Every October, we celebrate the profound impact that the arts have on our lives, our schools, and our nation. As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of National Arts & Humanities Month, we also invite you to join us in celebrating another important milestone – the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts. President Obama once again commemorated National Arts & Humanities Month with a Presidential Proclamation, stating that “this month, we recognize the ways the arts and humanities have forever changed our country, and we recommit to ensuring every American has the opportunity and the freedom to question, discover, and create.” Curious about what you can do to celebrate? You can attend a play or concert, visit a local art gallery, or listen to a spooky ghost story reading on October 30th at the Burwell School by the 2015 Piedmont Laureate – just to name a few of the endless possibilities!
To kick off National Arts and Humanities Month, the Orange County Arts Commission introduced the 2015 Piedmont Laureate – Hillsborough speculative fiction author James Maxey – at the October 6, 2015 regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners in Hillsborough. In this 7th year of the Piedmont Laureate Program – co-sponsored by the Orange County Arts Commission, City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County – Mr. Maxey is bringing Triangle area residents together to celebrate writing.
James Maxey writes fast-paced, action-driven science fiction dealing with larger-than-life characters adventuring in exotic worlds. Readers who delve past the dragons and superheroes on the covers will discover stories that explore the deeper aspects of the human condition, from the highly personal—such as, love, hate, grief, anger, faith and hope—to larger societal issues such as mankind’s relationship with the natural world. In the course of entertaining readers with imaginary worlds, Mr. Maxey hopes to provoke them into thinking more deeply about our own world and our shared responsibility to improve it.
For more information on National Arts and Humanities Month, please visit the Americans for the Arts website at www.americansforthearts.org.