The Sketchbook Mobile Library.
An art museum on wheels is rolling into eastern Iowa this afternoon for its only stop in the Hawkeye State.
Lori Tofanelli, spokeswoman for the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, says they’re thrilled to be hosting what’s known as the Sketchbook Mobile Library, which is based in Brooklyn, New York, but is carrying hand-drawn sketches from around the planet.
“It’s almost like a food truck,” Tofanelli says. “It’s filled with sketchbooks from people from all over the world. You can check them out, take a look at them. You can do a free art project yourself and in exchange, you get a piece of art that someone has done in a previous stop.”
The truck will only be in Cedar Rapids for a matter of four hours, but she expects it to attract a wide audience. “There’s something for everyone,” Tofanelli says. “I think we’ll get the artists out and I think we’ll get the kids and I think we’ll get people who are just curious.” Each book in the collection is catalogued and searchable by theme, medium, geographic location and unique tags that each artist has created for their book.
Tofanelli says, “What we want to do is provide free opportunities for our community to get engaged in artwork and creative pursuits so they can see everything that can be and what’s possible for them.” The mobile library will be located on 3rd Avenue next to Greene Square from noon to 4 p.m. today only.