Yay for us!

(From the Maryland State Arts Council website)

Silver Spring arts center gets NEA Big Read award!
Pyramid Atlantic , a nonprofit arts center in Silver Spring's arts and entertainment district, is one of 75 nonprofits across the U.S. that is receiving a total of $1 million in grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in connection with the NEA's fifth annual Big Read project, a yearly effort that spotlights reading as a vital element of American culture.

Each grantee receives an award ranging from $2,500 to $20,000. Pyramid, the only Maryland organization to receive a Big Read award, was awarded $17,050. Founded in 1981, Pyramid is “dedicated to the creation and appreciation of hand papermaking, printmaking, digital arts and the art of the book.”

The Big Read, which runs from September to June, can include a spectrum of events and activities – panel discussions, lectures, public readings, film screenings, theatrical readings and exhibits – tied to one of 31 pieces of U.S. and world literature provided by NEA. Pyramid will focus on Edgar Allan Poe.

NEA partners with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest to present The Big Read, with support from W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Boeing Company, the Poetry Foundation and the Ford Motor Company.