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Due to COVID19 concerns, HPL will be offering virtual programming. Below is a selection of upcoming programs.

 

EXHIBITS

To submit a public program or exhibition proposal, click here.

    


    Hartford Public Library brings its innovative and exciting adult programming, 
     featuring local presenters, online! Every day at 10:00am HPL will give you 
  videos on its Facebook page and YouTube channel that will inspire and inform. 
If you'd like to submit a virtual program, please click here or email eramic@hplct.org

Hartford Changemakers Summer Program

JULY 13 - AUGUST 21, 2020

 

Virtual weekly arts workshops with Hartford artists

For Hartford residents ages 13 and older

 

Register by July 10 here: bit.ly/HartfordChangeMakers

 
In an effort to update the traditional historical narrative of Hartford, Hartford Public Library will work with city teens, elders, and local artists to create public art celebrating the stories of city change makers from the Black, Latinx, and indigenous communities.
 
The library has opened registration for the Hartford Changemakers summer program, which is geared to Hartford residents ages 13 and older. Participants can choose one virtual workshop in: mural painting, storytelling, poetry, music, dance or documentary photography.
 
Workshops are designed for teens, adults, and older adults. The workshops will integrate themes around leadership, organizing, and creative responses to shaping history in your own neighborhood.

Virutal Program Library
Browse our past online programs and click the titles to watch videos!

Letter Style with Lindaluz Carrillo

Letter style workshop on how to draw the word "LOVE"

 

Collage Making with Katya Zajac

Collage representing what you want more of in your life

 

Bookmark Making with Tenaya Taylor 

How to design and create unique watercolor bookmarks

 

Geometric Origami with Luis: The Cube

Learn how to make one of the Platonic Solids, a Cube, with a sonobe unit 
 

Fun with Clay with Michelle Thomas

Using air dry clay, we’ll make a pinch pot music shaker.

 

Bash the Trash with Amanda Roy

Tune in for two instrument making tutorials that are a part of the Greater Hartford Arts Council’s Make Music Hartford event.

 

Art Inside: Paint in Your Kitchen with Lindsey Fyfe 
Using paint, collage papers, and other mediums, create your own abstract landscape with a house. Have fun creating! 

 

 

Reading with Tchalla Williams

From her poetry book "The Lover and The Revolutionary." 

 

Reading with Patrick "Rico" Williams

Excerpts from his 2017 book "Jesus Is Black”  

 

Journaling for Emotional Wellness 
with Chris Pressley 

explore writing prompts for emotional awareness

 

Poetry on the Streets with Melanie Faranello

Everyone has a poem inside. What's your poem today?

 

Reading with Tchalla Williams

From her the novel "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mnalia.

 

Journey in my Journal: Break Limiting Beliefs 

Hartford therapist and coach Haben Abraham leads us through a journaling activity to identify and break down our negative beliefs that may be showing up in this pandemic.  You will need a pen, paper, sticky notes, and any arts and crafts materials

Tai Chi with Anne Marie Williams "Jedda"
A series of gentle physical exercises and stretches 

Sound Healing with Kelvin Young
Calm your mind, relax your body, and nourish your soul

 

Mindful Movement with Mike with Mike Riley

Gentle Kripalu postures to increase flexibility

 

Afro Carribean Dance with Lael Williams

Move with a blend of African and Caribbean movements

 

Rhymes in Color with Savana Jones 

Beginner dance exercises to introduce contemporary, modern and jazz movement.

 

Visualization Meditation with Rachel Taylor

Take a moment. This guided visualization meditation will help you harness the power of your breath and mind to calm your nervous system and find a few moments of removal from the stresses of this time. Rachel Taylor is a Hartford native who teaches strength, stability, and relaxation practices for parents and children.

Seed Starting with Sarah Rose
Learn the basics of starting your seeds 

 

Mascarillas con Imelda/ Masks with Imelda

Cocer simple mascarillas para la cara /
how to make simple face masks

 

Planting from Inside with Sonsharae Owens

Get an early start on germinating seeds at home

Basics of Tree Planting with Heather Dion

How to plant an apple tree at the Keney Park Sustainability Project

 

Urban Maple Syrup: Meet the Trees with Collin McMullan

How to identify maple trees in your neighborhood, how to tap a maple tree, and how to make maple syrup.

 

Top Three Houseplants for Beginners with Gabbie Barnes

Anyone can grow plants! Plant Doula Gabbie Barnes discusses three of the most common to find and easy to care for houseplants. Gabbie covers basic care, maintenance, and propagation.

 

Create a Small Collage with a House

With Rebecca Maloney

Using paint, collage papers, and other mediums, create your own abstract landscape with a house. Have fun creating!

 

Conga! with Ed Fast
An introduction to afro cuban percussion 

 

Rhymes with Blessings Divine

Hartford hip hop artist Blessings Divine performs 

 

FL Studios with Zvlu

How to create music beats for artists and commercials

 

Jams with Jazz with Jasmine McPherson

Get mooving and grooving to pop music

 

Songs of Hope with KeyofDee with Dee Davis
Local musician KeyofDee invokes the sounds of hope, peace and freedom to remind us that a change will come.

 

Salsa 4 one on the Q with Rey Bermudez 

¡Viva La Salsa! Master Teaching Artist Rey Bermudez teaches four foundational Salsa dance steps with a mind, body, and heart connection to use during the quarantine.  Lessons will focus on individual dancing that can be applied to partner dancing at any time.

 

Hip Hop Dance With Rosanna Karabetos

A short & high energy hip hop combo! Great for all levels, no dance experience necessary! This gets the heart rate up and lifts your mood!
 

 


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.

 

Lost in Color
Erik Williams, Black Frame Vision

UPDATE: Exhibit runs through July 6, 2020
ArtWalk, Downtown Library

Watch Virtual Exhibit HERE
Virtual Artist Talk on @HPLCT Instagram Live:
Watch Recorded Interview HERE

Erik Williams is a street photographer and also the owner of Black Frame Vision, a street photography brand based in Connecticut. He fell in love with this style of photography because of its rawness and the opportunity it creates to capture honest moments. It allows him to connect with people from all walks and to share their stories candidly through the lens of his camera.

"I use my photography to catch a glimpse of what I see, in order to share it with others. I look for the beauty in any and everything that most overlook.

My choice of subject is anything organically appealing to my eye, whether it's a kid sleeping on the city bus or a reflection of a building from a puddle. I enjoy using natural light, shadows, contrast and clarity as a way to communicate the essence of what I see. I'm drawn to people that radiate energy and great character, because that's all that truly matters. I am inspired by their stories."

Hartford Women: Leading the Way

Online exhibit available HERE!

Actresses, award-winners, broadcasters, business women, politicians, soldiers, students, and truck drivers; all Hartford women who broke barriers and paved the way for other women.

In celebration of Women’s History Month this March, enjoy a selection of photographs of extraordinary Hartford women from the Hartford Times collection housed in the Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library.

Ella Brown, Hartford Times photograph by Morton J. Boardman
January 23, 1962

 

New Banner at Downtown Library

A banner was recently installed on the northwest corner of Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street. The banner depicts various library activities.

Top

When Ramiro Louisa returned to Hartford from the Netherlands, one of the first place he brought his daughter, Delyani, was the Hartford Public Library’s Children’s Department.

Middle

On Wednesday, May 15, Connecticut Ballet came to Hartford Public Library to present a free preview of “Old, New, Borrowed and Blue, an incredibly beautiful show it performed later in the week at The Bushnell. Shown here are Connecticut Ballet dancers are Stephen Diaz and Claire Mazza, performing ‘In The Shadow of Women’ by Marden Ramos.

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Each library in the HPL system tailors its programming to reflect the population it serves. The Downtown Library’s Children’s Department is very popular with Indian-Americans who live in the surrounding area. Each year, the department celebrates both Diwali in the fall and Holi in the spring. Yogitha Sarjay is shown making a decoration for Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights.