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In Response to COVID-19 Closures, Kennedy Center Artist-In-Residence Mo Willems Invites Us Into His Studio To Make Art

A Lunch Doodle Every Day at 1 pm On the Mo Willems Page of Kennedy Center Website

Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence Mo Willems to Host Online video series to virtually invite learners of all ages into his studio for the next few weeks due to Kennedy Center closure.

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ first-ever Education Artist-in-Residence, Emmy Award®–winning writer and New York Times best-selling author and illustrator Mo Willems, will launch an online video series that invites viewers to virtually join him in his studio for a LUNCH DOODLE every day for the next few weeks.

Beginning today, March 16, 2020, a new LUNCH DOODLE will be posted to the Mo Willems page of the Kennedy Center website daily at 1 p.m. ET.

“When I became the Kennedy Center Education Artist in Residence, I didn’t realize the most impactful word in that title would be ‘residence,’” said Willems. “With millions of learners attempting to grow and educate themselves in new circumstances, I have decided to invite everyone into my studio once a day for the next few weeks. Grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons. We are going to doodle together and explore ways of writing and making.”

On March 12, 2020, the Kennedy Center announced that due to the increasing threat of COVID-19, all public performances and events scheduled at the Kennedy Center will be canceled through March 31.

Highlights of the first year of Willems’s two-year residency include the world premiere orchestral rendition of Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs (a Symphonic Spectacular) with music composed by Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor Ben Folds for the National Symphony Orchestra, the recent five– time Helen Hayes Award nominated Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (The Musical!), and this past summer’s Mo Willems & the Storytime All-Stars Present: Don’t Let the Pigeon Do Storytime!, a comedic celebration of reading. Willems also participated in the multidisciplinary 16-day Opening Festival of the REACH, the first expansion of the Kennedy Center in its 48-year history.

FUNDING CREDITS

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Generous support is also provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

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