The James Library & Center for the Arts, Norwell’s historic community arts center and lending library, presents a variant of free admission spring programs and art exhibit events serving the South Shore community at 24 West Street, Norwell. The James is also home to a beautiful community art gallery featuring the works of local and regional artists for monthly gallery openings and exhibits. Visitors are welcome to attend the openings, or view the works on display during business hours. Several ticketed events offer a limited number of free admission opportunities for seniors, courtesy of the Cordelia Family Foundation.
~ Spring Free Events Schedule ~
The James Library & Center for the Arts Spring Juried Exhibition
Opening Reception: March 13, 6 pm to 8 pm
Exhibition dates: March 13 to April 18
Admission: Free, on view during business hours
The James Library welcomes artists from the South Shore and beyond for this Spring Juried Exhibition featuring art work of all mediums. Best in Show, second place, third place and four honorable mentions will be awarded with cash prizes for the top three selections. For more information on this exhibition and the juror, please go to www.JamesLibrary.org. Sponsored by The Frame Center, Hanover, Massachusetts.
Mondays at the James: Italianate Architecture Around the South Shore
Monday, March 16, 7 pm
Admission: Free, RSVP by emailing jameslibrary@verizon.net
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Join local architect Jim Kelliher of Axiom Architects as he talks about the history of Italianate architecture, and its popularity across the United States, particularly in New England, from the 1840s to 1890. Mondays at the James is made possible by the generosity of the Cordelia Family Foundation and South Shore Music Circus.
I Now Pronounce You Lucy Stone, Living History Performance
Sunday, March 22, 3 pm
Admission: $20 or $10 for students
A limited number of free senior tickets, courtesy of the Cordelia Family Foundation, are available by reservation at (781) 659-7100 or jameslibrary.org
Actress Judith Kalaora brings historical figure and suffragist Lucy Stone to life in this one-woman performance.
Challenging discrimination is not easy; Lucy Stone was never one to take the easy road. The first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree, Lucy was an ardent supporter of human rights. Always fiwoma, her belief that women and men be equal was evident in both her political and personal endeavors. Her message inspired thousands to join the suffrage movement; even Susan B. Anthony credits Lucy’s impassioned speeches for her involvement. As a scholar, Lucy studied Greek and Hebrew, insisting that ancient scriptures had been mistranslated to objectify women. As a wife, Lucy refused to take her husband’s name, becoming the fi he to do so in the nation, and leading to the moniker of “Lucy Stoner” to describe a woman who does just that! In this fiery presentation, Lucy describes the tension of Antebellum Boston. Her discussion touches on the gender caste system and also encompasses the fierce abolitionist movement. Women were evolving from successful abolitionists to struggling suffragists. Their fight was ferocious, so come along for the ride!
History At Play was founded in 2010 by Artistic Director Judith Kalaora. Offering solo and ensemble programs with an emphasis on women’s history, H.A.P. is woman-owned and operated, with a commitment to employ artists from the region. Kalaora is a professional educator, writer and living historian. She graduated from Syracuse University.
I Now Pronounce You Lucy Stone is sponsored by the Edward and Estelle Mosher Memorial Fund and Bob Melone team at Radius Financial Group. This program is also supported in part by grants from the Hingham, Norwell, and Scituate Cultural Councils, local agencies supported by the Mass Cultural Council.
Mondays at the James: Duxbury’s Women at Sea
Monday, March 30, 7 pm
Admission: Free, RSVP by emailing jameslibrary@verizon.net
Between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, hundreds of ships were built in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The resulting economic boom resonated throughout the community and contributed to a rise in both employment and population.
For all the history that has been examined and celebrated, however, very little has been said of the women, other than to mention the obvious – that they were the mothers, wives and sisters of the male shipbuilders and sailors. This project puts them not only into the narrative, but directly on to the ships.
Duxbury Rural and Historical Society Archivist & Historian, Carolyn Ravenscroft, embarked on a journey to find the names of other women who made voyages and to discover their stories. Although it is still a work in progress, to date, Ravenscroft has discovered 33 Duxbury women who sailed from 1809-1890. Many of these women came from Duxbury’s maritime families, and were related to each other as well. Ravenscroft was also able, in many instances, to personalize their stories. Mondays at the James is made possible by the generosity of the Cordelia Family Foundation and South Shore Music Circus.
Jazz Pianist Laszlo Gardony
Saturday, April 4, 7:30 pm
Admission: $30 adults, $25 seniors, $15 students
A limited number of free senior tickets, courtesy of the Cordelia Family Foundation,are available by reservation at (781) 659-7100 or jameslibrary.org
Acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, and James Library favorite Laszlo Gardony returns to celebrate his live solo album La Marseillaise (Sunnyside Records) with a solo piano concert. This concert is sponsored by Gordon Atlantic Insurance and Karen Mullaney, CPA.
Hailed by Jazz Times as “one of contemporary music’s truly original voices,” Laszlo’s performances convey the joy of inspired creation, audience connection, and moving spontaneous improvisations. Gardony’s concerts are one-of-a-kind performances drawing from deep feeling, prodigious technique, and a playful curiosity that thrives on interpreting each unique moment. He will perform new compositions, his own arrangements of standards, a classic Italian song, a re-imagination of an iconic French revolutionary song and spontaneously created pieces. Gardony has said, “Music has a direct effect on our emotions and also on our well-being.” Not to be missed!
Author John G. Turner Presents They Knew They Were Pilgrims
Sunday, April 5, 3:00 pm
Admission: Free, but a suggested $10 donation will be accepted at the door.
RSVP by emailing jameslibrary@verizon.net
An ambitious new history of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, published for the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s landing
In 1620, separatists from the Church of England set sail across the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. Understanding themselves as spiritual pilgrims, they left to preserve their liberty to worship God in accordance with their understanding of the Bible.
There exists, however, an alternative, more dispiriting version of their story. In it, the Pilgrims are religious zealots who persecuted dissenters and decimated the Native peoples through warfare and by stealing their land. The Pilgrims’ definition of liberty was, in practice, very narrow.
Drawing on original research using underutilized sources, John G. Turner moves beyond these familiar narratives in his sweeping and authoritative new history of Plymouth Colony. Instead of depicting the Pilgrims as otherworldly saints or extraordinary sinners, he tells how a variety of English settlers and Native peoples engaged in a contest for the meaning of American liberty.
John G. Turner writes, teaches, and speaks about the place of religion in American history. He is a professor of Religious Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Railroad Magic!
Saturday, April 11, 10:30 am
Admission is free, donations are gratefully appreciated
Everyone loves trains and magic shows! Magician Debbie O’Carroll, in the role of a magical engineer, weaves colorful stage magic and zany comedy with fanciful yarns of people, places and creatures. Join the fun and imagine yourself on Debbie’s magic train as you learn about some amazing locations on the map of the United States! Sponsored by Church Hillers of Norwell and Susan M. Decker Fund for Children’s Literacy.
Mondays at The James: Pianist Jack Craig
Monday, April 13, 2 pm
Admission: Free, RSVP by emailing jameslibrary@verizon.net
Celebrate a kind of ‘best of’ songwriting by singing along with two dozen cherished songs from the American Songbook. From a few Roaring 20’s hits on to some classic Broadway and movie musical tunes . . . and even a few more modern classics, performer Jack Craig explores the songs that remind us of all the wonderful years of music in our lives. Mondays at the James is made possible by the generosity of the Cordelia Family Foundation and South Shore Music Circus.
My Mother’s Legacy by Artist Sarah Hutt
A 1,000-Line Poem on 1,000 Wooden Bowls
Opening Reception: April 24, 6 pm to 8 pm
Exhibition dates: April 24 to May 23
Admission: Free, on view during business hours
“My Mother’s Legacy” is a 1,000-line poem wood-burned into the bottom of 1,000 wooden bowls. On each bowl is written a line from artist Sarah Hutt’s memory that reflects a mannerism, advice, or a remark she attributes to her mother. The bowls are piled randomly onto tables, where the viewer must pick up each bowl to read it. The act of lifting each bowl reminds the artist of her mother, because she had the habit of turning things over to see where they were made.
When her mother died of breast cancer, she was 47 and Sarah was 13. Over the years, Sarah carried around so many memory fragments that she could not fit together to fully understand who her mother had been as a person. In 1995, Sarah began to write all the things she could remember. Out of that list came the lines that are “My Mother’s Legacy”.
Sarah Hutt is a mixed media sculptor whose work uses everyday objects to create an interactive content to engage the viewer focusing on memory, dreams and the reality they create. She is a graduate of the Boston Museum School and winner of a 5th year Fellowship (with additional studies at Boston University and Mass College of Art). As a working artist, she exhibits her work and serves as a visiting artist and lecturer to numerous museums, galleries and organizations throughout the country. She has received grants and awards from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Pollack-Krasner Foundation.
Mondays at The James: Creative Collage Class
Monday, April 27, 7 pm
Admission: Free, RSVP by emailing jameslibrary@verizon.net
Join us for a one-night class at the James where you will create your own unique piece of collage art. Presented by award-winning Artist Karen Baker. This class is free, but space is limited. Mondays at the James is made possible by the generosity of the Cordelia Family Foundation and South Shore Music Circus.
Author Stephen Puleo: Voyage of Mercy
Wednesday, April 29, 7 pm
Admission: $20 adults, $10 students
A limited number of free senior tickets, courtesy of the Cordelia Family Foundation,are available by reservation at (781) 659-7100 or jameslibrary.org
Join author Stephen Puleo as he discusses his latest book, which details the remarkable story of the mission that inspired a nation to donate massive relief to Ireland during the potato famine and began America’s tradition of providing humanitarian aid around the world. More than 5,000 ships left Ireland during the great potato famine in the late 1840s, transporting the starving and the destitute away from their stricken homeland. The first vessel to sail in the other direction, to help the millions unable to escape, was the USS Jamestown, a converted warship, which left Boston in March 1847 loaded with precious food for Ireland. In Voyage of Mercy, Stephen Puleo tells the incredible story of the famine, the Jamestown voyage, and the commitment of thousands of ordinary Americans to offer relief to Ireland, a groundswell that provided the collaborative blueprint for future relief efforts, and established the United States as the leader in international aid. Sponsored by HUB International and U.S. Wealth Management.
Mondays at The James: Tenor David Won and Pianist Timothy Steele
Monday, May 11, 7 pm
Admission: Free, RSVP by emailing jameslibrary@verizon.net
Live music performed by popular concert singer and tenor David Won and New England Conservatory faculty member and pianist Timothy Steele. This event is free and open to the public. Mondays at the James is made possible by the generosity of the Cordelia Family Foundation and South Shore Music Circus.
Mondays at The James: History of Paragon Park
Monday, May 18, 7 pm
Admission: Free, RSVP by emailing jameslibrary@verizon.net
Author Chris Haraden recounts the history of our beloved Paragon Park in Hull. He’ll bring you into the past, into the pages of his new coffee table book, the first comprehensive book on the history of the beloved amusement park that opened on the shores of Nantasket Beach in 1905. Come learn all about the beginning and the end of this cherished park, share your memories, and ask Chris questions you’ve longed to have answered. Mondays at the James is made possible by the generosity of the Cordelia Family Foundation and South Shore Music Circus.
For more information about The James Library & Center for the Arts’ programs and events, please call 781-659-7100, visit jameslibrary.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About the James Library & Center for the Arts
Since 1874, The James Library has served the South Shore community as a warm gathering place. Housed in a landmark Victorian in historical Norwell Center, The James is dedicated to serving the community by providing high-quality programs, resources and materials through a concert hall, art gallery and the operation of a free lending library. As an independent, non-profit arts center we foster a mission for the creation, appreciation and enjoyment of the arts for residents of all ages on the South Shore, while preserving the historic character of our home. The James Library is located at 24 West Street, Norwell and is open to the public Tuesday and Wednesday from 1 to 5 pm, Thursday and Friday from 12 to 5 pm and on Saturday from 10 to 2 pm. For more information, please call 781-659-7100, visit jameslibrary.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
