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Dinner, Discussion and Dance Event to Celebrate Peruvian Culture
December 2, 2006 - Hartford, CT
Lynne Williamson at 860-278-2044 ext. 251 or lynne.williamson@icrweb.org
Gannon Long at 860-278-2044 ext. 275 or gannon.long@icrweb.org
The Institute for Community Research (ICR) is sponsoring a celebration of Peruvian culture on Saturday, December 9, 2006 from 4 to 7 pm. Hosted by ICR’s Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP), the Association of Peruvian American Professionals, and Los Andes newspaper associate editor Pedro Espinoza, the event will feature scholar Olga González-Castañeda, Ph.D., who will discuss the forms of resistance expressed by Andean women through their arpilleras (story embroideries) during the Shining Path insurgency in Peru. Attendees will also enjoy performances by local dance groups Danzas Peruanas and Negrura Peruana, who were recently on stage at the Kennedy Center. The celebration will take place at La Casona Restaurant, 681 Wethersfield Ave in Hartford. The event costs $25; advance registration is required by calling 860-278-2044 x251.
The event is part of a series accompanying Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory, a powerful exhibit of 60 textiles made by artisans from Peru, Chile, Laos, Afghanistan, South Africa, Vietnam, and Palestine. Dr. González-Castañeda is a psychologist and anthropologist at Columbia University who consulted on the exhibition. She will discuss her research on Peruvian arpilleras made during that country’s civil war, some of which are on display in the exhibit. “Their striking colors reflect the joy of life in the Andes and stand in contrast to a world that has been drained of color by violence,” she writes. “Though the stitches of these cuadros [pictures] speak of scars, the arpilleristas’ artistry and artfulness in putting these scraps together also suggest their creative efforts to reconstruct their lives.”
ICR’s Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP), which brought the exhibit to Hartford, has developed extensive programming to highlight local members of the different cultures represented in Weavings of War. “The exhibit and the Peruvian event in particular focus on preserving and expressing cultural traditions and identity as a way to maintain the health of a community,” says CHAP Director Lynne Williamson. “This dinner and performance is a great way for members of the Peruvian community, a very large and active group in Connecticut, to learn more about their own history as well as to share it with others.”
Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory will be on display at ICR until January 13, 2007. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm; by appointment; and during special events. For more information about the exhibit and related events, please visit
www.incommunityresearch.org/weavingsofwar.htm or contact Lynne Williamson at 860-278-2044 x251 or lynne.Williamson@icrweb.org.
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The Institute for Community Research is an independent research institute that conducts applied research and supports community enhancement programs on issues of health, education and cultural heritage. Its Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program encourages and promotes traditional artists and their communities through an active process of documentation, technical assistance, and public presentations to bring their work and the history of their communities to new audiences.
The Connecticut showing of Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory is hosted by the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP) of The Institute for Community Research. ICR's programming has been developed by CHAP in collaboration with an advisory committee of artists, community leaders and educators from local groups whose cultures are represented in the exhibit, and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts; the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism; The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation; the Knox Foundation; the Connecticut Humanities Council; the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, Trustee; and the Greater Hartford Arts Council, through its United Arts and United Way campaigns.
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