“Libraries are more important than ever. Algorithms just play to your proclivities. Libraries are different.”
— Governor Ned Lamont
KENT – A ceremonial groundbreaking was held at Kent Memorial Library on Saturday, April 25, drawing community members and local leaders to celebrate its expansion and renovations, which are already underway.
Guest speakers, including Gov. Ned Lamont and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, said libraries today serve a broader role than in the past, functioning as community hubs as well as places for books.
The project has been funded by a $2 million construction grant from the Connecticut State Library, along with $5 million raised locally through private donations, according to Executive Director Sarah Marshall. Construction is expected to be completed next year.
The small brick building on Main Street dates back to 1922, with additions made in 1958 and in 1994. The current plan calls for upgrading the existing building and connecting it to the adjacent former firehouse, creating additional space for library functions and public events.
Lans Christensen
Sam Callaway, an architect who has been consulting with library board members on the project for many years, called the library “the backbone of the community.” He noted that modern libraries have evolved into community centers.
“We are here today to celebrate the start of construction of additions and alterations to the library, which will bring its facilities into the present and the future,” Callaway said.
He also praised the 23-member board and staff, saying their efforts made the project possible.
Board Vice President Janet Rivkin shared that when the library turned 100 in 2022, so did her husband, Larry. A devoted supporter, he made a donation in their honor that helped launch the project’s fundraising campaign.
“He passed away just as we got started,” she said.
Lamont also shared his love of libraries in modern times.
“Libraries are more important than ever,” he said. “Algorithms just play to your proclivities. Libraries are different. They can give you different perspectives. Take books seriously. Put down your phones. To the next generation, this library is yours.”
Hayes, D-5th District, said the timing of the event was appropriate since it was the end of Library Week.
Meanwhile, State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64) said the project reflects the community’s commitment to meeting the town’s evolving needs.
Following the ceremony, attendees were invited to the temporary library at 10-12 Landmark Lane for refreshments.
Proffitt and her husband and business partner, Robert Bristow, are well-known leaders in the art and architecture communities, and their home, studio and workshop in Lakeville; store and office at 16 Main St. in Salisbury; and gallery space in Norfolk are vibrant hubs for arts and design in the region.
Proffitt has been coming to the area since she was a teenager. Originally from Puerto Rico, her family moved to the New York City area in the 1970’s. Her artist and architect father encouraged her interests in art and design and her deep desire to create. At school, she excelled in math and art and soon realized that this was all she wanted to do. “Think logically and then break the mold with creativity,” she said.
Armed with a degree in visual art from Trinity College, she pursued advanced studies at Berkeley and Pratt before receiving a master’s degree in architecture from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, where she met Bristow. Both landed apprenticeships in Boston and were drawn to the arts community in Norfolk centered around the Yale Summer Arts Program. The area quickly became their personal and family anchor.
They started Poesis, a furniture design and manufacturing studio, with a small loan from her mother. They landed a major house project and soon met a hotelier at a party who hired them on the spot to design a hotel in Washington, D.C.
Proffitt said, “I was hooked because it combined everything I wanted to do creatively: design experiences in the broadest sense with all the supporting pieces of the puzzle — furniture, objects, art. My father felt that architecture was the Renaissance profession: It holds the seeds of art, design, engineering and all the other ingredients. For me, it all starts with art.”
A rendering of King Winery, one of Pilar Proffitt’s current interior design projects.Provided
Proffitt is devoted to the area. She and Bristow raised their family in Lakeville. Their daughter Grace, a sculptor, attended Hotchkiss and is pursuing her MFA at University of Pennsylvania. Their daughter Ellis, also a graduate of Hotchkiss and Trinity, is a mathematician and aspiring actress in Los Angeles; and their son Sam attended Salisbury School and is a junior at Trinity, majoring in art history with a minor in architecture. They all are carrying forward the family’s passion for arts, architecture and design.
Proffitt’s interior design work and unique furniture pieces welcome visitors at Hotchkiss’ Art Center, the Scoville Memorial Library, her own wHole hOuse shop in Salisbury and, soon, across the street in the new Jam Food Shop, which is expected to open this fall.
The region’s many museums and galleries include some of Proffitt’s favorites, from Mass MoCA and the Clark to Salisbury’s Geary, Mad Rose in Millerton, Jack Shainman in Kinderhook and Art Omi in Ghent. Proffitt loves the connections and new opportunities brought to the community by the increase in full-time residents, as well as impromptu get-togethers with friends — recently watching a Knicks playoff game at the tavern bar at the White Hart. Moments like that keep her grounded here.
In addition to the White Hart, Proffitt is a fan of area restaurants, including Fern for a quick pasta at the bar; Isabela in Amenia, where Michelin-starred chef Jose Ramirez Ruiz is from Puerto Rico; and Clare de Boer’s Stissing House in Pine Plains.
A perfect day for Proffitt is spent working in her studio overlooking Lake Wononscopomuc, without distractions, rain or shine. It is a quiet and peaceful place that supports her many architecture and design projects. When asked what she would say to a younger version of herself just starting a career, she responded, “Don’t be so shy. As one of my professors told me, ‘Sometimes you just have to crash the party.’ Draw, write, run, play tennis. And travel!”
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