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East Hartford Library: Makerspace Paper Theater Grand Opening

Friday, June 28, from 5—8 PM at East Hartford Public Library
Posted on: June 7, 2019 - 11:59am
makerspace

The East Hartford Public Library and Middletown-based artist Marc Pettersen received a Connecticut Office of the Arts Project Grant in 2018, and over the past year of grant support, Pettersen has developed the Makerspace Paper Theater, a collaborative art installation incorporating the stories of East Hartford.

Working in the Creative Commons of the library, Pettersen has been collecting stories, which he will use with a variety of media to transform a wood-framed paper presentation into a rich and fascinating depiction of the community. The library put a call out to the community: “did you grow up in East Hartford? Do you live or work here now? We are interested in hearing from you!” and it is these stories that will be on display in the Makerspace Paper Theater.

To build a community of storytellers, this project was complemented by a series of storytelling workshops held at the library and presented by Matthew Dicks, teacher, author, and storyteller. Matthew, the co-founder of Speak Up storytelling, is a 38-time Moth StorySLAM champion, and a 6-time Moth GrandSLAM champion. Workshops included introduction to storytelling, storytelling for beginners, and a day-long program for advanced storytellers, all of whom left at the end of the day with a completed story.

The grand opening for the Makerspace Paper Theater  will be held in the Creative Commons of the library on Friday, June 28, from 5—8 PM (after hours). The installation will be open for the duration, and there will be a presentation from the artist at 6:00 PM followed by a live performance of storytelling by community members. All are welcome at this interactive evening of art and performance. Celebrate the stories of East Hartford by joining us for this exciting event. Register for a reminder, or just drop in.

The East Hartford Public Library is located at 840 Main St., East Hartford. For more information about the Makerspace Paper Theater grand opening and our other programs and services, please visit our website or call the reference desk at 860-290-4331.

Support for this project was provided by Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.