In 2014, The Matthews received the Big Read for the first time for the book, “The Namesake.” For the 2015-16 season, The Matthews has received their second Big Read grant. This time its for the classic detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, “The Maltese Falcon.”
Press Announcement
THE MATTHEWS OPERA HOUSE & ARTS CENTER IS ONE OF 75 ORGANIZATIONS NATIONWIDE TO RECEIVE A BIG READ GRANT
Spearfish, SD to Read and Celebrate “The Maltese Falcon” During The Big Read
June 2, 2015—SPEARFISH, SD —The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center is a recipient of a grant of $12,000 to host The Big Read in Spearfish, SD. A program of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Big Read broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Managed by Arts Midwest, this initiative offers grants to support innovative community reading programs designed around a single book. The Matthews is one of 75 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant to host a Big Read project between September 2015 and June 2016. The Big Read in Spearfish, SD will focus on “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiell Hammett. Big Read events will take place January-March 2016.
Along with The Matthews, Spearfish’s Grace Balloch Memorial Library, Black Hill State University School of Arts and Humanities, and The Spearfish Rec Center are project partners offering many Big Read events from January through March.
“We are thrilled to receive our second Big Read grant. The first Big Read in 2014 revolved around the Jhumpa Lahiri novel, “The Namesake,” and was very successful,” says Sian Young, executive director of The Matthews. “The Maltese Falcon” came out in 1930 and was the premier detective novel of the era. There are many themes we and our Big Read project partners will be incorporating into our events,’ continues Young.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “The Big Read is a powerful example of how the arts can bring communities together and help us to connect with one another. These 75 organizations, including The Matthews, are creating valuable opportunities for their communities to share wonderful stories and characters and to have meaningful conversations.”
The Big Read provides communities nationwide with the opportunity to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 37 selections from U.S. and world literature. The 75 selected organizations will receive Big Read grants to promote and carry out community-based reading programs. The NEA has also developed high-quality, free-of-charge educational materials to supplement each title, including reader’s guides, teacher’s guides, and audio programming, all of which are available to the public on neabigread.org.
The kick-off event for the Spearfish Big Read will be on January 9 at The Matthews Opera House with a live performance by Tomas Kubinek — Miracle Man. The show is a throw back to the vaudeville days of comedy, about the same time that “The Maltese Falcon” was first published. Many of the events will revolve around the 20s and 30s, falconry, detective themes, etc.
For more information about The Big Read please visit neabigread.org.
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The Matthews Opera House & Arts Center is a 501c3 non-profit organization located at 612 N. Main Street in Spearfish, South Dakota. To learn more about The Matthews either contact by phone, 605.642.7973 or their website at www.MatthewsOpera.com.
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Established by Congress in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. For more information, visit arts.gov.
Arts Midwest promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people’s lives. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 25 years. For more information, please visit artsmidwest.org.
