The Library offers free public classes, programs, and exhibitions at its 7 locations throughout the city of Hartford. Below is a selection of upcoming events.
Jump to:
May 2019 Adult Calendar
May 2019 Teen Calendar
May 2019 Youth Calendar
To submit a public program or exhibition proposal, click here.
Chicago Steppin' Dance Classes
Mondays through End of June | 6 pm - 7 pm
Atrium, Downtown Library, 500 Main Street
Open to beginners and all levels! Come by for a Chicago Style Steppin Dance Class by the Hartford City Steppers. Taught by experienced instructors Princeton Hayes and Jannett Jennings. This is a partnered dance class, but all are welcome to come as individuals, a couple, or a group.
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ArtWalk Opening: Brian McClear's Beyond Surface
Exhibit runs May 17 - June 29
ArtWalk Gallery, 3rd Floor, Downtown Library, 500 Main Street
Artist Brian McClear’s new exhibit “Beyond Surface” makes maximum use of the unique space that is the ArtWalk at Hartford Public Library (HPL). Walk through it one way and you’re viewing “Discards & Discovery,” an exhibit of coupled still-lifes. Walk the other way and you’ll see “Ink & Oil,” a series of soulful portraits. Though quite distinct, McClear said both exhibits “challenge the viewer to look beyond the surface, whether considering everyday objects or the people they meet.”
A native of Ohio, McClear began painting in his youth and earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree from Columbus College of Art and Design. He came to Connecticut over 25 years ago and soon made a name for himself as a freelance illustrator. He later took a position at the small marketing firm of Adams & Knight over 20 years ago and has since helped to build it into one of the major players in the region’s advertising and marketing scene. After years in front of a computer screen, McClear returned to painting with renewed maturity. The result is “Beyond Surface.”
“Beyond Surface” is funded by the Bank of America and the Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation.
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African American Literature Book Club
Monthly 1st Tuesdays
6-7:30 pm, Classroom 141, Downtown
June 4: The Good Lord Bird, by James McBride
July 2: Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Change, by Edna Jordon
August 6: Hopes and Expectations: The Origins of the Black Middle Class in Hartford, by Suzanne Holliday-Thomas
Sept. 3: The Sellout: A Novel, by Paul Beatty
The AAL Book Club is for anyone interested in reading and discussing African American literature, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as sharing information and learning about the African American experience. It is an opportunity for us to get to know each other while we engage in lively and stimulating discussion of topics of interest to us all.
Please RSVP to Carolyn Korber at cjkorber@gmail.com.
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Hartford City Hall 101: City Structure, Processes, and the Budget
Saturday, May 25, 2-4 pm
A pragmatic approach to instill a base knowledge to participants of the structure and processes of Hartford City Hall. Particular focus on City Council structure, committees, and the creation of ordinances and resolutions. We will also review the City's annual budget as submitted by the Mayor to the public. Speaker: Luis Edgardo Cotto, former Hartford City Councilor and Minority Leader.
Schedule:
April and May - The Mayor of the City of Hartford releases his/her proposed budget to the City Council in April. The April meeting will focus on that budget. Explaining how the budget goes from proposed to adopted. Throughout the April/May workshops we will go attempt to go through the entire budget and explain each Department's expenditures. We will also look back to past budgets to see how budgets change. The City of Hartford has available online budgets going back to FY09-10.
Hartford City Hall 101
Sabados: Abril 20 & Mayor 25, 2-4 pm
Un enfoque pragmático para inculcar un conocimiento básico a los participantes de la estructura y los procesos del Hartford City Hall. Enfoque particular en la estructura del consejal, los comités y la creación de ordenanzas y resoluciones. También revisaremos el presupuesto anual de la Ciudad según lo presentado por el Alcalde al público. Ponente: Luis Edgardo Cotto, ex concejal de la ciudad de Hartford y líder de minorías.
Programa: Abril y Mayo: el alcalde/desa de la ciudad de Hartford presenta su presupuesto propuesto al Concejo Municipal en abril. La reunión de abril se centrará en ese presupuesto. Explicando cómo el presupuesto va de lo propuesto a lo adoptado. A lo largo de los talleres de abril / mayo, intentaremos revisar todo el presupuesto y explicar los gastos de cada Departamento. También revisaremos los presupuestos anteriores para ver cómo cambian los presupuestos. La ciudad de Hartford tiene presupuestos disponibles en línea yendo atraz al año fiscal 2009-10.
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Celebrating Gertrude Blanks, Hartford's Legendary Griot
A special Book Voyagers program presented by Connecticut Humanities and Hartford Public Library
Saturday, June 8, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Hartford History Center, 3rd flr., Downtown Library
Connecticut Humanities and Hartford Public Library will celebrate the life of Gertrude Blanks, “Hartford’s Storyteller,” with a special Book Voyagers program. She is also known as “Hartford’s Griot,” a West African term for a storyteller and repository of the community’s history and traditions. The event will feature live music with spoken words and a special performance by master storyteller Andre Keitt.
Born in Baltimore in 1920, Blanks came to Hartford at the age of three. She began working part-time for Hartford Public Library in 1961 and soon became known as a mesmerizing storyteller, enthralling thousands of Hartford youngsters (and their parents as well). She was generous with her talent and told her tales all over the state, from Connecticut College to Hall High School. She also acted for Hartford Stage, the New Heritage Repertory Theater and the ground-breaking Open Stage theater company. Please join us as we honored this remarkable and much beloved woman, one of Hartford’s true treasures.
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Toastmasters
Monthly 2nd, 3rd, 4th Tuesdays
6-7:45 pm, Classroom 140
Main Floor, Downtown
Do you need help speaking in public?
Toastmasters International can teach you to give a speech that is organized, has vocal variety and is inspirational. By regularly giving speeches, gaining feedback, leading teams and guiding others to achieve their goals in a supportive atmosphere, leaders emerge from the Toastmasters program. Every Toastmasters journey begins with a single speech. During their journey, they learn to tell their stories. They listen and answer. They plan and lead. They give feedback—and accept it. Through our community of learners, they find their path to leadership.
No registration necessary
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Poets on Poetry Series
The Connecticut Poetry Society's monthly poetry book discussion is free and open to the public.
For further information, visit www.ctpoetry.net.
To nominate a poet for discussion or volunteer to moderate, contact:
Christine Beck
christinebeck90@gmail.com
860-655-3263
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ART WALK
ArtWalk at Hartford Public Library offers one of the largest and most stunning exhibition spaces in greater Hartford and the opportunity for Hartford residents and others to view art in a magnificent setting in our city.
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ArtWalk Opening: Brian McClear's Beyond Surface
Exhibit runs May 17 - June 29
ArtWalk Gallery, 3rd Floor, Downtown Library, 500 Main Street
Artist Brian McClear’s new exhibit “Beyond Surface” makes maximum use of the unique space that is the ArtWalk at Hartford Public Library (HPL). Walk through it one way and you’re viewing “Discards & Discovery,” an exhibit of coupled still-lifes. Walk the other way and you’ll see “Ink & Oil,” a series of soulful portraits. Though quite distinct, McClear said both exhibits “challenge the viewer to look beyond the surface, whether considering everyday objects or the people they meet.”
A native of Ohio, McClear began painting in his youth and earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree from Columbus College of Art and Design. He came to Connecticut over 25 years ago and soon made a name for himself as a freelance illustrator. He later took a position at the small marketing firm of Adams & Knight over 20 years ago and has since helped to build it into one of the major players in the region’s advertising and marketing scene. After years in front of a computer screen, McClear returned to painting with renewed maturity. The result is “Beyond Surface.”
“Beyond Surface” is funded by the Bank of America and the Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation.
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Photo Gallery: Around The World
On Display through June
X-Room, 1st floor, Downtown Library
Visit Hartford photographer Viviane Grady's exhibit "Around the World," featuring 27 framed photos from around the world including photos from Morocco, Tibet and Rome. On display this Spring. Viviane Grady is a Montreal native, who has been living in Hartford for the last nineteen years since her return from South East Asia, where she spent eight years.
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Hartford Women in Business /
Business & Professional Women's Club of Hartford
Exhibitions
Through April 2019
In honor of Women's History Month, an exhibition will be on display featuring materials from our Women’s Professional & Business Club collection and portraits and stories of 5 contemporary Hartford women in business.
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Azua Echevarria, 2018
photo by Allison Kyff
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Chief Teale's The Tools of Learning
Tutorials across library branches available upon request
Join Charles S. Teale, former Chief of the Hartford Fire Dept. to learn strategies on how to learn, understand, and remember information for academic and professional success. Program is for beginning to advanced readers 18+.. Register: jeagosto@hplct,org or 860-695-6367.
To view a video version of the presentations, watch them On Demand at http://www.hpatv.org/vod/. Click "Playlists" and then find "Chief Teale's The Tools of Learning."
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Phone: (860) 695-6300
