
Call for Artists!
Arts@Clark! and Clark Memorial Library are proud to present
The Sixth Annual Public Art Exhibit
Spellbound: Art, Poetry, and the Enchantment of Reading
Join us on Sunday, August 3rd for our Sixth Annual Outdoor Art Exhibit.
This year, we are welcoming poets and writers to share their artistic voices!
Display your art, read poetry, demonstrate your process, and engage receptive audiences from the Bethany community. This “plein air” experience is in the tradition of our famous Connecticut art colonies. Enjoy sharing your passion and having conversations that engage and support local arts. This event is our gift to the community and is free to all participants – artists, would-be artists, and those who are simply looking to enjoy, renew and refresh on a beautiful summer afternoon.
Artists, poets, and authors working in all formats and mediums are encouraged to apply. Application Instructions and Exhibit Information can be found on the Arts@Clark! page of the Library website, under the Community tab on the homepage.
Application Deadline: June 20.

The art teachers of Amity High School and Bethany and Orange Middle Schools are collaborating with Arts@Clark! to display student artwork at the Library during February and March. Stop in any time during Library hours to see the work of a new generation of artists in the glass art displays and the Community Room!
A reception will take place on Thursday, March 6, from 4:00 – 6:00 PM in the Community Room.

Over the last several weeks Clark Memorial Library has collaborated with Bethany Historical Society and Bethany residents to create “A Historical Walk Through Bethany”, a photo exhibit highlighting the transitions of Bethany’s iconic people, places, and events through the years. Thank you to everyone who provided photos! The exhibit will be on display in the Library’s Community Room throughout January, and there will be a reception with light refreshments on Saturday, January 18th, from 1:00-2:00 PM. While you’re here, be sure to check out the Three Sisters Boundary Stone (on display in the hallway outside the Community Room) as well!

Arts@Clark! & The Bethany Land Trust are joining forces to bring you a fascinating historical display this winter! The boundary stone once used to mark the site where Bethany, Naugatuck, and Prospect meet will be on display in the Library’s first floor exhibit case during December and January. This ancient stone is engraved with dates and initials and was originally located at the top of a steep ravine marking where the three towns’ borders converge in the Bethany Land Trust’s Three Sisters Preserve.

A Historical Walk Through Bethany: 2nd Photo Scanning Day
December 10, 5:00 – 6:30 PM
The Library is hosting Photo Scanning Days in collaboration with the Bethany Historical Society to collect images for the upcoming “A Historical Walk Through Bethany” exhibit! Bethany residents are invited bring in photos that show everyday life in Bethany through the past decades. Members of the Historical Society in the downstairs Community Room will scan the photos to create digital copies for the exhibit and return the originals.
Photos can also be dropped off at the Library during our hours of operation, at the Town Clerk’s office, or at a Bethany Historical Society event; please bring them in an enclosed envelope labeled with your name and contact information so that they can be returned to you once they have been scanned.
For more information, contact Linda Wooster
at ljwooster@gmail.com or 203-393-1832.

Add the things you’re thankful for to our Thanksgiving Tree!
The Thanksgiving Tree will be on display in the Friends of the Library nook at the bottom of the main staircase, along with paper leaves in a variety of colors and shapes, sharpies, and paperclip hooks. To take part, just write out something you’re thankful for on a leaf and hang it from one of the branches using a hook! We hope to have a beautiful display that showcases all the good things in our staff and patrons’ lives by the end of the season.

A Historical Walk Through Bethany: First Photo Scanning Day
November 23, 2:00 – 3:30 PM
The Library is hosting Photo Scanning Days in collaboration with the Bethany Historical Society to collect images for the upcoming “A Historical Walk Through Bethany” exhibit! Bethany residents are invited bring in photos that show everyday life in Bethany through the past decades. Members of the Historical Society in the downstairs Community Room will scan the photos to create digital copies for the exhibit and return the originals.
Photos can also be dropped off at the Library during our hours of operation, at the Town Clerk’s office, or at a Bethany Historical Society event; please bring them in an enclosed envelope labeled with your name and contact information so that they can be returned to you once they have been scanned.
For more information, contact Linda Wooster
at ljwooster@gmail.com or 203-393-1832.

Clark Memorial Library and the Bethany Historical Society are working together to create A Historical Walk Through Bethany, an exhibit highlighting the visual history of the town of Bethany through the years. The exhibit will feature photos shared by the community, which will be scanned, enlarged, matted, and arranged by decade in the Library’s Community Room, allowing visitors to “walk through” the everyday lives of Bethany residents.
A few photos have already been collected, and are on display across from the glass display cabinets outside the Community Room! Be sure to stop by and get a glimpse of how life in Bethany has changed over time.
The Library will be hosting Photo Scanning Days on November 23 and December 10 to collect images for the final exhibit. For more information about these events, and the exhibit as a whole, see the Library’s Calendar of Events.

An artist reception will be held on November 16th, 3:00 – 4:30 PM for the local artist featured in our Arts@Clark! exhibits for October and November, Roberta Scott. Her work will be shown in the Community Room and the downstairs display cabinets from Tuesday, October 8th, until Friday, December 6th.
Roberta is, in her own words, “a maker of fine art and not so fine art.”
She grew up in the Four Corners area of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, on and off the Navajo reservation and military bases. After high school, she went to work for the Forest Service, served 5 years in the Navy working as an aviation mechanic, and worked locally at Sikorsky Aircraft. She received a BFA in Sculpture at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, a college of the University of New Haven, and is currently a technical writer for Sikorsky, a mother, and a “fair weather artist.”
As promised, we have collected some of the many photos taken during the 5th Annual Public Art Exhibit into a short video commemorating the event! Thank you again to everyone who helped to make this year’s Public Art Exhibit our biggest success so far. This video will remain available to view on the Library’s YouTube channel as well as the Arts@Clark! page on our website, under Previous Events.
We hope to see you again next year!