06/02/2026
Many thanks to the Bloomfield Messenger for highlighting our growing arts program. Our current show is up until June 30. Read more here: https://bplct.org/prosser-library-exhibitions/
On View Now:
Jewish Hartford. Our Community. Our Stories. Bloomfield & Beyond
Photography by Steven Laschever
April 23 to June 30, 2026
Full text of article:
Bloomfield Public Library is pleased to reintroduce its public art program. The new Prosser Library space allows for art to serve as a vibrant complement to books, programs, technology, community connection, and lifelong learning. Tai Soo Kim’s design has provided an inviting backdrop for exhibitions, allowing us to emphasize the importance of visual literacy and the arts within the public library experience. The first three exhibitions included pottery, painted recycled windows, and now, photography. Each exhibition has used the space differently, demonstrating the versatility of the building and hinting at exciting possibilities still to come.
The library’s inaugural exhibition in the new space, Expressions in Clay, ran from September 19 through December 30, 2025, and featured the work of 20 artists from the Expressions Pottery Workshop in East Granby, including recently retired BPL librarian Joni Celmer. Celmer had organized art exhibitions in the former Prosser Library building until its final days, making it especially meaningful that her work helped inaugurate the library’s new gallery space.
The second exhibition, on display from January 2 through March 31, 2026, featured Eddie Hall, a self-taught abstract artist based in Berlin, CT. Hall is known for his vibrant geometric compositions painted on the reverse side of recycled windows, with work in the New Britain Museum of American Art’s permanent collection. His artwork was showcased in three locations around the library, with the three pieces above the Prosser fireplace looking as though they were commissioned for the space.
Currently on view through June 30, 2026, is Jewish Hartford. Our Community. Our Stories. Bloomfield & Beyond, a photography exhibition by Steven Laschever. Steven helped expand our vision for art in the space, with his eye dreaming up a new display location between floors that instantly greets you as you enter the Prosser Atrium. As you look up, you are met with the portraits of 26 Holocaust survivors, all local to the Greater Hartford area. Their presence invites the viewer to think of the timeline that brought them here, and to wonder if you have run into them around town or in a local supermarket. This exhibition also includes a work in the youth department, and as the exhibition catalog points out, the people in the photography range in age from 8 days old to 104 years old!
Originally presented at the Mandell Jewish Community Center, the exhibition officially opened at the library with an artist reception on April 24, with some of the portrait subjects in attendance, including Bloomfield resident Judge Steven Zelman. Joining the artist was President & CEO of the Mandell JCC of Greater Hartford David Jacobs, whose vision, sense of community and connection, and network helped bring this project to life. As he shared in the show’s catalog, the portraits reflect “not only Jewish individuals, but also people of other faiths and backgrounds who have chosen to live, work, raise families, and lead alongside us.” In other words, community! As BPL aspires to be the heart of the community, this exhibition reflects that vision by celebrating diversity, connection, and shared experience.
The exhibition features portraits and tableaus that are diverse, vibrant, and often surprising. An illustrated exhibition catalog is available for in-library use during the show’s run, and visitors may even recognize friends and neighbors among the subjects photographed.
While visiting, patrons are also encouraged to explore the library’s museum pass program, which offers free or discounted admission to cultural destinations ranging from Hartford-area institutions to regional attractions such as MASS MoCA. A BPL library card truly opens doors to art, culture, and lifelong discovery.
