by SC Features Writer Reanna Haase
For its 22nd year, the BIG ARTS FORUM Lecture Series is making education on our dynamic geopolitical world accessible to all, beginning shortly after the first of the year. Possibly the series’ most noteworthy characteristic, which keeps people coming back, is its approachable nature, according to the BIG ARTS Executive Director.
“The speakers love to come because it’s such an intimate setting. It’s a small hall, 400 seats, and we have a very engaged audience and through the years, it has been a wonderful program that was started by volunteers,” BIG ARTS Executive Director Lee Ellen Harder said.
The eight lectures will be held in the Christensen Performance Hall from January until March and are available via live stream – making the series more accessible for those who cannot attend in person. Often, the format of the sessions includes a lecture from the expert, followed by a Q&A section; however, a discussion-based format is growing in popularity, Harder said.
“More commonly now, it’s a discussion, a conversation format,” Harder said. “Where our moderator, who is one of our FORUM committee members, will sit on stage with the speaker and have a discussion. So, it’s very intimate and relaxed, [while] asking wonderful, pointed, questions.”
In 2025, some of the topics will include Artificial Intelligence, the future of American colleges, combat in the Middle East and media law. These topics will be presented by notable scholars and experts like former Attorney General Bill Barr, Dr. Peter Singer, Dr. Natan Sachs and more. A full list of the topics, speakers and dates can be found here.
Since 2003, BIG ARTS has brought thought leaders and experts from all over the country to Sanibel Island to converse with members of the community on topics relevant to our society.
Through the committee’s networking and connections speakers such as George Will, Former Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Eddie Glaude and many others, have shared their knowledge with the people of Sanibel, since the series’ inception. (See a full list of the speakers throughout the years here.)
“It was the brainchild of one of our former board members, who wanted to bring distinguished lectures to the community,” Harder said. “In our first years, we had Porter Goss, Ted Koppel, Senator Susan Collins… We’ve had some fabulous speakers through the years, and it was really a grassroots effort by the volunteers of BIG ARTS that went out to promote this program.”
Harder described the lecture series as a labor of love that presents the opportunity to learn about a vast array of topics, in a social setting.
“It is a social event, people love to come and meet their friends and sit with them,” Harder said. “[They] have discussions afterward amongst their friends and with the speaker. It is a unique experience, rather than, you know, watching a speaker on TV or the talk shows.”
The collection of lectures will be held in person at 900 Dunlop Rd; tickets are available for purchase here. Tickets for in-person attendance or live stream access are priced at $55, however, students can register to attend at no cost.
“We hope that people will take advantage of the opportunity to be in the same room with these wonderful speakers who come to us from all over the country,” Harder said. “[To] have the opportunity to hear their talks and get to meet them afterward and ask questions, and be engaged in all the wonderful topics that are offered this year.”
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