The Jamestown Arts Center will hold a JAC Talk, “The Staying Power of Books,” on Wednesday, August 23, at 6 pm with panelists Kate Lentz, executive director of the RI Center for the Book, Liz Nelson, Co-Owner and Director of Curiosity Store, and Tim O’Connell, editorial director for fiction at Simon & Schuster.
This panel complements the current exhibition Book as Muse: Language & Image and will discuss books as an artistic medium and their place in modern culture.
Panelists will explore the power of books to inspire discovery and imagination and, conversely, to be the subject of controversy even in an evermore digital world. As experts in their field, panelists will also discuss the book industry–from challenges such as Amazon, artificial intelligence, and our fractured attention to the recent successes of audiobook sales and independent booksellers.
Maureen Coleman, executive director of the JAC, states, “We’re honored to have experts who bring national, regional, and local perspectives to complement concepts from the exciting Book as Muse exhibition, and to explore an especially timely topic: the relevance of books in contemporary society.
“The digital age has radically changed how we consume information, and yet books retain relevance–as sources of respite, as magnets for controversy, as art, and as historical record. We look forward to bringing the insights of Liz Nelson, Tim O’Connell and Kate Lentz to this conversation.”
The JAC Talk will be held in the gallery alongside the current exhibition Book As Muse: Language & Image, on view through August 24. The exhibition showcases artworks inspired by literature and books as material objects. Through the fusion of language and visual imagery, the 10 exhibiting artists express their interpretations of literary works or explore the significance of books as unique art forms themselves.
JAC Talk is a regular program hosted by the JAC to bring artists, intellectuals, and creative minds together to share their stories with the Jamestown community and beyond.
Tickets are available at jamestownartcenter.org/events for $10 General Admission or $8 for JAC Members, Seniors and Students.
