Art Spaces in Fairfield County Libraries, a consortium of 13 libraries, will offer curated visual art exhibitions featuring the work of local and regional artists later this year.

With presentations of “Art & Text,” each library within the consortium will highlight one or more artists whose work reflects their unique perspectives on the exhibition’s theme.

“Art & Text” will run from September 1 through December 31, 2019, with shows running from one week to three months, depending on a library’s individual calendar. Through mixed media ranging from sculpture and painting to graphics, each library’s exhibition aims to promote awareness of visual arts in the libraries of Fairfield County as well as foster a connection between the community it serves and the arts.

C.H. Booth Library, at 25 Main Street, will host its “Art & Text” presentation October 15-November 15.

Artists are invited to submit artwork in any medium as long as it reflects, in some way, the theme of art and text. The deadline for submitting work for the Newtown presentation is September 25.

The art must have some reference to text, such as an image with a work of letters in it. A .jpg image of the piece, labeled with the artist’s name and contact information, and title of the work, should be e-mailed to Lucy Handley at lhandley@chboothlibrary.org. Contact Ms Handley for additional information through that e-mail.

Artists will be notified once the show committee has made its selections.

The consortium’s initiative dates back to 2015, when a meeting between Cynthia Whalen from Flinn Gallery in Greenwich, Mary Moross from New Canaan Library, and Christine Timmons from The Westport Library sparked the idea of establishing a way for those who organize visual art exhibitions in their libraries to share experiences and find a way to promote the exhibitions. The group grew, branched out, and now is now collaborating on its first united exhibition, “Art & Text.”

Libraries participating in the 2019 Art & Text show are Bethel Library, Cyrenius H. Booth Library, Fairfield Public Library, Ferguson Library (Stamford), New Canaan Library, Norwalk Public Library, Pequot Library (Southport), Plumb Memorial Library (Shelton), Ridgefield Library, Stratford Library, The Westport Library, Weston Public Library, and Wilton Library.

The consortium enables members to share strategies, experiences, resources, and logistic information to broaden the reach of each other’s exhibits and help increase public awareness of our unique regional talent and art spaces.