Arts Department, Special Collections
2024
Artmaking Workshops
2024 saw the launch of an artmaking workshop series in the Arts Department at Boston Public Library! Hosted in the historic Wiggin Gallery, we invited participants to learn about, and try their hand at, the art of printmaking, papermaking, and mark making.
Be Brave - Make Your Mark with Yuri Shimojo
November 17, 2024
A unique art making workshop led by artist Yuri Shimojo, who introduced her beautiful, meditative drawing practice, followed by an art making workshop for participants. Yuri encouraged each person to find their own world using ink, paint, pencil or marker.
Making Paper with Drew Cameron
October 19-20, 2024
A unique paper-making workshop with Drew Cameron, of Combat Paper. COMBAT PAPER® transforms military uniforms into handmade paper. Creating paper and artwork from these fibers carries stories and experiences that are in the woven threads.
Making Prints with Bob Tomolillo
September 21 & 28, 2024
This day long, hands-on workshop was hosted by the Arts Department and Master printmaker Bob Tomolillo of Boston. Participants learned the art of linocut, inspired by our collections, and printed their own work using our historic presses.
2023
Through the Lens: Exploring Community & Identity
“Through the Lens: Exploring Community & Identity” is the theme for BPL’s 2023 Artist Talks series. This year’s series focuses on 4 regional artists who use photography to explore their selves and community around them.
Leslie Tucker & Henry Horenstein
December 7, 2023
A moderated talk with Boston photographer Henry Horenstein and author Leslie Tucker as they launch their 2023 book, We Sort of People, a story about family history and identity. Writer Leslie Tucker and photographer Henry Horenstein began working together in 1997, when Tucker invited Horenstein to Maryland to document her family. The project started as a genealogical search for a family whose roots stretched back to the founding of the first Catholic colony, grew into a mystery about the multiethnic origins of America, and became a race against time and preservation as the Wesorts and their descendants slowly passed away.
Tanja Hollander
November 2, 2023
The Ephemera Project is a crowd-sourced photography initiative about individuals and their objects of personal significance. This is an ever-evolving collaborative project based in memory, self-reflection, and vulnerability. Included are notes from loved ones and objects that signify time passing - such as the broken watches of family members who have passed away, the baby teeth of grown children, mementos of a vacation and an ordinary subway ride token – fragments of ordinary life made extraordinary.
Caleb Cole
October 19, 2023
Caleb Cole combines a unique visual and conceptual approach to exploring both their own personal history as a trans artist as well as broader themes of queer culture and identity. Using a thrift store aesthetic, they playfully and seriously examine gender, sexuality, and belonging. Caleb is an alchemist who creates a unique alloy of the poignant and the hilarious.