Curious Matter

05/02/2026

We’ll be closed this Sunday so we can attend the Jersey Art Book Fair.

If you’re nearby, we encourage you to visit.

We’ll resume regular hours next Sunday.

04/12/2026

✨📚✨

04/12/2026

SAVE THE DATES: May 7, 14 & 21

On Reading & Response
A different kind of book club

Not a discussion about a single book, but a gathering around the experience of reading itself.

Bring whatever you’re reading—a novel, a memoir, a poetry collection—anything at all.

Join us for a facilitated conversation reflecting on how our reading is shaping our thinking, experience, or ongoing work.

Priscilla Gardner Main Library
Jersey City Free Public Library
472 Jersey Ave, Jersey City, NJ

May 7, 14 & 21
6:45–7:45 pm

https://jclibrary.libcal.com/event/16556357

A collaboration between and

04/06/2026

SAVE THE DATES: May 7, 14 & 21

On Reading & Response
A different kind of book club

Not a discussion about a single book,
but a gathering around the experience of reading itself.

Bring whatever you’re reading—
a novel, a memoir, a poetry collection—anything at all.

Join us for a facilitated conversation reflecting on how
our reading is shaping our thinking, experience, or ongoing work.

Priscilla Gardner Main Library
Jersey City Free Public Library
472 Jersey Ave, Jersey City, NJ

May 7, 14 & 21
6:45–7:45 pm

https://jclibrary.libcal.com/event/16556357

A collaboration between and

03/22/2026

Save the dates!

03/22/2026

SAVE THE DATES: May 7, 14 & 21

On Reading & Response
A different kind of book club

Not a discussion about a single book,
but a gathering around the experience of reading itself.

Bring whatever you’re reading—
a novel, a memoir, a poetry collection—anything at all.

Join us for a facilitated conversation reflecting on how
our reading is shaping our thinking, experience, or ongoing work.

Priscilla Gardner Main Library
Jersey City Free Public Library
472 Jersey Ave, Jersey City, NJ

May 7, 14 & 21
6:45–7:45 pm

https://jclibrary.libcal.com/event/16556357

A collaboration between and

03/15/2026

03/14/2026

In 2026, Curious Matter turns its attention to books.

The latest edition of Curator’s Notebook introduces the On Books year and our current programming.

Read it at https://www.curiousmatter.org/news/on-books (link in bio)

Curious Matter
272 Fifth Street, JC NJ
Sundays, noon to 5pm, and by appointment

03/10/2026

Curious Matter begins its 2026 inquiry:

ON BOOKS
The form, flow, and force of books.

Throughout the year we’ll be exploring books as artworks and artifacts; as structures that shape visual, textual, and material practices; and as vehicles through which ideas circulate, expand, and gather force.

Beginning this Sunday, we open the inquiry with:

LE BOUQUINISTE
our independent press kiosk featuring small independent presses, chapbooks, zines, and artist-made publications.

and

RANDOM MARGINALIA
incidental discoveries revealing the book as an object marked by attention, use, and response.

Curious Matter
272 Fifth Street, Jersey City
Sundays 12–5 and by appointment

02/09/2026

In the days since Pompidou x Jersey City was halted, a familiar refrain has taken hold: “we never needed it; we already have great art here.”

In a new essay I examine what that claim leaves out—and the risks it poses moving forward.
https://www.curiousmatter.org/news/afterpompidou