Art & Culture
Portland Public Library is the City’s cultural center and is the most visited cultural institution in Maine offering print, film, music, and online collections to showcase the arts and creativity.
We offer materials in the arts and humanities, a wide variety of programming in partnership with local cultural organizations, and a place where creative organizations and individuals can share their work with others. We celebrate the broad diversity of our community’s creative expression, and are committed to building awareness and appreciation of the arts around us.
Join Portland Public Library in celebrating Juneteenth with a series of three events. This year, PPL’s Juneteenth Events will have a particular focus on Black people’s access to water, maritime history, and boat building history in New England. Events will include a panel discussion, a CPR course, and a yoga class.
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Portland Comics Club aims to support emerging graphic artists and cartoonists by providing support, reflections of ideas, and awareness to publishing and self-publishing. Open to the everyone in the public aged 16 and over. Some supplies will be provided. Discussion of graphic novels encouraged and welcomed. The Comics Club meets every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month.
Join us on Peaks Island for a friendly meeting of students interested in working on their drawing skills with local artist and teacher Laura Glendening. Registration required, no prior drawing experience needed.
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The seventh annual Reading Challenge is here! 24 books in 12 months: will you accept the challenge?
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Join us for a patch-making workshop, taught by Teen Volunteer, Wynn! You’ll learn how to paint your own designs on denim, and you’ll leave the workshop with your very own patches.
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The Noonday Concert Series provides free access to live performances by Maine’s most talented musicians throughout the academic year. The series has always been an integral part of the Conservatory’s mission to provide equal access to high quality music and highlight its talented faculty and students.
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To celebrate Poetry Month, join us at the Teen Library for a poetry reading in partnership with The Telling Room! Portland’s Poet Laureate Maya Williams will be joined for the reading by teen poets Calla James and Kaya Sylvester.
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Join us for our monthly Button Club in the Teen Library to design and make your own wearable buttons! We meet on the third Thursday of each month.
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Each year, Portland Public Library partners with the Camden Conference to bring a series of original programs to our community in addition to the conference itself, held in mid-coast Maine. The theme for the 2024 conference is India: Rising Ambitions, Challenges at Home.
Learn More »Join us for a book club-style Page to Stage with Portland Stage. Check out your copy of the script and join us two weeks before previews of each mainstage production. Scripts are available at the reference desk at the Downtown Library. Discussions will be held in person and we invite you to chat about the plays with Literary Manager Todd Brian Backus, his Directing and Dramaturgy Apprentices, and special guests.
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Portland Public Library offers free passes to several local Museums and cultural sites including Portland Museum of Art, Portland Observatory, Southworth Planetarium, and the Maine State Museum. To request a pass for a specific date, with your Library card, call or visit the Lending Desk at any of our locations.
Up Next at the Library:
From the PPL blog:
Our June 2024 Staff Picks blog post. Read to discover new books and booklists at the library! More »
In our May Staff Picks, we share what we're reading and looking forward to this spring. More »