Learning Through Art Cincinnati

✨ Poetry. Art. Music. Community. 🌿🎶📖

Join Learning Through Art and Books Alive! For Kids® for our NEA Big Read Poetry Slam & Celebration at Krohn Conservatory!

Inspired by the poetry collection You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World by Ada Limón, this free community event features:
🎤 Poetry readings from 15 local poets
🎨 Artwork inspired by You Are Here
🎶 Music with DJ Pillow
🤝 Community connection and celebration

📍 Krohn Conservatory
📅 June 11, 2026
⏰ 6–8 PM

Come celebrate the creativity, stories, and voices that bring our community together. We can't wait to see you there!

What can poetry reveal when the world feels overwhelming? 🎶 🌍 📖

Jason Alexander Holmes reads “Staircase” and “To Think of Italy While Climbing the Saunders-Monticello Trail” in this NEA Big Read feature with Ada Limón.

His reflections explore climate, emotional honesty, mental wellbeing, and our connection to nature.

✨ Watch Jason's full panel reflection on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iUOkO-YSIc&list=PLvAfBne-mKMJUEFfRvwE9-fuuVUAHKYtN&index=5&t=27s

🌿 Join Learning Through Art and Books Alive! For Kids® as we celebrate the magic of our NEA Big Read with friends from Cincinnati Parks at our Poetry Slam & Celebration at the Krohn Conservatory! ✨📖

Enjoy an evening of poetry, creativity, community, and connection inspired by You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World by Ada Limón. We can’t wait to celebrate with you in one of Cincinnati’s most beautiful spaces 🌱

📍 Krohn Conservatory
🗓 June 11, 2026
⏰ 6–8 PM

What does it sound like when memory, music, and poetry meet? 🎶📖🌿

In this NEA Big Read feature, vocalist Ciara Harper reads and reflects on the poem “Hackberry,” and shares a deeply personal connection to place, family, and memory.

As a longtime performer with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Ciara brings soulful depth rooted in church music and classical performance. In her reflection, she connects poetry to her own lived history - family streets, childhood summers, and the spaces that shaped her story.

✨ Watch Ciara’s full panel reflection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-3lNprMy_M&t=1s

A few reminders for your week inspired by You Are Here by Ada Limón 📖

Slow down.
Step outside.
Notice the small things. 🌿

Poetry has a way of bringing us back to ourselves and the world around us, and we’re so excited to celebrate that through this year’s NEA Big Read ✨

✨ There’s still time to submit your artistic response inspired by nature and You Are Here!

We’re accepting:
• Poetry
• Visual Art
• Music
• Multimedia Pieces

📖 Submit to: [email protected]
✨ Deadline extension ending soon!

Which reminder do you need most today? 🌿

🌿 Poetry Slam & Celebration at the Krohn Conservatory 🌿

There’s still time to submit your poetry and creative responses inspired by You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World by Ada Limón ✨

Creators of all ages are invited to share work inspired by the natural and emotional landscapes around them.
📧 Submit to: [email protected]

Selected works will be showcased during our Closing Celebration on June 11, 2026 from 6-8 PM at !

How does nature become medicine for the mind and body? 🌲🌿📖

In this NEA Big Read feature, Dr. Barbara Walker reflects on the poem “Redwoods,” and the deep connection between landscape, resilience, and healing.

As a psychologist and specialist in mind-body and nature-based approaches, Dr. Walker explores how spending time outdoors supports wellbeing, and helps us to slow down, self-regulate, and reconnect with ourselves and the world around us. Her work weaves together science, movement, recovery, and the transformative power of nature.

✨ Watch Dr. Walker’s full reflection now on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M-weEvHH3U

We’re thrilled to celebrate Kathy Wade, CEO & Co-Founder of Learning Through Art, on her induction into the Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame 2026 Class 🎶✨

This honor celebrates Kathy’s lasting impact on Cincinnati’s arts community through jazz, education, youth programming, and cultural leadership.

Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of live jazz and celebration as Kathy performs with Carmon DeLeone’s Studio Big Band alongside this year’s inductees.

📍 Sunday, June 28, 2026 | 3PM
📍 Mayerson JCC, Cincinnati
🎟 Tickets: $30 online | $35 at the door | $10 students
cincyjazzhof.org | 513-207-0476

Let’s fill the room and celebrate this incredible moment together 💛

How can nature help us hold grief, memory, and healing in the same breath? 🌿🎨📖

In this NEA Big Read feature, visual artist and educator Adoria Maxberry reflects on “Lullaby for the Grieving” from You Are Here, sharing how nature becomes a space for remembrance, connection, and peace.

Through her personal story of family, loss, and motherhood, Adoria reminds us that small steps in nature can become moments where grief softens and memory lives on.

✨ Watch Adoria’s full panel reflection:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMsFervPWhg&list=PLvAfBne-mKMJUEFfRvwE9-fuuVUAHKYtN&index=3&t=8s

We loved sharing the magic of the BA!FK & NEA Big Read with families at the Lawrenceburg Public Library District!

Even sweeter - Lily (left) and Ada (right) kept the creativity going at home after the event. How amazing is that for an NEA Big Read event featuring our 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón!!? 🥹🎨

Thank you for reading, creating, and making these moments so special with us. 🌿