Curator’s Talk: Connecticut Traditional Artists and Their Communities Exhibit @ the Gallery at Constitution Plaza

On Thursday November 3 from 5 to 7 PM, the Connecticut Office of the Arts and the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History will present a curator’s talk featuring many of the artists whose work is included in the exhibition Connecticut Traditional Artists and Their Communities: Celebrating 25 years of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program.

This special free event will take place in the Connecticut Office of the Arts Gallery at One Constitution Plaza, 2^nd Floor. The talk will be preceded by a reception to meet the artists. Artists who will be present to discuss their work and their communities include Matt Beaudoin from Mystic Knotwork; blacksmith Walt Scadden; Tibetan thangka painter Jampa Tsondue and weaver Kunga Choekyi; Ukrainian embroiderer Zirka Rudyk; Lithuanian folk artist Aldona Saimininkas; Peruvian woodcarver Romulo Chanduvi; and more.

In 2016 The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP) at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History marks 25 years of documenting the state’s diverse cultural traditions and sharing the artistic creations and community cultural practices of folk artists living here.

The exhibit highlights the work of Connecticut folk artists whose creativity expresses the history, cultures, values, and beliefs essential to their heritage.  Their skills are learned from family and community members over years of observation, practice, and artistic participation. Over twenty artists from a wide range of Connecticut communities have participated in the exhibit. Artistic traditions include Assyrian lacemaking, Cambodian dance costumes, Polish folk arts, newcomer textile arts, Tibetan and Laotian spiritual arts, Caribbean Carnival costumes, and occupational artists from maritime, ironwork, decoy carving, and shoe-making crafts of working communities.

The exhibit and special event are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Connecticut Office of the Arts, and the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. For more information see the CHS website, the COA website, or contact Lynne Williamson@chs.org

Part of a nationwide network of public folklore programs, the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program serves as the state’s official folk and traditional arts initiative. CCHAP explores the rich diversity of Connecticut’s cultural landscape by partnering with traditional artists to bring their deeply rooted folklife and artistic expressions to wider public attention. The program’s collaborative work fosters sustainability of heritage by encouraging tradition bearers to continue and pass on their unique cultural knowledge. CCHAP’s public projects enhance understanding of the diverse artists, art forms, histories, narratives, values, and sense of place that distinguish Connecticut and its communities.

The Gallery at Constitution Plaza is dedicated to promoting cultural enrichment and visual understanding of the Department of Economic and Community Development’s Office of the Arts and its constituent organizations. The gallery features changing exhibitions that directly relate to programs administered by the agency. To access the gallery from the Constitution Plaza South Garage, bring the parking stub to the gallery for validation and take the elevator to the 4^th floor. Turn left and walk across the garage to enter the One Constitution Plaza lobby. Sign in at the security desk and take the elevator to the second floor. Get the parking stub validated at the gallery reception desk before leaving. Contact:  Michelle Parrish, Museum Curator – michelle.parrish@ct.gov – 203-453-2457.