Today’s Book Group Spotlight intrigues me because it’s a group that not only revolves around a particular theme, but it is also an offshoot of the programming at a cultural institution. The Arts and Culture Book Club meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month (September through June) in the upstairs art gallery of the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Beth Stout, who works for the Arts Center, wrote in to tell us about the group:

We got started because the Arts Center offers a free event every Tuesday of the month. On First Tuesday we celebrate our art gallery opening. On Second Tuesday we have Open Poetry Night and on Third Tuesday we have our Spoken Word Lecture Series. In looking for something related to our mission, an Arts & Culture Book Club seemed like a good fit. So I spread the word via e-mail, web and news releases and we attracted 12 people to get the club started.

We read books – mostly non-fiction but one or two novels – related to the arts. Our 2009 book list included a biography of Diego Rivera; a history of the Faberge’ Eggs; a biography of Louis Armstrong and the novel, Luncheon of the Boating Party. We also read Jonathan Lopez’, The Man Who Made Vermeers. That, along with Faberge’s Eggs by Toby Faber probably drew the most discussion.

Our book list for 2010 is already selected. We have most of the same group returning after the summer. Two participants reluctantly dropped out due to time conflicts – we meet from 6-7:30pm. But we gained 3 new members over the summer, so our group will be a little bit bigger. Our group is largely women, but we do have two men. It’s an enthusiastic group and our discussions are lively and reflect a depth of knowledge about background material because many of our members are artists themselves – which is fun.

I think the idea of a book group within a museum or arts organization is an idea that should be more widespread. If you know of any others, please tell us in the comments. And if you work with an arts organization in your area, please consider hosting a book group of your own. I know that if there were such a group near me, I’d be sure to join!

Thanks so much, Beth, for telling us about your group and for sharing your group’s photos — and for hopefully inspiring others to start something similar!