Westerly Sun Column | Hoxie Exhibit Showcases Local Talent

One of the things that struck me first about Westerly when I began working here was how much the town values and promotes art. From the many galleries downtown, to the live performances taking place in local venues and the park, to the gorgeous murals adorning buildings, there is so much to hear and see! This love and appreciation of art is one of the reasons I started the library’s annual Community Art Exhibit, which will take place for the third time this September.

As mentioned, there are many local artists whose work can be seen in local galleries and exhibits, and I highly recommend making the rounds during the art crawl on the first Friday of each month! That being said, there is also a huge amount of talent in our community that is not as readily viewable. I catch a glimpse of it in our talented staff at the library as they put together creative displays and host imaginative programs, in the children and teens that make art for us, and in the projects created by members of our sewing, quilting, and needlework groups.

The Community Art Exhibit is an opportunity to admire the work of all of these artists, and more. We have been accepting submissions all summer, and will finally be hanging the work in our Hoxie Gallery over Labor Day weekend. The exhibit will be available for viewing from September 2nd through September 25th any time during normal library hours, but the real treat will be on September 3rd from 5-7 p.m., when we celebrate the exhibit and artists with an opening reception. We welcome everyone to stop in, enjoy light refreshments, and meet some of the artists whose work is on display.

As a special treat, we are also celebrating our fabulous local writers with a reading during the second half of the reception, from 6-7 p.m. Members of our Westerly Writers Group – a talented bunch of writers who have been meeting at the library for many years – will dazzle us with short individual readings they have prepared based on a piece of art in this exhibit. We’re excited not only for this opportunity to connect the two artistic mediums, but also to give these writers an opportunity to showcase their art.

We hope you will join us for the opening reception on September 3rd, or that you will drop in sometime before September 26th to take in the exhibit. If you have questions about the art show, please contact Reference at reference@westerlylibrary.org, or call (401) 596-2877 x306.

By Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian