Burned Pages
The burned pages project began from a collective loss: in 2008, the public library of Swan’s Island, ME was struck by lightening and completely destroyed. The library was one of the only public community spaces in the small town of Swan’s Island. The incident resulted in half-charred pages of books scattered around the remains of the building, and Elizabeth Awalt found herself collecting the remants of the library’s contents, not quite sure what she would do with them. Elizabeth slowly started what would become a large-scale collaborative project with the community of Swan’s Island, and with other Maine artists. Elizabeth invited people of all ages to memorialize the library by drawing or writing on the burned pages she had collected.
Swan’s Island library fire, 2008
Remnants of the library, 2008
Elizabeth Awalt and Librarian Candice Joyce with burned pages 2009
Writer and Artist, Ashley Bryan, created a page and read his award winning book, Beautiful Blackbird while children created their pages.
The project continued to grow, and other Maine artists were invited to participate. In 2019, the community held a fundraising event for the construction of a new library, and the burned page drawings were auctioned off. The event raised approximatley $30,000 which was donated to help build a new library, completed in 2010.