Little Free Library Project Highlights Female Authors of Color
In a public art project celebrating cultural diversity and women’s empowerment, two local artists have painted five new Little Free Libraries that feature portraits of groundbreaking female authors of color and the LGBTQ community.
The Little Free Libraries have been installed in areas of Takoma Park where residents didn’t have access to nearby little libraries to get free books.
The City of Takoma Park’s Arts and Humanities Division commissioned local artists Samantha Contrino and Katie Macyshyn to paint the little libraries that were built by Walter Mulbry, a local volunteer who has built more than 20 Little Free Libraries .
The new Little Free Libraries celebrate the diversity of Takoma Park, including women of color and the LGBTQ community. The five featured women shook the status quo and advanced the overlapping worlds of literature, women’s rights, and racial equality. They include Black author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, Ethiopian educator and politician Senedu Gebru, Peruvian-American children’s book author Juana Martinez-Neal, Guatemalan human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú, and English lesbian author Virginia Woolf.
You can see the Little Free Libraries at the following locations. Better yet, take some books home to read or donate some. We’re all in this together so let’s read together!
You can find info about other City-funded public art projects and our Takoma Park Arts cultural series at takomaparkmd.gov/arts, including news about upcoming online poetry readings, film screenings, and concerts. The arts keep us connected even when we’re apart.
Little Free Library Locations:
Maya Angelou – 8630 Flower Avenue near Piney Branch Road intersection
Senedu Gebru – Anne Street near University Boulevard East intersection
Juana Martinez-Neal – Sligo Mill Overlook Neighborhood Park at 6400 Orchard Avenue
Rigoberta Menchu – Aldi shopping center at 7609 New Hampshire Avenue
Virginia Woolf – 8308 Flower Avenue
