Arts & Culture | New Haven Free Public Library | Visual Arts
| NHFPL Photo. |
Plastic bags, transformed into vivid marine wildlife. Intrepid explorers rendered in watercolor, looking out over vast expanses of desert. Miniature, ornate houses printed on bright backgrounds, winking out from the walls.
These are just some of the works that have graced the Ives Gallery at the New Haven Free Public Library (NHFPL) in the past year. Now, the library is reissuing its call to multimedia artists, community organizers, and activists who reflect New Haven in their work. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday Oct. 31; guidelines and more information are available at the library's website.
The gallery was first born in mid-2015, following renovations on the lower branch of the library. As it reopened, staff sought to establish a space that stimulated greater community engagement, adding to an upstairs kids' zone and basement community room. Thursday, library staff announced that they are still seeking artist proposals before the Halloween deadline.
In the years since, it has featured work from professional artists, school and community groups, New Haven Public School students, and others. Recent exhibitions include Liz Antle-O' Donnell's Walls, which took on housing and access in suburban and urban contexts, Marsha Borden's Remixed: a Kaleidoscope of Plastic, and the Adae Fine Art Academy's annual student show.
"The exhibits always reflects something current, something creative makers are grappling with right now, on their own or as a result of a studio room prompt," said Ashley Sklar, public services administrator for adult learning, partnerships and communications. "With three years of art exhibitions from the greater New Haven community under our belt, we know there is lots more to see!"
Sklar added that the open call accepts proposals from individuals, pairs or groups of artists, independent curators, nonprofit organizations, public or private K-12 schools, colleges, universities, students, and teachers. The call closes next Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 5 p.m.
Artist Kwadwo Adae, who has exhibited at the library tens of times in the past decade, praised the library for its continued work with local creatives, recalling how he has watched the lower level "evolve into a fantastic exhibition space over the past 10 years."
"They have provided an important and much-needed venue in the community for artists to exhibit their artwork," he added. "Artspace's City-Wide Open Studios happens every October, but we are fortunate to have access to this treasure of a resource in our community all year round."
The Ives Gallery at the New Haven Free Public Library is open during library hours, Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Read about previous exhibitions here, here, and here.