This memorial was designed in collaboration with artist Emily Bhargava and the Brockton Public Library staff as a way to honor those who have been lost to the pandemic and to represent the growth and transformation that we believe will follow. Library patrons selected the titles of the books in the sculpture; Strength, Hope, and Memory, to represent the ways that we will find a way through COVID. Emily Bhargava sculpted each element of the design and welded the butterflies. She then led two community tiling sessions during which the Brockton residents tiled the sculpture and were invited to make clay tokens in memory of loved ones who they had lost. These tokens are built into the base of the sculpture. The sculpture is being shared here in the circulation lobby, and will eventually be installed outside the library. The project was funded in part by a grant from the Brockton Cultural Council, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and was supported by the Brockton Library Foundation.
COVID Memorial Dedication Card
If you missed the opportunity to create clay tokens of memory for a loved one, Memorial Dedication Cards are available if would like to participate in the COVID Memorial. Dedication Cards are available at the circulation desk. For digital version email.
About the Artist
Emily Bhargava works primarily in glass, ceramic and steel, and also incorporates a wide variety of up-cycled materials and found objects into her work. She transforms blank walls and empty spaces into colorful, quirky, and playful designs that inspire reflection, learning, and community ownership. Emily often works at the intersection of art and public health, helping communities utilize the arts as an effective tool for health promotion. She currently serves as the Community Art Director for The Beautiful Stuff, Project, a creative reuse center based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as the Director of Connection Lab, LLC, a consulting firm that engages in health promotion and community art interventions. She’s also an active teaching artist and works in prevention for EDC. She serves as the co-chair of the programming committee of the New England Mosaic Society, and a member of the advisory committee for Fabville, a city-run maker space in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Follow Emily‘s exploits on her Instagram
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