From BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
Bowling Green State University will welcome painter and illustrator Rebecca Lee Kunz as the inaugural speaker for the 2026-27 “In the Round” guest speaker series. Free and open to the public, Kunz will take the stage at 5:30 p.m. tonight, Sept. 18, in the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre at the Wolfe Center for the Arts. Metered parking is available in Lot N.
Kunz’s debut as a children’s book illustrator for “Chooch Helped,” written by Andrea L. Rogers, won the Caldecott Medal in 2025. Through the support of the BGSU Arts Unlimited Fund and the Silver Cross Circle, a local service organization, Bowling Green City Schools kindergarten through second-grade students and teachers, as well as school libraries, received copies of this award-winning book. Kunz’s visit is part of a partnership with the Wood County District Public Library and Mazza Museum.
This event is part of the BGSU In the Round guest speaker series that seeks to raise awareness of the artistry and presence of contemporary Native American and Indigenous creatives. To learn more about the series and Kunz, visit bgsu.edu/in-the-round.
Kunz will also speak on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m., at the Wood County District Public Library atrium. The Mazza Museum will also host a talk on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m., in the Alumni Memorial Union at the University of Findlay.
Book signings will follow each talk.
Kunz is the artist and owner of Tree of Life Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico, working at the intersection of environmental justice and cultural awareness. She is a painter, printmaker, and illustrator, 2025 Randolf Caldecott medalist, and 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Award recipient for her illustrations of “Chooch Helped.”
A citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Kunz’s work draws upon tribal iconography and archetypal symbolism. She infuses mythology into her work where she is in conversation with each tale as a living and emergent story. A visual storyteller and folklorist, she hopes to illuminate awareness about the shifting climate and to inspire solutions to the issues of today. Through her picture book illustrations, her goal is to inspire children so that they may see themselves in the visual stories she tells.
