Welcome to the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch Library!
Upcoming Events
“While the library is a bastion of intellectual freedom, its value goes beyond supporting noble ideals. For many people, their library is the only place to access the internet, apply for jobs, or to find a quiet space for study and reflection. Libraries also provide essential services to vulnerable populations, offering literacy programs, citizenship classes, and career workshops. They are not just buildings filled with books and big ideas; they are dynamic centers of opportunity, fueled by passionate, skilled library workers who understand and serve the unique needs of their communities.”
-BPL President David Leonard, Boston Globe, 4/10/25
Gallery @ JPBPL
JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The Jamaica Plain Branch Library, in partnership with the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library, is pleased to present At the Water’s Edge, the next exhibition of its 2026 rotating art series, featuring photography by Jamaica Plain artist Rachel King.
At the Water’s Edge traces the seasonal shifts along the shore of Jamaica Pond. Working in the field of addiction and recovery, King began turning to photography in the wake of the overdose epidemic, intensified by COVID-19, as a way to connect more deeply with her local landscape and community. What began as documenting the familiar evolved into a daily photographic journal, an exercise in slowing down and paying attention to small changes that can easily go unnoticed.
At the Water’s Edge is on view from November 12, 2026–January 6, 2027, with a public reception to be held on Thursday, November 12, 2026, 5:30-7:30 PM. The library is open Monday-Wednesday 10-6, Thursday 12-8, and Friday and Saturday 9-5 (closed Sundays). The exhibition space is located on the lower level.
JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The Jamaica Plain Branch Library, in partnership with the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library, is pleased to present Face to Face, the next exhibition of its 2026 rotating art series, featuring work by longtime Boston Globe editorial cartoonist Dan Wasserman.
Face to Face brings together spontaneous watercolor portraits, each completed in under five minutes, as fellow artists gather weekly online to draw and paint one another in real time — no do-overs, no saved screenshots. Rather than anatomical precision, Wasserman is after a glimmer of presence: a first impression of what each subject reveals to him, and what, through marks and color, they might reveal to the viewer.
Face to Face is on view from September 10–November 11, 2026, with a public reception to be held on Thursday, September 10, 2026, 5:30-7:30 PM. The library is open Monday-Wednesday 10-6, Thursday 12-8, and Friday and Saturday 9-5 (closed Sundays). The exhibition space is located on the lower level.
JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The Jamaica Plain Branch Library, in partnership with the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library, is pleased to present Symbiosis, the next exhibition of its 2026 rotating art series, featuring work by Brazilian-born artist Juliana Borgiani Geiger.
Symbiosis explores the living relationship between unlike organisms and the ways in which plants, insects, and animals coexist and thrive together. The flower serves as the centerpiece—beautiful, resilient, and essential—using color, scent, and form to attract insects in a mutually beneficial relationship. Within Geiger’s work, these small yet ever-present creatures invite viewers to look closely and discover the hidden connections within each piece.
Symbiosis is on view from July 9–September 9, 2026, with a public reception to be held on Thursday, July 9, 2026, 5:30-7:30 PM. The library is open Monday-Wednesday 10-6, Thursday 12-8, and Friday and Saturday 9-5 (closed Sundays). The exhibition space is located on the lower level.
JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The Jamaica Plain Branch Library, in partnership with the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library, is pleased to present 10 the Hard Way, the next exhibition of its 2026 rotating art series, featuring work by Massachusetts-based artist David Redfield.
10 the Hard Way explores time as layered, fragmented and continuously reassembled rather than linear. The exhibition features approximately twenty hand-cut collages in which repetition and limitation act as creative drivers. Visible cuts and constructed forms reveal shifting perspectives as interiors open into exteriors and figures move through unresolved environments, inviting viewers to reconsider space, meaning and perception.
10 the Hard Way is on view from May 7– July 8, 2026, with a public reception to be held on Thursday, May 7, 2026, 5:30-7:30 PM. The library is open Monday-Wednesday 10-6, Thursday 12-8, and Friday and Saturday 9-5 (closed Sundays). The exhibition space is located on the lower level.
JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The Jamaica Plain Branch Library, in partnership with the Friends of the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library, is pleased to present A Step into the Wilderness, the next exhibition in its 2026 rotating art series, featuring photography by Boston-based artist Corina Simian.
A Step into the Wilderness is a photographic exploration of some of the most ecologically significant landscapes in the United States, including Yellowstone National Park, the Teton Range, and other protected natural spaces. Through sweeping vistas and intimate details, the exhibition invites viewers into environments where nature’s immense power exists alongside quiet vulnerability.
A Step into the Wilderness is on view from March 5 – May 6, 2026 with a public reception to be held on Thursday, March 5, 2026, 5:30-7:30 PM. The library is open Monday-Wednesday 10-6, Thursday 12-8, and Friday and Saturday 9-5 (closed Sundays). The exhibition space is located on the lower level.