News & Events - Art Displays and Exhibits

January Displays

CPA Prison Arts Program Permanent Collection
The permanent collection of the Prison Arts Program will be exhibited in the Information Area on the 2nd floor of the Russell Library.  Every year the CPA Prison Arts Program receives exceptional new artworks from the Annual Show through both purchase and donation.  These works become part of the Program's Permanent Collection.  Works from this collection are on traveling exhibitions throughout the state and the country.

This program was initiated in 1978 as collaboration between the Connecticut Department of Correction and Community Partners in Action (formerly the CT Prison Association).  The arts are a vital tool in aiding inmates to use their sentenced time constructively.  The program helps them develop their self-discipline, self-esteem, work ethic, interpersonal and communication skills and their ability to think critically while they examine their lives and the actions that led to their incarceration.  Exhibitions and publications are the culmination of each year’s work organizing and providing arts workshops and projects within the State’s prison system.  These exhibits provide the general public with a unique window into an important, but often unseen, part of our community.  Community Partners in Action is a nonprofit agency created in 1875.

February Displays

Pastels by Mary Lang Killilea
Mary Lang Killilea will be exhibiting a group of original pastel paintings during February in the Information Area on the 2nd floor of the Russell Library.  Her work is an eclectic group of pieces which are all based on nature.  She is a signature member of the Connecticut Pastel Society and has won many local and national awards.

Panda Bear Collection
Library staff member Harriet Diaz will be exhibiting her extensive collection of all types of panda bears in the lobby case at the Russell Library.  She has been collecting these rare and popular bears since she was 9.  Diaz says she loves these endangered animals because “They are big and gentle and make me happy.”