The Great American Songbook Foundation will hold a monthly Saturday open house at its Songbook Exhibit Gallery this year to make a timely new exhibit available to more visitors.
Coinciding with the 2020 national election cycle, Of Thee I Sing: Politics on Stage features images, audio, artifacts and activities exploring political and patriotic themes in the worlds of musical theater and popular music. Musicals highlighted in the exhibit include Of Thee I Sing (1931), Camelot (1960), 1776 (1969), 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976) and the recent smash Hamilton: An American Musical (2015). Admission is free to the gallery at the Palladium, accessible via the West Lobby elevator near the Box Office.
The new weekend events will take place noon to 4 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month, beginning Jan. 11 and continuing through Oct. 10 in conjunction with the monthly Carmel Arts & Design District Second Saturday Gallery Walk.
The gallery will maintain its standard weekday hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; and prior to select concerts at the Palladium.
A traveling version of Of Thee I Sing: Politics on Stage is available free of charge for display by schools, libraries and other community organizations. More information is available at (317) 844-2251 or info@TheSongbook.org.
For classroom use, local educator Sue Ackley has launched a blog series, Teaching Notes, which provides discussion points, lesson plans and other resources to help teachers use the exhibit to explore political themes with their students. The posts are available at TheSongbook.org/blog.
About the Great American Songbook Foundation
The mission of the Great American Songbook Foundation, founded in 2007 by five-time Grammy® Award nominee Michael Feinstein, is to inspire and educate by celebrating the timeless standards of pop, jazz, Broadway and Hollywood. Headquartered at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, the Foundation advances this rich musical legacy by curating a vast archive of items representing its creators, performers and publishers; operating a multimedia exhibit gallery; overseeing the Songbook Hall of Fame; offering programs for the public and research opportunities for scholars and artists; and providing educational opportunities for student musicians, including the annual Songbook Academy® summer intensive. The Foundation is a Cultural Affiliate of the Los Angeles-based Grammy Museum®. More information is available at TheSongbook.org.