Adults’ Featured Events

Check Out Our Upcoming Events! The Women Beside the Men – 12/12

Ongoing Programs: Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group | Bereavement Support Group | Diamonds and Purls | SCORE

Our programs are free and open to the public. Please let us know if you’ll be attending so we can let you know in case of any unforeseen changes in the schedule. To register, please call us at (860) 767-1560.

December Events

The Women Beside the Men: The Artists Of Abstract Expressionism with Dr. Anna Swinbourne

Thursday, December 12th at 7 p.m.
Long overlooked and undervalued, the female artists of this modern art movement made countless important and far-reaching contributions, from securing the actual space for the groundbreaking Ninth Street exhibition in 1951 to launching a new school of painting. In this talk art historian Anna Swinbourne will focus on the lives and work of five of these women (Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, and Joan Mitchell), exploring the myriad and ingenious ways they innovated and pioneered alongside their celebrated male counterparts.

Anna Swinbourne, PhD is an independent art historian, curator, and art advisor engaged in a variety of scholarly and art-market endeavors. She is currently Interim Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Connecticut, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History at Trinity College.

On-Going Programs

Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group

First Tuesday every month, 5:30-7 p.m. 
Seventy eight thousand people in Connecticut are living with Alzheimer’s disease and there are 178 thousand caregivers in this state. Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease can be challenging. Changes in the person’s behavior as the disease progresses can lead to frustration and anxiety. To help people who care for those with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter facilitates about 90 support groups around the state. The Essex Library is honored to collaborate with AACC in hosting a monthly caregivers support group.

The support group offers caregivers a place to share, learn and feel welcomed. People talk about their experiences and offer suggestions to deal with topics including medical, legal, behavioral and financial problems. The trained group facilitator is there to listen, help guide the conversation and to provide information about resources in the community. This support group is FREE and open to the public. There is no registration necessary. 

bereavement groupBereavement Support Group

First and third Tuesdays, 2-3 p.m.
Second and fourth Tuesdays, 5-6 p.m.
Grieving is tough –  but you don’t have to go it alone. The Essex Library is now hosting a Bereavement Support Group, with leadership provided by Chaplain Dennis McCann, head of pastoral services at Middlesex Hospital. The group is free and open to all. If you’re struggling with loss – of a spouse, a parent or other family member, or a close friend –  please consider coming to a meeting; sometimes just having a place to share our feelings makes them easier to bear.  No advance registration is necessary, and drop-ins are welcome.

knitting needles and woolDiamonds and Purls

Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m. and
A knitting group for all fiber artists, whether you knit, crochet, embroider, or any other kind of portable fiber art. If you’d like to learn to knit, Librarian Anna Cierocki will teach you. Bring a pair of size eight needles, and a skein of white acrylic yarn.

Due to a number of generous donations recently, we are NOT accepting further yarn or needle donations. Thank you for your consideration.

SCORE logoSCORE At The Library

Second and fourth Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Southeastern Connecticut chapter of SCORE® provides free and confidential advice on starting and growing small businesses. Counseling will take place at the Essex Library on the second and fourth Thursday of each month between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.  Appointments must be scheduled in advance, either by calling 860-388-9508, or by requesting a mentor online.

Don Flynn, an Essex resident, along with Steve Workman and other chapter members will counsel business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in Essex.  According to Flynn, “At the initial meeting, the business owner describes his or her current situation and challenges the business may be facing to a team of counselors.  Based on the specific areas of need, a SCORE counselor with experience in those areas is assigned to help guide the business owner in the completion of a business plan or other action steps.”