The Institute Library

Jazz
2025-07-11 17:15 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | The Institute LIbrary, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510
Although always subject to change as to artistic spotlight, Friday Night Jazz will continue a swinging tour of that great American art form, “LP Jazz”, meeting at 5:15 or so every Friday, in the third floor music room, to consider, contemplate and appreciate the wonders in the Collection.
Friday Night Jazz is, as always, a BYOB, BYO Snack evening; the crowd’s always appreciative and always excited to see what people bring. Updates to the schedule, including inclement weather closures, will be provided via the internal Jazz email list. Want to be added to that list? Let us know!
Please consider making a $5 donation when you come to Friday Jazz.
Friday Night Jazz is presented with support from Jazz Haven www.jazzhaven.org

In the Gallery | Forecast: Reading the Signs
2026-02-07 - 2026-03-28 | The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States

Opening Reception | Forecast: Reading the Signs
2026-02-07 17:00 - 19:00 | The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States

BRIDGE
2024-10-14 19:00 - 20:30 | The Institute LIbrary, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510
A low key evening of bridge, for people who know how and people who don’t know anything at all.

Illuminated Messages: A Gallery Upstairs Workshop at The Institute Library
2026-02-11 17:30 - 19:00 | The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States
Spend an evening enjoying thoughtful calm at one of our tables: create your own message of love. To send to anyone. Everyone needs to be appreciated, plain and simple — or elaborate and baroque! The curators of The Gallery Upstairs, Martha Willette Lewis and Maxim Schmidt, invite you to sit down and create a special message to a kind friend, a sweet relative, a lovely neighbor, a helpful stranger, a favorite artist… an idol of yours, a famous star? A wonderful nonprofit? You get the idea: someone deserves a sweet message from you and we are giving you the chance to make it happen! The Gallery Upstairs will be providing supplies (paper, envelopes, stamps) but you are welcome to bring your own as well! Show the postal service some love, make someone smile, return a kindness with a handmade note, share your appreciation & affection.

Craftivism with the Gallery Upstairs: Red Hat Knitting
2026-03-08 14:00 - 16:00 | The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States
A craftivism knit-in to work on Melt-The-Ice Hats offered by The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library. Free and open to the public, but donations are happily accepted and will go toward the gallery and future events. We will have snacks, warm drinks and offer a cozy environment to gather, chat and knit.
*Please note: This is not a class, and we will not be selling supplies. Please come prepared with Yarn, pattern, knitting needles and other supplies.
Yarn: In partnership with this event, Knit New Haven at 26 Whitney Avenue, at will offer red yarn for sale for hats with a portion of the proceeds going to IRIS.
PATTERN and how to: Melt-the-Ice hat pattern tutorial for knit and crochet
We encourage all to buy the full pattern for $5 from the designer Paul S. Neary on Ravelry.

All proceeds from the sale of this pattern go to the immigrant aid agencies who will distribute the funds to those impacted by the actions of ICE.
History of the hats here: https://melttheicehatpattern.com/history
**Seating is limited: RSVPs are required.
RSVP link or scan the QR code

OPEN CALL for ARTISTS. PANREALITY submissions due thru 3/15
2026-03-15 | Institute Library via Zoom
Go to the Call for Artists to learn More.

Beautiful Objections Workshop
2026-03-26 17:00 - 19:00 | The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States
RSVP page:
Institute Library · Beautiful Objections: March 2026

Closing Reception | Forecast: Reading the Signs
2026-03-29 16:00 - 19:00 | The Gallery Upstairs at The Institute Library, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, United States

The Institute Library Goes to Kansas?: A Special Event at the Institute Library
2026-04-09 19:00 - 21:00 | The Institute LIbrary, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510
A free, open to the public talk about one of the most unlikely-sounding chapters in the history of The Institute Library: the chapter in which a group of members of this place (which was then known as The Young Mens’ Institute Library) decamped for Kansas to do their part to support the abolitionist movement in the developing American Midwest.
A man named Baldwin deeded land in Wabaunsee, Kansas, to the Library. No, really. And then a bunch of Library members went out to settle the land and… yeah. History happened.
Come to the Library on Thursday, April 9th and hear volunteers Frank Cochran and MT Taylor deliver a talk on their findings, which are the result of astonishing research efforts on their part. Scouring archives here in New Haven and in Kansas, Frank and MT made some astounding discoveries.

Panreality
2026-04-18 16:00 - 18:00 | The Institute LIbrary, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510
Panreality is a new exhibition curated by Maxim Schmidt, with a soft opening April 8 and an opening reception on the 18th. Panreality is an invented term to describe the whole of each of our experienced realities, colored beyond the literal, objective world by the ephemeral, the emotional, the surrealistic, the indescribable. This exhibition will highlight artists who explore this beyond, and how these additional facets of experience make a moment truly lived within.
This Gallery event is free and open to the public; we do want to remind people who’ve never been here before that the Institute Library can only be reached by walking up a flight of stairs, and the Library is not ADA-compliant. As always, donations in support of the Gallery Upstairs are welcome!

Listen Here! -- April 21
2026-04-21 19:00 - 21:00 | The Institute LIbrary, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510
Short stories read by members of the New Haven Theater Company, with talkback afterwards led by Bennett Lovett-Graff. Tea and cookies available for those who need caloric sustenance and warmth; stories and dialogue takes care of warming heart and soul. This event is free and open to the public; donations to the Institute Library are, however, welcomed.

Listen Here! -- May 19, 2026
2026-05-19 19:00 - 21:00 | The Institute LIbrary, 847 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT, 06510
