Celebrate Art, Literacy During Community Read in March

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is ready to launch its 2025 Community Read campaign with the theme, “Art is.” From the earliest cave paintings, art has communicated ideas and told stories. Today, music, dance and theatrical performances can range from our simplest ideas to our grandest epics. This year, CML will put forth a month-long effort to engage the community in reading and/or listening to a wide array of exciting books that explore the idea of art.  

“The Community Read Program is an opportunity for all community members, young and old to come together to discuss a single book,” said Meryle Leonard, Assistant Director of Outreach at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. “The theme, “Art is,” further invites readers to not only learn about and appreciate various forms of art but also explore how it can influence and bring us together as a community.”  

The 2025 signature title is Portrait of A Thief by Grace D. Li for which the Library is partnering with the Mint Museum-Randolph to host a special event on March 12 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The free event is for an adult audience and will feature live performances including aerialists, an interactive art project, games, food and more.  

Additionally, our friends and partners from the Mint Museum have curated a guided tour correlating with the signature title. The tour will explore works of art that connect to the book’s themes of personal and national identity, culture, heritage, immigrant assimilation, and reclamation of stolen artifacts. The tour will be offered on Sunday, March 2 from 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 5 and Wednesday, June 18 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission to the Mint Museum is free on Wednesday evenings. 

The fun for teens and children can be discovered through the companion titles From Twinkle with Love by Sandhya Menon, Art Club by Rashad Doucet, and The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. All four titles are available for free at every Library location while supplies last and are also available for digital download. A variety of Library programs will be available throughout the month of March and you can find them here.  

To learn more about Community Read, visit cmlibrary.org/community-read.