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WAYS TO LEARN AT LLC
COLLABORATIVE COURSES to expand knowledge, develop skills, build confidence.
WEBINARS to hear from experts in many disciplines.
CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES to broaden horizons and meet new friends.

THINGS TO LEARN AT LLC
ACADEMIC SUBJECTS: literature, history, sciences, community issues & more.
SEE PREVIOUS CATALOGS.
ARTS: painting, photography, music & more. See art galleries for samples.
Almost any subject can come up at LLC’s WEBINARS and CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES.

REASONS TO LEARN AT LLC
EXPAND your knowledge
DIVERSIFY your skills
BUILD your confidence
MEET new friends with similar interests

Lifelong Learning Collaborative (LLC) is a group of more than 500 members who enjoy learning new things, acquiring new skills, and making new friends. Hover over each box above to learn more.

Collaborative Learning

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At LLC we all learn from one another, selecting from a wide variety of courses in history, literature, the arts, current affairs, sciences, and more – all designed and led by our classmates. Learn more.

A Love of Learning

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LLC members come from all walks of life, career paths, and educational levels. The one thing we all have in common is a desire to continue learning in the company of congenial people.

Cultural Opportunities

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From the North Shore of Massachusetts to the center of Manhattan, LLC offers Webinars, lectures, museum tours, walking tours, and other special learning events with expert guides throughout the year. Learn more.

Latest News

LLC's trip to St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center in Woonsocket

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On June 10, over twenty LLC members toured St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center. Called "Rhode Island's Sistine Chapel," this local treasure is home of the largest collection of fresco paintings in North America.

LLC Lunch and Learn: The Declaration of Independence

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On May 19, LLC provided a festive inaugural Lunch and Learn to celebrate the Declaration of Independence in honor of America's 250th anniversary. Opening the program, LLC members read the Declaration as the audience shared their cheers and boos for the stirring words. A special retrospective script created by Linda Shamoon addressed the questions “What were they thinking in 1776? What events have occurred since the signing of this precious document? What are we thinking in 2026?" The festivities concluded with a rousing songfest led by guitarist Henry Chapin. Voices sang out old favorites: “This Land Is Your Land,” “Yankee Doodle,” excerpts from “The Yankee Doddle Boy” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag” by Providence–born George M. Cohan, and an inspiring “America the Beautiful.”

Inside the latest issue of The Lark

Announcing three spring virtual art galleries: Open Studio Art (Zoom & in-person) and Paint Like a Woman

Click the links to view the entire gallery of artwork created by LLC members this spring:

Open Studio Art on Zoom gallery (led by Kathy Webster)
Open Studio Art In-person at Shriners gallery (led by Susan Van Horne)
Paint Like a Woman gallery

Featured artwork: “Red Panda,” inspired by Roger Williams Zoo photo by LLC member Mark Rubinstein (Open Studio Art on Zoom); “The Grove” by LLC member Deborah DeCoteau (Open Studio Art in-person); "Sunflowers" by LLC member Gail Dusseaut (Paint Like a Woman).

Announcing LLC's Cell Phone Photography Club Spring Virtual Art Show

In this ongoing class, LLC members experiment with cell phone photography and photo editing. Improving use of phone cameras, trying new genres of photography, such as street, landscape, and low-light photography, learning from each other, and sharing photos with a congenial group are all creative, instructive, social, and fun. This semester was led by Ellen Fingeret and Margaret Lawrence.

View the entire gallery of photography.

Featured artwork, "Rough Road Ahead!" by LLC member Sam Grabelle

LLC has a new mailing address

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Effective June 1, 2026

P O Box 40451
Providence RI 02940

Photo by Mikaela Wiedenhoff on Unsplash

The Owl has landed!

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The Owl is LLC's quarterly newsletter, filled with LLC news, dates, interviews, a members' calendar, help wanted ads and more. Stay in touch. Stay informed about LLC's upcoming events and volunteers. Want to know more about LLC? Read the flagship issue of The Owl.

Key dates for upcoming semesters

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Fall 2026
Catalog July 20 | Registration opens Mon, July 27 @ 9 AM | Classes start September 14

Wintersession 2027
Catalog Nov 23 | Registration opens Nov 30 @ 9 AM | Classes start January 4, 2027

 

A thank you to our outgoing President Sheila Brush

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Linda Shamoon, LLC's Incoming President, shared the following words about Sheila Brush, Outgoing President, at our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 27:

"[Every one of us] acknowledges that Sheila has been a terrific leader. She's been simply outstanding, and this is the moment where I would like to just mention those major achievements, and even the ones that you don't see. In her three years as president, these are just the highlights:

The transition out of COVID into in-person classes. We forget how hesitant people were, but under Sheila's leadership, that came together really quickly.

And then completing and helping to complete and implement an ambitious 3-year strategic plan, which required the cooperation of all our committees and committee leaders.

The smooth transition to a new location, and a new way to do Convocation, which I'm particularly grateful.

That's just the big picture. The everyday stuff gets solved in ways that the average member doesn't even see. The daily schedule glitches that Sheila takes care of all the time, individual members' problems and complaints, which flow her way. The care, nurturing, and supply and cleanup of the coffee room. Bathroom leaks, classroom air quality, crumbs on the table, trash remover, technology problems, the list goes on. So, an amazing amount of energy, commitment, and commitment to the welfare of LLC and its members. Sheila either, in all of those cases, got the right person to do the job, or she did it herself. She did it without fuss, and she did it properly, and with good cheer, and always successfully. In other words, every aspect of being a president, big and small. Sheila did them perfectly.

We owe Sheila a huge, huge thank you for three terrific years. She set the bar just incredibly high for her successor."