ArtWalk opening this Friday!

Visual Narratives by Brigid Kennedy

September 16th - November 13th

Opening: Friday, September 16th, 5:30-7:30 pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 22nd, 2 pm

ArtWalk Gallery, 3rd Floor

Downtown Library

500 Main St.

Join us on the ArtWalk Friday as we kick off the 2022-23 season of exhibitions!

In response to rising global social/political turmoil, Brigid Kennedy felt compelled to develop a new, innovative — for her artistic practice, and for her viewers — body of work: healing and narrative paintings that chronicle the social issues of our time.

Learn more about Brigid and her exhibit HERE.

What you should be reading right now

Trust

Hernan Diaz

New York Times Bestseller

An epic novel about wealth and talent, trust and intimacy, truth and perception.



“Buzzy and enthralling. … A glorious novel." — Oprah Daily

"Captivating!" —  NPR

"Exhilarating.” — New York Times

French Braid

Anne Tyler

New York Times Bestseller

A funny and thoughtful journey into the lives of a family over decades of changes.

“If Anne Tyler isn’t the best writer in the world, who is?” — BBC Radio 

“Brilliant. ... Captivating." — Washington Post

The best movies for free — with just your library card

Hartford Changemakers end of summer celebration:

Mural unveiling Thursday honors Juan Fuentes

Juan Fuentes-Vizcarrondo (1932-2015). Photographer, journalist, teacher, artist.

Juan Fuentes was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on July 18, 1932 and came to Hartford in the early 1960s. He was known for his photography, particularly his documentation of the Puerto Rican community of Hartford. Fuentes' art was exhibited locally, nationally and in Puerto Rico; he published his journalistic and photographic work in community and major newspapers.

Join us as we celebrate the completion of an outdoor mural paying tribute to Juan Fuentes and display other work from our Hartford Changemakers summer program series.

Thursday, September 15th

6-8 pm

San Juan Center

1283 Main St.

Learn more HERE.

Featured artist on HPL's The Beat:

Matt Dwonszyk and the Dwonztet

Cover Art : Ed Larose

Matt Dwonszyk is an accomplished bassist, composer, arranger and educator who graduated from the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz, studying under the legendary Nat Reeves.

The Dwonztet consists of all Hartford-based musicians that attended either the Artists Collective, the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts or the Hartt School of Music (Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz).

Check out our favorite track "Peaceful World" and the rest of the new album A Year And A Day on The Beat, Hartford Public Library's growing catalog of local music, curated by professionals, that can be streamed online by anyone with an internet connection. You can download the albums with your library card.

Click HERE to check out The Beat today! 

The Beat will be accepting new submissions from Hartford-area musicians beginning in November. Stay tuned.

Library card = instant happiness.

It's National Library Card Signup Month: Get your library card today!

Connecticut Explored Game Changers:

Pablo Delano and Elena Rosario in conversation

Hear from two local historians who were recently honored by Connecticut Explored magazine as "game changers" in their respective fields.

Pablo, a professor at Trinity College who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, will frame the conversation around the colonial Puerto Rico project and Elena, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan, will discuss her research on early Puerto Rican migration to Hartford.

The Hartford History Center will display its exhibition “Puerto Ricans Making Hartford Home,” which debuted at Hartford Stage in January 2020. 

Wednesday, September 21st

6-8 pm

Park Street Library @The Lyric

603 Park St.

Register for the event HERE.

Learn about traditional African jewelry, listen to a story and make your own rendition of an African necklace.

Thursday, September 15th

4-5 p.m.

Barbour Library

261 Barbour St.

Enter our youth reading contest!

Enter your child in our contest and you could win an activity learning cube!



Check out and read any three board books, picture books or VOX books, and register to enter the raffle! Sign up for the fall reading contest HERE.

Registration is open: 2022 Connecticut Book Awards

The Connecticut Book Awards recognize and honor those authors and illustrators who have created the best books in or about our state. Categories include fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young readers.

Sunday, October 23rd

2-5 p.m.

Downtown Library

500 Main St.

Register HERE and see a list of finalists HERE.

“She found herself back in the quiet inner hideaway that had sheltered her in her childhood and early youth.” ― Hernan Diaz, Trust