Art & Culture
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.
317 Main Community Center and PPL Teen are joining forces to bring you Drop the Beat, a digital-music creation series for teens at Portland Public Library. Teens are invited to sign-up or drop-in for weekly sessions in November and December. All sessions will be facilitated by local musician and teaching artist Kafari!
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Portland Public Library’s knitting groups are geared toward adults who enjoy socializing and sharing projects, patterns, and ideas. Meetings are held every Thursday night from 6:30-7:30pm at our Riverton Branch, 1600 Forest Avenue, and the second Saturday of every month from 10:30am-12:00pm at our Burbank Branch, 377 Stevens Avenue.
Learn More »A series of films we wanted to watch but didn’t get the chance, for one reason or another.
Learn More »In celebration of National Novel Writing Month, the Library presents a series of films based on the lives of authors, real and fictitious.
Learn More »The Library presents a series of classic horror films on Thursday nights in October, at 6:30 in the Rines Auditorium. Free and open to the public. Refreshments provided
Learn More »A series of films by and about women. Thursday nights at 6:30 pm in the Rines Auditorium. Free and open to the public. Refreshments provided.
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The Portland Poet Laureate is an honorary position given every 2-3 years to a resident of the Greater Portland area who is both an accomplished poet and an excellent ambassador within the community. Portland’s current poet laureate is Linda Aldrich.
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Founded in 1995, the Portland Conservatory of Music is a nonprofit community music school. They educate through musical instruction and concert performances. The Noonday Concert Series offers free access to performances by the Conservatory’s talented faculty, arguably among Maine’s most esteemed musicians. The weekly concerts are held in downtown Portland throughout the academic year. The series has always been an integral part of the Conservatory’s mission to provide equal access to quality music and highlight its talented faculty and students.
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Page to Stage discussions are presented in partnership with the Portland Stage Co. The discussions are held at the Portland Public Library at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, in the Lewis Gallery two weeks before the show opens at Portland Stage.
Learn More »Join us the First Friday of each month between 5:00-8:00pm for gallery receptions!
Learn More »Museum Passes Available
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:
Description of a documentary on PBS in June about discrimination against LGBTQ people in government. More »