The Stanley Museum of Art has partnered with the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program for Spring 2025. This event features a community wide reading of the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. This initiative is tied to the upcoming exhibition at the Stanley, it’s a fine thing, opening on Feb. 13, 2025.  

NEA Big Read Logo

Iowa City is one of 62 communities nationwide participating in the 2023-2024 NEA Big Read. From February to May, our community will celebrate Beloved by Toni Morrison with a full calendar of events. This will include four Beloved-related discussions about literature and art, led by the Stanley’s curator of special projects and author of What Napoleon Could Not Do, Derek (DK) Nnuro.

The NEA Big Read in Iowa City is presented in partnership with the Stanley Museum of Art, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE Nea big read LEARN MORE ABOUT BELOVED BY TONI MORRISON

 

Upcoming Events

Our Stories In and On the Midwest Landscape: A Panel Conversation with Alicia Olushola Ajayi, Kelley Lemon, and Naima Green promotional image

Our Stories In and On the Midwest Landscape: A Panel Conversation with Alicia Olushola Ajayi, Kelley Lemon, and Naima Green

Thursday, April 24, 2025 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Stanley Museum of Art
Join us for a compelling panel discussion moderated by Katherine Simóne Reynolds and featuring Kelley Lemon, Naima Green, and Alicia Olushola Ajayi. This conversation will illuminate the many ways Black artists and practitioners are engaging with ecological narratives, uncovering hidden histories, and shaping future landscapes. This event is held in conjunction with the exhibition, it's a fine thing, currently on view at the Stanley Museum of Art.Moderator:Katherine Simóne Reynolds is an artist...
Film Screening & Artist Conversation | Christopher Harris & Cameron Granger promotional image

Film Screening & Artist Conversation | Christopher Harris & Cameron Granger

Friday, April 25, 2025 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Art Building West
Join us for a special evening of film screenings and conversation with acclaimed filmmakers/artists Christopher Harris and Cameron Granger. This program is part of the Grant Wood Art Colony's 8th Biennial Symposium, Race and Regionalism: Representation in the Heartland, and is held in conjunction with the Stanley Museum of Art's exhibition, it's a fine thing.Featured FilmsChristopher HarrisDistant Shores (2016, 3min)Christopher Harris’s Distant Shores, to take one, models a necessary imaginative...
NEA Big Read | Discussion of "Beloved" with DK Nnuro promotional image

NEA Big Read | Discussion of "Beloved" with DK Nnuro

Saturday, May 10, 2025 2:00pm to 11:59pm
Stanley Museum of Art
Join us for four discussions of Toni Morrison's Beloved and the exhibition it's a fine thing, led by the Stanley’s curator of special projects and author of What Napoleon Could Not Do, Derek (DK) Nnuro.Register for each session by clicking the dates below, capped at 30 participants: Feb. 15 (Pages 1 - 59)March 8 (Pages 60 - 195)April 5 (Pages 199 - 277)May 10 (Pages 281 - 324)Iowa City is one of 62 communities nationwide participating in the 2023-2024 NEA Big Read. From February to May, our...