The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck 麻豆精品 S檚 story of an Oklahoma family 麻豆精品 S檚 flight from the dust bowl in the 1930s, will be featured in multiple upcoming UCF events as part of the national Big Read 麻豆精品 S檚 annual community reading project 麻豆精品 S� including a production at the UCF Celebrates the Arts festival, an art exhibit and other activities.
UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 participation in the Big Read, a program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, will kick off 3-5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at the John C. Hitt Library foyer, where complimentary copies of the book will be available. At 5 p.m. there will be a reception and opening of an art exhibit at the UCF Art Gallery that will focus on conservation, migration, agriculture, poverty, homelessness, and local food security. UCF and the Seminole County Public Library received an NEA grant of $16,000 to host the Big Read in Orange and Seminole counties.
After Monday’s opening events, for several weeks a variety of art exhibitions, books clubs, film screenings, panel discussions, game showcase and other programs will be presented, including the reading from the聽 Tony Award-winning adaptation of the book April 8 at UCF Celebrates the Arts at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
With a cast of more than 30 UCF guest artists, faculty, staff, alumni and students, the School of Performing Arts will tell the story of the Joad family 麻豆精品 S檚 desperate flight from the dust bowl after the loss of their farm. The festival also will include some tableau vivant 麻豆精品 S� living art 麻豆精品 S� student creations inspired by the book.
The April 7-14 UCF Celebrates the Arts festival will present more than 1,000 university students, 100 faculty members and some collaborative programs with outside partners to showcase theatre, dance, orchestra, choirs, big band, chamber music, cabaret, concert bands, opera, visual arts, studio art, gaming, animation, photography and film at the festival.
麻豆精品 S淭his is a great opportunity for UCF to engage the community in a discussion of art and literature, 麻豆精品 S� said Keri Watson, an assistant professor of art history, who secured the grant to support the Big Read. UCF is one of 77 nonprofit organizations around the nation to receive a grant to host events related to The Grapes of Wrath, this year 麻豆精品 S檚 book chosen for the project.
麻豆精品 S淲ith this grant, we join a select few 麻豆精品 S榬epeat readers 麻豆精品 S� who have received the grant more than once, 麻豆精品 S� Watson said. Last year UCF celebrated Zora Neale Hurston and聽her book Their Eyes Were Watching God.
The art exhibit, In the Eyes of the Hungry: Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 Changing Landscape,聽focuses on demographic, geographic and ecological shifts, with an emphasis on human relationships and the environment. The art to be shown explores ideas ranging from agriculture and industrialization to migration and tourism to ecology and conservation.
The exhibit will be on view at the UCF Art Gallery Feb. 27-March 3, and then at Terrace Gallery in Orlando City Hall March 13-April 23.
Watson, who curated the exhibition, will present a talk about the show 1-2 p.m. Feb. 28 at the art gallery.
Ticketing and full schedule details for UCF Celebrates the Arts are posted at . All events are free, but tickets are required for performances and entrance into the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando. A limited number of reserved seats at $20 will be available March 1-8.