Gateway Arts supports nearly 100 artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health diagnoses, brain injuries, and other neurodiverse conditions. Our artists come from diverse backgrounds, each bringing with them an interest in creating art and a distinct perspective to share with the world. The Brookline community is invited to experience and engage with the wide range of work and perspectives coming out of our studios in this exhibit.
The Payphone
An Interactive Art Installation by Jon Zoll
Pick up the receiver and step into a choose-your-own-adventure about book banning.
About the Installation
The Payphone transforms a familiar object into an interactive storytelling experience. Through audio prompts and user choices, participants explore how censorship shapes access to ideas, stories, and voices.
About the Artist
Jon Zoll is a mechanical engineer and artist whose work blends technical innovation with storytelling. Using custom hardware and software (Python), he reimagines a payphone as a platform for public engagement.
Join us for the Minuteman Library Crawl!
Calling all adventurers! You have 6 days to explore participating Minuteman libraries during Library Crawl Week, August 3-8, 2026. Each library has a unique clue to find and a stamp to collect! The Minuteman Library Crawl is self-guided, and all ages are welcome – kids, families, adults, everyone! How many libraries can you explore?
How It Works:
- Pick up your passport at a participating library (or print out a copy here.)
- Visit participating libraries during their Featured Crawl Days.
- Find the scavenger hunt clue and take a photo.
- Show the photo to library staff and receive a stamp in your passport!
- Collect every stamp to qualify for the Grand Prize Drawing!
Please note that stamps and prizes are only available during a library’s assigned Featured Crawl Day(s). Our Featured Crawl Days in Brookline are:
- Friday, August 7th: 10am-5pm
- Saturday, August 8th: 10am-5pm
You need only collect a stamp from one Brookline library location (Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner, or Putterham) for credit towards the Grand Prize Drawing.
We encourage you to visit other libraries on their featured days during the rest of the week. Check out this Strategic Guide, which lists the featured libraries by day, and this interactive map of all participating libraries, to help you plan your Library Crawl week.
You can get a Library Crawl passport at any participating library, and you can read a text-only version of the passport information here.
An Update on our E-Resource Offerings
The Public Library of Brookline regularly assesses our e-resource collection to determine the best way to meet the needs of our community. We aim to align our offerings with the changing habits and interests of our patrons in order to ensure access to valuable, effective digital resources and learning tools. With this in mind, we decided to discontinue access to LinkedIn Learning.
Why did we make this change?
We made this change for the following reasons:
- High Cost and Low Usage: LinkedIn Learning had few active users and a high annual cost, leading to a high relative cost per patron.
- Limited Audience: Much of the content provided by LinkedIn Learning was narrowly focused on professional development for mid-career professionals, providing limited opportunities for patrons to develop other skill-sets such as life skills and tech literacy.
We plan to use the saved costs to invest in learning tools that will reach a wider audience with more diverse education topics.
Where to go instead
Contact our Reference Department at the Brookline Village Library. We’re happy to suggest alternate resources, whether you are doing research, job hunting, looking to update your tech skills, or discovering new hobbies. Call 617-730-2369, email BRKREF@minlib.net, or ask a question via our online form.
Art from Inside is a curated selection of works that PBP’s readers and book requestors have sent to us over the course of many decades, often as a token of gratitude for a shipment of books. Many pieces are explicitly book-themed, depicting reading as a temporary escape from the confines of prison or as a vehicle for growth, learning and rehabilitation. Books are liberating for our readers in both senses. Without access to the internet, books often take on a significance to incarcerated people that folks on the outside struggle to understand. The pieces in this exhibit also showcase the detailed techniques that can be achieved with the simplest tools, most commonly ball point pen and pencil. Art from Inside shows how much talent, creativity and human potential resides behind bars.
Artwork
I am a Japanese artist based in Brookline, Massachusetts, working across watercolor, oil, acrylic, colored pencil, and sculpture. For me, art is more than creating images—it is a way of communicating with the world and expressing ideas, emotions, and experiences that are often difficult to put into words.
My work is inspired by nature, architecture, and everyday moments. I am drawn to places and scenes that invite quiet observation: sunlight filtering through trees, reflections on water, changing seasons, and the relationship between people and their surroundings. Through careful attention to color, texture, and atmosphere, I aim to capture not only how a place looks, but also how it feels to be present within it.
Working across different mediums allows me to explore different ways of telling stories and sharing perspectives. Whether creating detailed landscapes or more reflective pieces, I hope my work encourages viewers to pause, connect with their surroundings, and discover moments of calm, curiosity, and meaning.
Pride 2026 – QRG Recommendations
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Here is a list of recommendations shared during the Queer Reading Group’s meeting on June 11, 2026. Please enjoy this collaborative list!
Click and drag the covers above to scroll through these recommendations. Each cover image links to the item’s catalog page.
Percival
Night at the Vampire Castle by Hari Conner
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
Eliana
The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All Vol. 1 by Sumiko Arai
Bloom into You Vol. 1 by Nakatani Nio
Carrie
A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
Erika
Bound by The Wachowskis (movie)
Gunnerkrigg Court Vol. 1 by Thomas Siddell
Jacob
Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Cori
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez (audiobook)
Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden
Harry
Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen – recommendation: School of Eternities
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong – recommendation: Thanksgiving 2006
Summer Artwork
Kitt Bjorbaek (19 years) will be a sophomore at Westfield State University this fall. She has a double major in finance and economics with a minor in studio art. In her free time, Kitt can be found sailing in the Boston Harbor.
Mia Bjorbaek (16 years) is a sophomore at Brookline High School. She is also a member of the Brookline High School tennis team.
Her other hobbies include sailing and racing in the Boston Harbor at Courageous Sailing Center and playing with our cocker spaniel, Daisy.
Christine Mahoney is Kitt & Mia’s mom. She has a BA in journalism with a minor in Studio Art from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She also loves to sail in the Boston Harbor.
We hope you enjoy!
Celebrate Pride with Your Library!
This Pride Month, the Library is celebrating LGBTQIA+ history and culture with programs, activities and displays for adults and kids of all ages! Visit any Library location to browse our displays, and check out our program offerings.
Events
We’re excited to be hosting Pride Month programs for library-goers of all ages this June! Here’s our current lineup:
Adults | Friday, May 29 at 7 PM at the Brookline Village Library
As a lead-in to Pride Month, come to the Brookline Village library for our Prom 2.0! If you didn’t have the prom of your dreams as a high schooler, (or even if you did), this is your chance for a do-over. Adults ages 18+ are invited for an inclusive, Queer, disco celebration featuring DJing from Mx. Blaire, fun photo booth props, light desserts and refreshments, and a night of dancing! Come build community and intergenerational friendships with folks from around Brookline and Boston.
Registration is required for this special after-hours event. For info and registration click here.
Pride Month Scavenger Hunts
Kids & Tweens | All Month at the Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner, and Putterham Libraries
Swing by our Children’s Rooms at Brookline Village and Coolidge Corner or the main desk at Putterham, and ask for a scavenger hunt sheet to search for as many different Pride flags or LGBTQIA+ figures as you can find!
Pride Printmaking with Alex Makes Art
Adults | Wednesday, June 3, 2026 – 6:30PM-8:30PM at the Brookline Village Library.
Join Alex Makes Art to kick-off Pride with a fantastic printmaking experience! Whether you’re a seasoned printmaker or just want to learn the basics, this event is all about unleashing your creativity. This is a drop-in program, but registration is strongly encouraged.
All Ages | Tuesday, June 16, 2026 – 6PM-8PM at the Coolidge Corner Library.
Join us to learn about and make zines in preparation for our Queer Zine Fest! Zines are self published print works typically produced in small, limited runs. Drop in anytime between 6-8 PM to learn about zine history, how to make a zine, and create a zine or two of your own!
Queer Watercolor Workshop with LMH Artwork
All Ages | Wednesday, June 10, 2026 – 6PM-7:30PM (Drop-in) at the Putterham Library.
Come to the Putterham Library to celebrate Pride with LMH Artwork! This watercolor workshop is great for beginners to experts, and a fun event for the whole family. This is a drop in event where patrons will be able to paint rainbows, flags, and queer icons. All supplies will be provided by the library. Attendance is limited on a first come, first served basis — please arrive early to secure your spot.
Adults | Thursday, June 11 at 7 PM at the Brookline Village Library
Read and discuss books by queer authors in a variety of genres. This group has a stress-free structure, where the conversation we develop about identity, gender, race, and all intersections that these generate is just as important as reading the book. We make space to feel seen, safe, ask questions, and learn. Join us in-person or virtually.
All Ages | Saturday, June 20 at 11:30AM-4 PM at the Brookline Village Library
Come celebrate Pride at the Brookline Village Library at our first Brookline Queer Zine Fest! Attendees will be able to purchase zines and art from local artists. The Brookline Booksmith will also be providing a collection of free zines.
Zines are self published print works typically produced in small, limited runs. This event will allow people to meet other creative minds and celebrate diversity within our community.
Kids Ages 3-7 | Wednesday, July 1 at 3:30 PM at the Brookline Village Library
Come celebrate the end of Pride Month with a storytime and craft! We’ll read some Pride-themed books and do a fun rainbow craft! This program is for kids age 3-7. Please stop by the Children’s Room Desk for a free ticket, which we will begin handing out at 3 PM.
Free Movie Screening at Coolidge Corner Theatre
Adults | Thursday, July 9 at 7:30 PM at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
To close out our Pride festivities, The Public Library of Brookline is offering a free screening of Moonlight (2016) in partnership with the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Join us in Movie House 5 at The Coolidge Corner Theatre (290 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446) on July 9th for this special event. Space is limited. Please register to reserve your free ticket.
Celebrating AANHPI Month with Tiger and Magpie
Korean Minhwa artist and Brookline resident Yoonkyoung Ahn presents a special exhibit exploring the tiger and magpie, two beloved figures in traditional Korean folk painting. Through a playful comparison between contemporary pop-culture imagery as seen in K-Pop Demon Hunters, and a centuries-old Joseon-era painting, the exhibit shows how Minhwa has long used humor, symbolism, and imagination to express ordinary people’s hopes, values, and even critiques of political power. Ahn’s work bridges tradition and modern life, inviting audiences across cultures and generations to see Korean folk art as accessible, relatable, and full of life.
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