Abbey Kim photo
Aria Banks and her dad, Phil.
Six-year-old Aria Banks carefully applied navy blue polish to her fingernails before going back in with white accents, creating a tiny galaxy complete with an astronaut on her thumb.
She was one of more than 50 attendees at the Nail Art Workshop on Wednesday afternoon at Mitchell Library, the Westville branch of the New Haven Free Public Library at 37 Harrison St. Kids of all genders and as young as 2 years old showed up to paint with parents in tow.
“My favorite part is that we get to do our own nails,” Banks said as she painted alongside her older sister, Nyla. “We never did it on ourselves before.”
The event is one of many weekly enrichment activities the library offers on Wednesday afternoons. It’s also the kind of resource now under threat as President Donald Trump’s administration targets federal library services and public works more broadly. The Trump administration has already slashed the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which allocates more than $2 million to Connecticut annually.
“I see libraries being a place where communities come together, share resources, share strengths, get support,” Mitchell Children’s Librarian Sarah Quigley said. “And for kids, I think that it has a lot to do with sparking their little passions, and making them feel seen, and being a place that they feel ownership of.”
Quigley and local nail artist Kate Proulx collaborate to host the event. After Quigley first broached the idea to Proulx, Proulx solicited nail polish donations, drafted design templates, and even secured free supplies from ORLY beauty.
The theme for this week’s nails was space — kids proudly showed off their alien, moon, earth, and astronaut illustrations. The room grew loud with chatter as students filed in from nearby schools, like Mauro-Sheridan, Davis, and Elm City Montessori.
For Proulx, the workshop is personal as well as communal. Proulx grew up in Madison and moved back to New Haven in 2020, opening a studio in East Rock called Sick Nails. She has a deep love for the city — partially expressed in a tiny New Haven tattoo on her wrist.
“I also really love that nails are a form of self-expression,” Proulx said. To her, the library workshop offers kids “a place to explore creativity in a new form.”
Proulx herself got treated to a manicure by two regular attendees, 9‑year-old Kaylei and 7‑year-old Kelsei. They painted on a “French tip” in addition to alien companions, so Proulx couldn’t leave the room feeling alone.
Proulx (center) gets a manicure thanks to 9-year-old Kaylei and 7-year-old Kelsei.
Saumya Verma and 3-year-old Siya.
