Candidate Forum:

Candidates for Mayor of Hartford: Wednesday, June 26, doors open at 5:30 pm; Forum starts at 6 pm

Chicago Steppin' Dance Classes 

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.

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

Linda Martin, Sharing Stories

Reception: Saturday, August 17, 2-4pm
On Display June - September 2019 
Hartford History Center, 3rd floor, Downtown Library

Quilts have a long tradition in the African American community of being used to tell stories and as a form of resistance. Before slavery was abolished, quilts were used as covert messages, marking escape routes and houses of refuge for people seeking freedom.

Many contemporary fiber artists, such as Hartford native Linda F. Martin, use quilts as a way to commemorate important figures, tell folklore, share history, and speak to contemporary social justice issues.

Join us in learning about Martin’s quilts and see if you can find the images within the larger images that give layer and complexity to each story. For the reception, there will be recitation of poetry and dance.

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.

On the ArtWalk: Brian McClear's Beyond Surface

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.

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.