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The Ties That Bind: Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Lao Wedding Traditions in New England Featured this Summer at ICR's Gallery
June 6, 1995 - Hartford, CT

The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program of the Institute for Community Research (ICR) in Hartford, will present The Ties That Bind, an exhibit of Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Lao Wedding Traditions in New England, from June 30 to September 15, 1995 in ICR's gallery at 2 Hartford Square West (off Wyllys Street). Exhibit hours are 12 - 4:00pm weekdays and admission is free.

For the Southeast Asian refugee communities in New England - now numbering over 70,000 people - weddings are occasions for great celebration. These ceremonies draw upon centuries-old pre-Buddhist traditions, which are still important expressions of community cultural roots and shared values.

The exhibit shows how the wedding customs of the Cambodian, Lao, and Vietnamese peoples are still being used in their rituals today, along with elements borrowed from western ceremonies. Beautiful artifacts, displays of food, and traditional wedding clothes are arranged in three sections, one for each group, giving viewers an impression of the most significant moments in the ritual and insight into their meaning for the participants.

"The exhibit is an important recognition of some of the refugee groups that are living in Connecticut today," said Lynne Williamson, Director of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program. "Members of each of the three different communities are working with me on this exhibit, bringing attention to the fact that these groups are here, especially in the Hartford area, and that their traditions are persisting," she added.

Representatives of Connecticut's Southeast Asian communities will give several performances in August.

ICR's CT Cultural Heritage Arts Program works with communities throughout the state to identify, document, and present traditional arts and artists. The Ties that Bind is organized by the Vermont Folklife Center with grants from the Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund and the Vermont Council on the Arts. In Connecticut the exhibit is supported by the Roberts Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts Folk and Traditional Arts Program.