The Westport Library will be upgrading its catalog system on Wednesday, September 10. As a result, the catalog and related services will be down for most of the day. We will alert patrons via the banner on our website and on social media when service is restored.
Services impacted during the upgrade:
Services not impacted:
The Artists Collective of Westport will explore the inner world of physical, metaphysical, and emotional spaces through the visual arts with an all-member show at The Westport Library this summer.
The Artists Collective of Westport’s two-part exhibition will encompass all three of the Library’s galleries — Interiors: A Look Inside in the Sheffer Gallery and South Gallery, and Piece by Piece in the Jesup Gallery.
The two exhibits will open Friday, June 6, and run through Tuesday, July 29, with the artist’s reception and reveal of Piece by Piece to be held on Friday, June 6, from 6 to 8 pm.
For Interiors, each of the Artists Collective members were invited to display a work in the medium of their choice that explores what “interiors” means to them. Contributors this year include Bonnie Edelman, Lynn Carlson, Peggy Dembicer, and Ros Shaffer, as well as Norm Siegel, Suzanne Benton, Julie Leff, Diane Pollack, Miggs Burroughs, Kat Evans, Niki Ketchman, and more.
Piece by Piece is a 6-foot by 8-foot art installation composed of the work of 48 Artists Collective members. Each artist received a 12-inch by 12-inch blank panel along with a 12-inch square section randomly selected from a well-known modern painting. The artists created their individual piece, replicating a part of the larger painting in their own style, without knowing what the final painting will look like until it is revealed at the opening reception.
Each 12-inch by 12-inch “piece” of Piece by Piece will be available for purchase starting the night of the reception. Each square will be $100, with 50% of the proceeds supporting the Library’s art programs and 50% going to the artist. The additional artworks on display in the Sheffer and South Galleries will also be available for purchase, with a percentage of the proceeds also going to benefit the Library’s art programming. Additional exhibit support is provided by The Drew Friedman Community Arts Center.
“Now in its fourth year, this multi-gallery exhibit with over 100 artists participating showcases the robust visual arts community flourishing in Westport today and continues to be an important and exciting collaboration between the individual artists, the Library, and the community at large,” said Carole Erger-Fass, the Library’s exhibit curator.
The Artists Collective of Westport is a nonprofit organization composed of 150 local artistswho have joined forces to discuss, create, and develop dynamic experiences for the Fairfield County community. The collective is open to all active artists in pursuit of expanding their careers and in developing a strong, diverse arts community.
L to R: Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer, Annam Olasewere,Aanya Gandhi, Sienna Tzou, Souleye Kebe, Staples High School Principal Stafford Thomas, and TEAM Westport Chair Harold Bailey Jr. Photo credit: Jerri Graham Photography
In partnership with The Westport Library, TEAM Westport has named Annam Olasewere, Aanya Gandhi, Souleye Kebe, and Sienna Tzou as the winners of its 2025 Teen Diversity Essay Contest.
The winners were honored at a special evening ceremony held in the Library’s Trefz Forum on Monday, April 28.
This year’s essay challenge focused on Identity. Here is the prompt:
TEAM Westport is dedicated to addressing issues of bias and discrimination related to race, religion, ethnicity, and LGBTQIA+ identity that negatively impact our town’s goal of being a welcoming community for all who live and work here. The recent introduction of the Anti-Defamation League's "No Place for Hate" initiative in Westport's schools strives to create an environment where all students feel they belong and are free from bias, bullying, or hatred.
In our community, each person's unique identity — shaped by their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other aspects of who they are — contributes to the character of Westport. In 1,000 words or less, we invite you to reflect on how your own identity shapes your perspective and the experiences you have in Westport. Please address the following considerations in your response:
Annam Olasewere was named the first-place essayist and awarded $1,000 for her work entitled “Understood. Connected. Valued.” Annam is a senior at Staples.
Aanya Gandhi was named second-place essayist and awarded $750 for her work entitled “White Paint and Other Lies.” Aanya is a sophomore at Staples.
Souleye Kebe was named third-place essayist and awarded $500 for his work entitled “S-L-M.” Souleye is a junior at Staples.
Sienna Tzou received honorable mention and was awarded $250 for her work entitled “The Value of Identity from the Start.” Sienna is a freshman at Staples.
This year’s essay contest was open to students in grades 9-12 at a public or private high school in Westport, or a resident who attends school elsewhere.
The 2025 prompt specifically addressed TEAM Westport's dedication to addressing issues of bias and discrimination related to race, religion, ethnicity, and LGBTQIA+ identity. Contest participants were asked to consider which aspects of their identity feel most central to how they wish to be understood and accepted, how aspects of their identity shape their daily school and community experiences, and what specific changes the community could make to decrease identity-based bias, bullying, and hate.
“I have always been encouraged when the youth of our community participate in discussions that will enhance their experience in Westport, and ultimately, in the world beyond,” said Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker. “TEAM Westport’s Essay program provides contest participants with a forum to express and capture their unique and honest perspective on their experience in Westport. They are wonderful illustrations that we are a community that strives to be welcoming for all.”
“These thoughtful young writers have contributed their perspectives on identity and belonging in our community with tremendous talent and insight,” said TEAM Westport Chair Harold Bailey. “They continue the very important tradition of teen essayists whose voices help shape how we understand diversity in our schools and town.”
“The Library is once again proud to host this celebration of young voices addressing crucial issues of identity and inclusion,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “These essays are powerful and thoughtful. They demonstrate the great diversity of the Westport experience and reflect the Library's mission to empower individuals and strengthen the community through learning and the open exchange of ideas.”
The judges for this year’s contest were:
- Judith A. Hamer, PhD, retired professor (chief judge)
- Ramin Ganeshram, executive director, Westport Museum for History and Culture
- Kerri Gawreluk, coordinator, programs, community coalitions, and digital marketing, The Westport Library
- Alex Giannini, director, program and events, The Westport Library
- Shonda Rhimes, television producer, screenwriter, founder of Shondaland
- Donna Skolnick, retired teacher
All judges are writers.
"As a writer, I know how important having outlets of expression can be,” said Rhimes. “The TEAM Westport essay contest provides our young people with the opportunity to raise their voices and be heard while also showcasing the rich diversity of thought so necessary for fostering community. I was honored to be a judge for this year’s contest, and I thank the writers for sharing their points of view. Every essay submission was a valuable revelation for us all.”
Now in its 12th year, the essay contest was established to further TEAM Westport's goal of engaging Westport teens in the dialogue surrounding diversity and belonging. Prior challenges have tackled topics from hate speech and white privilege to micro-aggressions and dialogue, drawing widespread attention and engagement in Westport and beyond.
For more information about TEAM Westport and to read winning essays from this and prior years, please visit the TEAM Westport website at www.teamwestport.org
The 2024-25 Library board of trustees at the Library, Summer 2024
The Westport Library Board and Westport’s Representative Town Meeting are seeking candidates to fill vacancies on the Library Board of Trustees.
The trustee position presents an opportunity for civic-minded individuals to make a significant impact and contribute to the continued success of The Westport Library. Trustees are instrumental in guiding the Library's mission and ensuring that the Library remains a vital resource for the community.
Click here to see the candidate posting on the Library website.
Trustee responsibilities include:
To apply to be a Library trustee, candidates must be residents of the Town of Westport as of June 30, 2024.
Additional qualifications are a track record in fundraising and connections within the community, knowledge of public funding, and service on other boards. Skills in management, planning, marketing, finance, and law are valued.
Trustee appointments typically span four years, commencing on July 1, 2025. Interested candidates should email a resume and letter of interest to Sally Presutto at [email protected] no later than March 28, 2025. Applicants are encouraged to review the Library’s strategic vision and visit the Library’s website for more information about the role of the Board of Trustees.
Following the submission of materials, qualified candidates will be contacted with further information on the interview process.
Sheffer Gallery
February 8, 2025, through March 25, 2025
Reception: Wednesday, February 12, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Bentley, Susan Fehlinger, Jean Krasno, and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.)
Nina Bentley's work is often conceptual in nature, offering poignant commentary on a wide array social issues. Since early childhood, Bentley has been moved both by aesthetics and complexities of the human condition, creating art that speaks to significant matters felt both personally as well as societally.
"I create art in order to gain some perspective on the world around me, while also trying to retain a sense of humor," said Bentley. "In short, my work can be seen as multi-dimensional social commentary."
South Gallery
February 8, 2025, through March 25, 2025
Reception: Wednesday, February 12, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Fehlinger, Nina Bentley, Jean Krasno, and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.)
Throughout her 35-year career as a television producer in New York City, Susan Fehlinger yearned to paint. In 2003, she finally decided to quit her job and do just that — by exploring her right brain after years of favoring the left.
“I discovered the palette knife that year and found that I could apply paint on a canvas quickly, thickly, and spontaneously. I loved the textures I could produce with the knife and I loved no brushes to wash," Fehlinger said. "I am a self-taught artist. I wanted to create a strong sense of place — a familiar but somewhat abstracted place — and then capture it when the light is just right.”
Fehlinger has since moved to Bridgeport, where she enjoys painting urban landscapes inspired by many years in New York. There, she works in her studio at Metro Arts, where she paints or teaches on a daily basis.
Jesup Gallery
February 8, 2025, through March 25, 2025
Reception: Wednesday, February 12, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Krasno, Nina Bentley, Susan Fehlinger, and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.)
As an artist, Jean Krasno is deeply inspired by the magic of jazz music, conveyed through the rich voices, poetic lyrics, and rhythmic performances of artists like Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and Duke Ellington.
"I work to absorb this magic and tell these stories visually by combining torn paper with oil pastels, pencil, and ripped lithograph proofs from my own previous works," Krasno said. "I play with color, shapes, texture, tone, and storytelling to complement the sounds and lyrics of jazz greats in visual expression.”
Cornell-ish Box by Christine Timmons, mixed-media collage on wood panel (Various papers, vintage fabric-covered buttons, shell button, coral glass, dead leaves, half-cork, wire)
Jesup Gallery
December 14, 2024, through February 4, 2025
Reception: Thursday, January 9, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Timmons, Jason Pritchard, and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.)
Christine Timmons’ work with collage issues from a lifelong interest and involvement with art, craft, textiles, design, and working with her hands.
"I love getting past the initial uncertainty of beginning a new piece and gradually discovering a path through the labyrinth of building a collage," Timmons said. "While working on a piece, I'm always looking for a visual tension (and harmony) among the elements ― many of them pieces torn from my trove of old monoprints and often papers that I've painted. Most of my collages nowadays are abstract, and I work principally with paper but often combine it with fabric and occasionally with paint and other media and objects."
Before the pandemic, Timmons began learning to work with encaustics (pigmented hot wax), which contain a "mysterious quality" that both intrigues her and informs her art. Unfortunately, Covid shut down the school where she had been studying, putting a pause to her encaustics efforts for quite a while. Recently she has begun taking encaustics workshops again, excited by the prospect of exploring more about combining encaustics with collage.
Left: Evita’s Eyes by Christine Timmons, Mixed-media collage on wood panel (Ticket stub to Evita Peron Museum, Buenos Aires; details of Timmons' photos, various papers, encaustic wax); Right: Christine Timmons
Timmons grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and earned a BA in French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (with a year abroad at l’Université de Lyon, France) and an MA in French from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The path of her professional career reflected her diverse interests and included teaching French language and literature; working in the Press Bureau at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; working as a special projects editor for Encyclopaedia Britannica in Chicago; restoring damaged works of art on paper for museums and galleries as an apprentice paper conservator; editing both Fiber Arts and Threads Magazines; and curating art exhibits at The Westport Library for 13 years before retiring in December 2019.
Along the way, she studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and took numerous independent classes in painting, drawing, printmaking, papermaking, photography, jewelry making, bookbinding, and collage at various schools and art centers, among them, Silvermine Arts Center, Creative Arts Workshop, Rowayton Arts Center, Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Pelham Arts Center, and Rye Arts Center.
Timmons began exhibiting her work in 2018. Retirement allowed her to dedicate more time on her own art, which she has exhibited widely in both New York and Connecticut. She is an exhibiting member of both the Mamaroneck Artists Guild in Larchmont, New York, and the Rowayton Arts Center.
Riverside Park by Jason Pritchard, oil painting
South Gallery
December 14, 2024, through February 4, 2025
Reception: Thursday, January 9, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Pritchard, Christine Timmons, and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.)
Jason Pritchard uses the medium of oil to capture atmospheric coastal scenes with the intention of illustrating a sense of space and connection to the New England region that he loves.
Utilizing the practice of en plein air painting (painting outdoors to capture the subject in its natural setting) for smaller pieces, Pritchard then uses these pieces as preparatory studies for larger paintings, combining them with photographs that he takes while visiting the areas depicted in his work. He then completes the final piece in his studio.
"It’s important for me to visit the location to access the feeling of what it’s about to help replicate my sense of reaction back onto the canvas," Pritchard said. "Few things make me happier than taking a nice long walk along a beach, hearing the sound of the tide crashing nearby as I explore both physically, then later in my mind’s eye, the thoughts of my experience back into my painting. I embrace the process of unpacking those memories and calibrating the colors, the shifting light and the changing weather elements back in my studio. These variables prompt the type of brush movement, hues and tones I enlist which are often wrapped under an impressionistic skyline, intending to heighten the mood of my paintings further."
Left: Compo Beach by Jason Pritchard, oil painting; Right: Jason Pritchard
The British-born American artist is best known for his seascape oil paintings of New England. He grew up in East Anglia in the UK, a region that inspired British landscape painters such as John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough who he greatly admires.
During his childhood, his father owned a family printing business, so there was always an abundance of spare paper to hone his drawing skills from an early age. In his 20s, Pritchard moved to London and took up watercolor painting prior to moving to New York in 2005, where he studied oil painting at the Art Students League of New York for several years.
Recent accomplishments include being selected as a 2020 Emerging Artist by Cape Cod Art Magazine, acknowledging his growing body of Cape Cod Seascapes paintings. He has exhibited work in New York City, Long Island, and his home region of Connecticut.
Claudia Mengel with her painting, New Beginnings
Sheffer Gallery
December 14, 2024, through February 2, 2025
Reception: Wednesday, December 18, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a conversation between Mengel and Miggs Burroughs at 7 pm.)
Despite its intended goal of turning common metal into gold, a mystical aspect of alchemy was at the heart of its expression in the Middle Ages. It was thus associated not only with chemical experimentation, but also with the spiritual belief in ultimate transformation.
Viewing these canvases, one can almost feel that transformation, thanks to Mengel’s playful experimentation with paint and her soulful combination of interior ideas and experiences. In creating these pieces, the artist turned from her earlier, actively dynamic gestural style to slow the pace of her brushstrokes in order to achieve a greater intimacy. As the poet condenses language to reveal the unwritten theme and finds unity in rhythm and verse, Mengel reflects upon the natural world, whose patterns depict the seen and the unseen, and transcribes them onto a unified canvas. There, the marks of blue, green, pink, red, and yellow are combined to give each a heightened intensity, reflecting a sense of light throughout. The washes of pastels, the layering of impasto, and the occasional collage all help to physically create and capture light not only on the surface, but also in the eye of the beholder. Their patterns and textures create relationships that bring an energy — and perhaps even a magic — to the narrative they impart.
In addition to the dialogue within each work, however, there is also an important relationship among them as a group. The artist’s first painting went on to influence the next, and so it continued, one canvas at a time. Like children in a family, they are related to each other — born of the same mother — yet have different personalities and speak in different voices.
Thus, in viewing these pieces, one is invited to lend one’s own voice to this broader dialogue, by reacting first to the individual works and next, to the group as a whole. Only then can the viewer see the “gold” in this transformation, thanks to the artist as alchemist.
On the topic of her artistic process, Mengel said, “To be an artist, one needs to be in a world of inner connection — at times both poetic and spiritual. Although I draw upon art history especially the Impressionists and Abstract Expressionists, I paint from my own impressions and memories. It is my experience as an artist to take my ideas, images, and inspirations and transform them on the canvas, where together they create a dialogue.”
A longtime resident of Westport and a lifetime artist, Mengel graduated with a BFA from Brainard Art School at State University of New York at Potsdam. Subsequently, she studied painting with Yale University Professor Robert Reed and painting with Boston University Professor Hugh O’Donnell. In addition, she studied concepts of art in Darien with Constance Kiermaier and has done two residencies at the Vermont Studio School. Her work is in private and corporate collections in the United States and abroad.
Jesup Gallery
September 7 – December 10
“Jazz emphasizes this, and blues emphasizes this, and country emphasizes this… but where they all start is in this beautiful boiling American Music pot.” – Rhiannon Giddens
Drawn once more from the collection of American blues keyboardist and record producer Mark Naftalin and his wife, Ellen Naftalin, this exhibit highlights the art of country music, with album covers dating from the 1920s through the 1970s.
Country music is not — and never was — one style of music. It has always been a mixture of many styles, springing from many roots and sprouting many new branches to create a complicated chorus of American voices, joining together to tell a complicated American story, one song at a time.
Country music rose from deep and intertwined roots. From fiddle tunes and hymns, to work songs and ballads; to smoky saloons and secluded Appalachian hollows; to barrios along the southern border, and the wide-open spaces of the American West.
As country music evolved, its greatest artists never created their music in a vacuum. They were influenced by their own experiences, but also by the other types of American music they listened to. That cross-pollination of experiences and styles resulted in innovations in sound, tempo, and instrumentation, creating dynamic new branches of country music.
Description excerpted from film documentary Country Music (2019)by Ken Burns.
Thank you to Ellen and Mark Naftalin for digging though their treasure trove of LPs and sharing this piece of unforgettable American recording history.
Exhibit support provided by The Drew Friedman Community Arts Center.
Sheffer Gallery
September 7 through December 10
Reception: Tuesday, September 10, 6-8 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 6 pm, followed by a keynote presentation by cartoonist and comics historian Brian Walker starting at 7 pm.)
Curated by Walker with help from the Library’s Exhibit Curator Carole Erger-Fass, Cartoon County: The Golden Age of Cartooning in Connecticut derives from Westport Public Art Collections and aims to explore an important piece of local history. It will feature 40+ original cartoons by some of the area’s greats, including Dik Browne, Mel Casson, Stan Drake, John Cullen Murphy, Leonard Starr, Jack Tippit, Mort Walker, and more.
Proximity to major syndicates and publishers in New York City drew cartoonists to Fairfield County. Many worked at home in their studios, frequenting Max’s Art Supplies on the Post Road and seeking companionship with their professional peers at local spots: over a game of golf at Longshore, or at local restaurants like Mario’s Place, across from Westport’s train station.
Related: Westport Library Resource Guide: Cartooning in Connecticut
Cullen Murphy, author and son of the cartoonist behind Prince Valiant and Big Ben Bolt, refers to the history of cartooning in Connecticut with fondness.
“For a period of about 50 years, right in the middle of the American Century, many of the nation’s top comic strip cartoonists, gag cartoonists, and magazine illustrators lived within a stone’s throw of one another in the southwestern corner of Connecticut,” he wrote in Cartoon County, “a bit of bohemia amid those men in their gray flannel suits.”
The Westport Schools Public Art Collections (WestPAC) was conceived by local art teacher Bert Chernow, who began acquiring a diverse collection of artworks in 1964. Featuring many notable local artists, Westpac comprises more than 1,800 works in a broad range of media including paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints, illustrations, cartoons, photographs, sculptures, and murals.
Westport cartoonist Mel Casson was instrumental in building WestPAC’s Cartoon Collection, which includes more than 120 original comic strips, gag cartoons, editorial cartoons, and illustrations. Over the years, the Westpac collection has been displayed in schools and public buildings around town to educate and entertain residents.
This exhibit features many highlights from the collection, representing the major cartoon genres. The graphics on the walls are from Mort Walker’s 1980 book, The Lexicon of Comicana, which will be reissued by New York Review Books in 2025.
Special thanks to Westpac co-chairs Ive Covaci and Anne Boberski, and to the Drew Friedman Community Arts Center for their continued support.
