Temporary exhibitions are featured on all three floors of C.H. Booth Library, where the new year is off to a fresh start with two presentations of fiber art, children’s art from nearly 5,000 miles away (and still traveling), and a very somber look on a serious problem for indigenous females in this country.

‘The Quilt Shop by Lois’

Bright, bold colors punctuate the quilts presented in “The Quilt Shop by Lois,” one of three recently opened exhibitions on view at C.H. Booth Library.

The quilts and fabric art are the work of Lois Mitchell, owner of the Queen Street business that shares the same name as the exhibition on view through March 31.

A dozen quilts cover the walls of The Olga Knoepke Memorial Meeting Room, four are hung on the hallway walls just outside that meeting room, and another eight are in a display case also in the hallway.

‘FiberWorks & FANE’ Extended

Additionally, according to fliers now posted at the library, the presentation of “FiberWorks & FANE” has been extended “into 2022.”

The consolidation of recent exhibits by two groups — FiberWorks and Fiber Art North East — the exhibition offers works by artists from Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Location in the Gathering Room, south off the lobby from the main entrance, the display represents the first time the art by the two groups’ members is on view. The intricate pieces were created using fiber techniques of quilting, weaving, collage, and paint.

“FiberWorks & FANE” fills four large display racks along three of the room’s walls.

‘The Ideal House’

On the occasion of the 240th anniversary of Krvvyi Rih, one of the most populous cities in Ukraine, Fermata Arts Foundation launched a traveling exhibition of children’s drawings in January 2016.

The exhibition grew to contain collage/mixed media pieces and paintings, and has continued beyond the planned end of its journey by a year so far.

“The Ideal House: Ukraine in the USA” was meant to travel around New England until January 2021, according to information from its host foundation.

The works debuted in their home country with an exhibition presented September-November 2015. Now in Newtown, the colors and creativity continue to reach across the continents.

Visitors to the library are invited to sign and share thoughts in a book that also travels with the exhibition.

‘No Rest’ From IAIS

The first of a three-part traveling exhibition from The Institute for American Indian Studies, “No Rest; The Epidemic of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls” is on view until at least February 28. The display has been installed on the third floor of the library, within the connecting/Museum Room located between the stairs and the elevator.

According to the website of the Washington museum, “No Rest” focuses on the epidemic that is outlined in the exhibition’s title: missing murdered indigenous women and girls in the United States.

Homicide is the third leading cause of death for indigenous women and girls aged 10-24 years old, who face murder rates more than ten times the national average for all ages, also according to the museum. Four out of five indigenous women report being subject to some sort of violence, with 95% of perpetrators in these situations being non-native.

Within that context the National Crime Information Center has reported over 5,712 cases of missing American Indian and Native Alaskan women while strikingly the Department of Justice’s missing persons database has only reported 116. The subtext is the theme of the exhibition: No more missing, no more vanished sisters, no rest.

The display in Newtown offers three mannequins dressed in fashions from Dante Biss-Grayson’s Sky Eagle Collection, four informational panels, and QR codes to scan for additional information and recommended reading.

Booth Library is at 25 Main Street.

All four displays, and many other long-term and permanent collections, can be viewed during regular library hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am-8 pm; Friday and Saturday, 9:30 am-5 pm; and Sunday, 12-5 pm.

Note that the “Quilt Shop by Lois” pieces that are in the Knoepke Meeting Room are unavailable for viewing when that room is in use for programs. The hallway and display case pieces can be seen any time the library is open.

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Associate Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.