Film Screening: Selma

Tuesday, January 22nd 5:30-7:30pm
Downtown Library, 500 Main St, Hartford

Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a screening of Director Ava DuVernay's 'Selma.' The movie follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and fellow organizers leading a campaign to secure equal voting rights, including an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. This film is rated PG-13 and runs 2 hours and 8 minutes. Free and open to the public. And there will be popcorn!

Nicolas Cage Month at Dwight Library featuring Free Film Screenings and Surprises

Thursday, January 17, 24 & 31 at 6 pm

Join Dwight Library in celebrating Nicolas Cage, one of America’s most unique and distinctive actors, during his birthday month with free film screenings and more.

Thursday, January 17, 6 pm: Featured Film: Moonstruck

Thursday, January 24, 6 pm: Featured Film: Adaption (writer/director from West Hartford)

Thursday, January 31, 6 pm
Featured Film: Con Air
Our month will conclude with a Nicolas Cage birthday party starting at 6 pm. Take a Nicolas Cage trivia quiz (courtesy of the New Zealand International Film Festival), have a slice of birthday cake and enjoy the movie Con Air. Free and open to the public.

Baby Grand Jazz 2019

The 16th Annual Baby Grand Jazz Series, sponsored by the Kaman Foundation, opens January 6 and runs through April 28. The free, hour-long concerts are held at the Downtown Library at 500 Main St from 3-4 pm. They are presented in partnership with the Hartford Jazz Society and WWUH 91.3 FM. 

The first and last performances (January 6 and April 28) will take place in the Atrium. All other performances will take place in the Center for Contemporary Culture on the main floor. The CCC has a seating capacity of 240. When the auditorium is full the doors will close. The CCC will open at 2 pm.  Overflow crowds can watch the livestream of the concerts in Classrooms 140-141, down the hall from the CCC.

Solar Energy Workshops

For more information on the Solar For All program, call Posigen at 866-767-4436 or go to www.PosiGen.com.

ArtWalk Artist Talk:

Rashmi Talpade Discusses her Exhibit "Urban Legends of Modern Archeology"

Saturday, February 9, 2 - 3 pm

Rashmi Talpade’s “Urban Legends of Modern Archeology” is a series of rich collages juxtaposing the past with the present and nature with humanity. Talpade said the exhibit works to make sense of our world today, which is filled with conflicting needs. 

“As we move rapidly towards further automation, computerization and virtual realities, attempting to capture our world in our hand held devices, we simultaneously struggle to preserve our planet, our constantly changing social structures, and our abiding faith in an increasingly isolated society,” she said.

“Urban Legends of Modern Archeology” opens on the ArtWalk Friday, January 11, with a reception at 5:30 pm. The exhibit will run through Sunday, February 24. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am – 8:00 pm; Friday and Saturday, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm; and Sunday, 1:00 – 5:00 pm.

February 7th 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Downtown Library, Center for Contemporary Culture, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT

A Conversation with Frederick Douglass by Tarish "Jeghetto" Pipkins.  Join Frederick Douglass in an intimate conversation about his childhood in the institution of slavery in America in this multi-media performance of puppetry and visual images, with original music by Shana Tucker. 

The City that Care Forgot by Pandora Gastelum. This one-woman show explores the lesser-known history of old New Orleans through the lives of some famous and infamous figures, including Lulu White, the Diamond Queen of Storyville, and the mysterious New Orleans Axeman. Told through shadow and rod puppetry to a score of early jazz music, The City that Care Forgot is an edifying and titillating tale of corruption and culture in the Crescent City.

Barbour Library, 261 Barbour Street, Hartford, CT

Be proactive about your health. Come learn about free health screenings and services you can receive: mammogram, pap test, cholesterol & glucose measures, blood pressure, and behavior support options. Healthy freebies and food provided. Co-sponsored by Trinity Health of New England, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center.

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
First Thursdays: February 7, March 7, April 4
Downtown Library, Atrium, 500 Main Street, Hartford, CT

More than just a dance class, Pasos & Connections uses Latin partner dances like Salsa, Merengue, and Cha Cha as a means of developing healthy relational connections. All are welcome... come by yourself, as a couple, as a family...all ages welcome. No experience necessary, no registration required. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

African American Literature Book Club

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.

UConn Writing Center

Room 23, Ground Floor
Every Saturday, Starting in February 2019
Noon to 4 pm

The Hartford UConn Writing Center is available to writers of any skill level working on any kind of project.  Visitors will receive an hour of one-on-one discussion about their project, their goals, and how their current material fits those plans. We are consultants who want to offer our experience as writers and readers to any who would like guidance, support, technical assistance, or anything else to do with growing as a writer. 

Our Advisors:

Brianna McNish is a third-year Honors student at the University of Connecticut studying English with concentrations in Creative Writing and Teaching English. She is currently the fiction editor at Long River Review.
Jacob Horn is an Assistant Professor of English in Residence at the University of Connecticut. He has taught classes on academic writing and worked as a coordinator for creative writing groups and writers.

Toastmasters

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

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.

Urban Legends of Modern Archaeology
Rashmi Talpade

January 11 – February 24, 2019

Opening Reception:
Friday, January 11, 5:30 p.m.

Artist Talk:
Saturday, February 9, 2-3 p.m.

“Urban Legends of Modern Archaeology” follows the urban legends of industrial relics and abandoned factories as they merge with nature’s relentless march across manmade waste and environmental abuse. It reflects our world in normal day-to-day photographs of seemingly ordinary objects, where our not so recent past collides and merges with our constantly changing environment today.  Modern Archaeology is a narrative of our previous and current successes that, while coexisting together, differ in many different ways.  One time icons of success, large manufacturing facilities, which have fallen into disrepair are just a few miles away from modern office buildings in suburban business parks.  While the environmentally friendly highly automated office complexes seek to preserve our planet, the factories of the past ignored the environment but provided jobs and livelihoods to ordinary people.  These different ideas indicate changing times, shifting dynamics and complex issues which we as a country have to deal with in the future.

Special thanks to Bank of America and the Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation for their support of the 2018-2019 ArtWalk season.