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Bosnian weavers and needleworkers, Somali basketmakers, Assyrian lacemakers, and a Liberian tailor will showcase their beautiful traditional textile crafts at an Open House on Saturday August 23, 2008 from 1 to 4 pm at The Institute for Community Research (ICR), 2 Hartford Square West, Suite 100 (146 Wyllys Street) in Hartford, CT. The event celebrates a year-long project that brings together members of recent immigrant and refugee groups to produce and share their traditional art forms. Participants in the project will welcome the public with food, music, and information from their cultures, and they will have art works for sale. The event is free.
Organized by ICR’s Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP), the Sewing Circle is an exciting initiative that encourages production and marketing of traditional crafts among the many immigrant communities in the Greater Hartford area and across the state. “This effort is really important for ICR because part of our mission is to work with local communities whose voices are not often heard, and to try to expand access to cultural resources,” says ICR Executive Director Margaret Weeks, Ph.D. Members of the Sewing Circle have been selling their work at the Hartford Farmers Market, Open Studios Weekend, and other public venues. Engaging with public audiences has given project participants a chance to improve their English-speaking skills and broaden their social networks and support systems.
“We are delighted with the success of this project, not only because it has brought some additional income to the artists, but also because they have become friends and co-workers sharing techniques, styles, and supplies as they create their unusual and exquisite textiles,” says CHAP Director Lynne Williamson. The project will continue with small business training and online sales in 2009.
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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. Project supporters include the Aetna Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Knox Foundation, and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
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