Dedham Reads Together 2024: Museums all Ar ound Us features our adult book selection \;All the Beauty in the World \;by Patrick Bringley\, who will be with us in person to sp eak about his book and his experiences as museum guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. \;
\nThis event is open to the public FREE OF CH
ARGE through funding from the Dedham Library Innovation Team\, with sup
port by the Dedham Public Library and the Friends of the Dedham Library.
Schedule of Events:
\n6:30 pm: \;Light appetizers\, gathering
\, and book sale (appetizers generously provided by Wegmans Westwood)
7-8:00 pm: \;Program with Patrick Bringley\
, Q&\;A
8-9:30 pm: \;Book sale\, book signing
\, desserts\, cash bar\, and raffles (Library services close at 8 pm)<
/em>
About the Book &\; Author:
\nAll the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum and Me by Patrick Bringley (Simon &\; Schuster\, 2023)< /p>\n
A fascinating\, revelatory portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former \;New Yorker \;staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard.
\nA best book of the year from:
\n-New York Public Library
-NPR
-The \;Financial Times
-
Book Riot
-The \;Sunday Times \;(London)
Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum o f Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They&rsquo\;re the guards who roam unobtrusively in dark blue suits\, keeping a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasur e house. Caught up in his glamorous fledgling career at \;The \;Ne w Yorker\, Patrick Bringley never thought he&rsquo\;d be one of them. Then his older brother was diagnosed with fatal cancer and he found himself ne eding to escape the mundane clamor of daily life. So he quit \;The New Yorker \;and sought solace in the most beautiful place he knew.
\nTo his surprise and the reader&rsquo\;s delight\, this temporary refuge becomes Bringley&rsquo\;s home away from home for a decade. We follow him as he guards delicate treasures from Egypt to Rome\, strolls the labyrint hs beneath the galleries\, wears out nine pairs of company shoes\, and mar vels at the beautiful works in his care. Bringley enters the museum as a g host\, silent and almost invisible\, but soon finds his voice and his trib e: the artworks and their creators and the lively subculture of museum gua rds&mdash\;a gorgeous mosaic of artists\, musicians\, blue-collar stalwart s\, immigrants\, cutups\, and dreamers. As his bonds with his colleagues a nd the art grow\, he comes to understand how fortunate he is to be walled off in this little world\, and how much it resembles the best aspects of t he larger world to which he gradually\, gratefully returns.
\nIn the tradition of classic workplace memoirs like \;Lab Girl \;and \;Working Stiff\, \;All The Beauty in the World \;is a surprising\ , inspiring portrait of a great museum\, its hidden treasures\, and the pe ople who make it tick\, by one of its most intimate observers. --Provided by the Publisher
\nPlease email \;Brittany \;at btuttle.ddm@minlib.net with questions about this\, and any other \, Dedham Reads Together 2024: Museums All Around Us event. \;
\nArtwork on display at this event includes a Two-Person Exhibit by Dedham Art Association< /a> artists Gianna Bird and Sheila Davis\, a Free Little Art Gallery\, and multimedia projects from MOLA and Dedham Public Schools students.
\nDedham ECEC: samples of mini p
aintings and a scrapbook of students participating in other activities rel
ated to museums and collections
Dedham Elementary Schools: a variety of recycled materials artwork\, including origami\, bottl
e cap art\, and animal sculptures
Dedham Middle School: Makerspace mini canvases to demonstrate their idea of what home and be
longing means to them\, and two separate LEGO sets\, Trafalgar Square and
Starry Night
Dedham High School: Makerspace activity
of transformed metal tins into curated miniature museum exhibits based on
their own personal interests\; this is a collaboration between the HS Lib
rary &\; Art Department
Dedham Reads Together is a collaborative annual initiative presented by Dedham Public Library\, Dedha m Public Schools\, and Dedham Library Innovation Team to promote literacy and community in Dedham\, MA through shared reads and activities.
\nThank you for supporting DLIT\, our Town's school and public
libraries\, and The Friends of Dedham Library!
\;