Events › Read For Your Rights EL

Join us at (SCENE) Metrospace in East Lansing for a dynamic event centered around banned books and the power of expression. 

Highlights include live banned book read-outs by local celebrities, hands-on activities like artist trading cards and a button-making station, as well as banned book giveaways for attendees. A unique feature of the evening will be a projection mapping project on Division Street Garage created by Alison Dobbins, MSU Professor of Integrated Performance Media Design, and her students, transforming the exterior space of Division Street Garage with visuals that reflect passages and images of banned books. This event will be in conjunction with the opening for Local Sources, an art exhibit at (SCENE) Metrospace, featuring prints and publications from Michigan creators whose works demonstrate the resilience that can be found in non-traditional publishing.

Whether you're an avid reader, artist, educator, or advocate, this event offers a meaningful and engaging way to connect with others who care about intellectual freedom. Come stand up for diverse voices, celebrate stories that challenge and inspire, and read for your rights.

This event is put on by the City of East Lansing, the East Lansing Public Library and (SCENE) Metrospace, and is being sponsored by the Downtown Management Board. It takes place ahead of Freedom to Read Week, which will be held October 5-11, 2025.