The 100-plus-year-old Pacific Grove Public Library has added art and functionality by knocking down a wall and converting a former staff room into a one-room art gallery named the Nancy and Steve Hauk Gallery.
Librarian Diana Godwin says the idea came from Library Director Steven Silveria, inspired by a 2014 community survey which showed patrons wanted one, and at the urging of Cathy Gable of the Emily Dickinson International Society and artist Christine Crozier.
The first art show was The Language of Flowers, based on Dickinson’s poetry. It was successful, and more followed, including a show of Nancy Hauk’s watercolors in which 300 people attended, including Nancy despite having developed a form of dementia.
“She was smiling and seemed to enjoy seeing her art on the walls as well as meeting up with old friends,” Godwin writes by email.
After that, the library collaborated with other entities on The Edge of the Sea, an art show and lecture series inspired by Rachel Carson’s writing and legacy. More shows are coming, including an October effort to celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service.
Another dimension of culture and engagement that started by listening.
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