Culture Pass named Mott Haven Library the grand prize winner in their citywide book display contest. Culture Pass was created in 2018 to provide library cardholders free access to cultural institutions. Mott Haven Library will receive $1000 to use for branch programming and resources.
Libraries representing every borough participated in the competition, designing displays for the theme 400 Years of New York City Culture, marking the Big Apple’s quadricentennial. Displays celebrated the city’s role as a center for art, music, theater, fashion, innovation and experimentation.
Members of the public cast nearly four thousand votes for the favorites. The top vote getters were then reviewed by a panel of three expert judges: Stephanie Dockery, Bloomberg Philanthropies Arts Team; Monxo López, Curator Community Histories, Museum of City of New York; and Stephanie Pacheco, Inaugural New York State Youth Poet Laureate and 2023 New York City Youth Poet Laureate.
A complete list of finalists and winners can be found here. The winning display featured an iconic New York City news stand complete with bags of snacks, newspapers, postcards and more all paying homage to the Bronx, to the city, and to the cultural resources across the five boroughs.
The contest is the latest initiative from Culture Pass, a library-based program to make quality arts and culture programming accessible and free of charge to New Yorkers with a library card. Since launching five years ago, Culture Pass has provided over 300,000 passes to library cardholders allowing them to access over 90 museums, theaters and other cultural institutions for free.
“The Book Display contest shows off the knowledge and creativity of librarians and staff across the five boroughs and pays tribute to the artists, performers, curators and designers who have made New York City a global hub for artistic expression and innovation,” said Brendan Crain, Manager, Culture Pass, NYC.
You can see the winning display through the end of April. To learn more about the Culture Pass Program and how you can use your library card to get free admission to 90 cultural institutions, click here.
Support for Culture Pass is provided by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.
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