed by Arts Midwest.  Camden is one of 78 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read from September 2012 – June 2013.  From March – April 2013, Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts and the Camden community will celebrate Bless Me Ultima with a full calendar of events, including a kick-off event to launch the program; events devoted specifically to the book, such as lectures, book discussions in diverse locations, performances and more.


For more information on The Big Read or to have your own Bless Me Ultima book discussion, call Noreen Scott Garrity at 856-225-6306.


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




THE CALL OF THE WILD 2010
From February to April 2010, RCCA (in partnership with the Camden Free Public Library) hosted its first National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read project focused on Jack London's book The Call of the Wild. More than 3,000 copies of the book were distributed to Camden residents, students, and community organizations; a kick-off event was attended by 225 participants, and many other programs and events took place as a result.

The Camden School District's Language Arts Literacy Supervisor selected The Call of the Wild for 2010. The Call of the Wild also was required reading for all school district students in grades 7, 8, and 9. Classroom teachers received the Teacher and Audio Guides and in service support. Over 3,000 students and 200 teachers participated. An estimated 500 community members participated in discussion groups. A series of related activities enhanced readers' understanding of its historic and geographic context, and involved young children in the program.

THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD 2011
RCCA was awarded its second Big Read grant for FY11 for work relating to Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. This program (Jan. 18 – May 15, 2011) included a related exhibition (ARTiculate: Links Between Visual and Verbal Expression), a Literary Tea Kick-off event with live jazz and a lecture (March 2, 2011), a professional development workshop for Camden City English and Social studies teachers (Jan. 19, 2011), and more. More than 1,500 books were distributed.