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Jean J. Schensul Community Gallery

Gallery exhibits and public programs in the form of symposia, lectures, training sessions, and workshops bringing current research to broad and diverse audiences are among the principal ways in which ICR fulfills its mission of joining scholarship with community-based activities. Our exhibits, events, and performances illustrate Connecticut's rich diversity of cultures and traditions.

Link to Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program

Link to Urban Artists Initiative

¡Que Bonita Bandera!: The Puerto Rican Flag as Folk Art Exhibition
Mural on Park Street, Hartford, by Victor Pacheco

Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory.

October 27, 2006 - January 13, 2007.

60 textiles from war-torn countries around the world.

Left: Detail from El Encadenamiento (The Chaining). Chilean arpillera (story embroidery). Violeta Morales. Mixed fabrics, hand-appliquéd.

                            Image courtesy of Vermont Folklife Center.

                            Press Release | Gallery Photos

At Face Value

September 24, 2006 - October 13, 2006

Urban Artists Initiative veteran Lori Sikorski displays eight portraits.

Left: Detail from Hattie, by artist Lori Sikorski.

Charcoal on gesso canvas.

                            Gallery Photos | Artist's Statement

New Work from Connecticut Prisons

April 24, 2006 - June 2, 2006

The Annual Show of new work from the Prison Arts Program. 

Left: Detail from Greenhouse, by artist Yong Mi Olsen, #327169.

Ball-point pen, Pencil & Colored Pencil on Bristol Board.

                           Press Release | Gallery Photos | Exhibit Opening Invitation

                           List of Featured Artists

Rollin' and Dustin' in Hartford: Pathways to Urban Life Styles

February 16, 2006 - March 17, 2006

An exhibit of 13 7' panels, disseminating almost 10 years of research on youth drug use in Hartford through comic art.

Left: Detail from panel 1, by artist Kyle Young.

                           Press Release | Gallery Photos | Exhibit Opening Invitation (front)

                           Exhibit Opening Invitation (back) | View the Panels

10 Years: An Exhibit of Work Past and Present

June 2, 2005 - June 27, 2005

Original work by Victor Pacheco, inspired by identity and cultural issues.

Left: Detail from the series of stoneware busts, "Facades Project," by artist Victor Pacheco.

                           Gallery Photos | Artist's Statement

Giving Women Power Over AIDS

April 26, 2005 - April 28, 2005

A traveling exhibit designed to raise awareness of HIV and new prevention technologies such as microbicides.

Left: Detail from prize-winning photo-essay, "In Her Mother's Shoes."

                           Artist: Betty Udesen of The Seattle Times.

                           Press Release | Gallery Photos

Living Spaces: A Multimedia and Interdisciplinary Program
March 27, 2003 - May 30, 2003
An Exhibition, Performance and Talk that Explores the Relationship Between Art, Research and the Physical and Imagined Spaces of our Environment.
                           Left: Detail from Living in America #2 (1 of 4 panels), by artist Deborah                              A. Simmons. Acrylic on wood.
                           Press Release | Gallery Photos | List of Featured Artists

Career Dolls: What I Want To Be When I Grow Up
February 28, 1998 - March 31, 1998
Twenty young girls from Hartford made life-size dolls to represent themselves and their career dreams as part of the curriculum for ICR's Urban Women Against Substance Abuse program.
                           Press Release

Vision, Voice, Remembrance: The Hartford AIDS Memorial Exhibit
December 5, 1996 - February 28, 1997
An exhibit focusing on a community altar constructed by the public as a memorial to those who have died of AIDS.  Exhibit Curator: Salvatore Scalora.

                           Left: Detail from collage by artist and exhibit curator Salvatore Scalora.

                           Press Release

 

Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts (CHAP)

¡Que Bonita Bandera!: The Puerto Rican Flag as Folk Art
July 11, 2003 - September 12, 2003
An exhibit that highlights the symbol of the flag featuring a variety of folk and community-based art forms.

Left: Detail from Mural on Park Street, Hartford, by Victor Pacheco

                           Press Release | Gallery Photos

Polonia w Connecticut: Polish-American Traditional Arts
December 7, 2000 - March 31, 2001
An exhibition presenting works of art made by hand in the Polish folk tradition, and used in Polish homes in Connecticut today.

Left: Marek Czarnecki's icon of Our Lady of Czestachowa. Egg tempera

                           with gold leaf on wood panel.

                           Press Release

Mano a Mano: Puerto Rican Traditional Arts From Island to City
July 1, 1999 - October 15, 1999
An exhibit showcasing 15 traditional craft forms practiced on the island of Puerto Rico.

Left: Detail from a Madonna and child by master artist Celestino Avilés.
                           Photo: Crafts Development Office, PRIDCO, PR

                           Press Release

Sur Bois: Franco-American Woodcarvers of Northern New England
October 10, 1998 - December 31, 1998
An exhibit presenting traditional Franco-American woodcarving, a pursuit with a long history in New England.
Left: Detail from Louis St. Gelais' carving of boy/petit sculpteur sur bois.

                           Photo: Gary Samson, UNH/Franco-American Center, NH

                           Press Release

Herencia Taina: Legacy and Life
May 3, 1997- November 1, 1997
An exhibit presenting a wide range of traditional arts illustrating Taino heritage.
Left: Detail from grourd carving by Graciela Quiones-Rodriguez.
                           Photo: Phillip Fortune
                           Press Release

Auspicious Signs: Tibetan Arts in New England
May 11, 1996 - December 1, 1996
An exhibit celebrating Tibetan cultural traditions with hand-crafted items by regional Tibetan artists.

Left: Detail from picture frame carved by Ngawang Choedar.  Photo:   

                           Phillip Fortune
                           Press Release

The Ties That Bind: Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese Wedding
Traditions in New England

June 30, 1995 - September 15, 1995
An exhibit showcasing artifacts, displays of food, and traditional wedding clothes arranged in three sections.
                           Left: Detail from photo of Cambodian wedding. Photo: Cecily Cook

                    Press Release

Living Legends: Connecticut Master Traditional Artists
September 29, 1994 - December 30, 1994
A traveling exhibit of Connecticut's master traditional artists representing 12 distinct cultural groups.
Left: Detail from photo: Phillip Fortune
                           Press Release

 

Urban Artists Initiative (UAI)

10 Cities/10 Years

February 8, 2004 - March 7, 2004

An Exhibit Celebrating the Ten Years of the Urban Artists Initiative

Left: Cubaseleepmap, candy & digital print, by Diane Barcelo.

                            Press Release | Exhibit Opening Invitation (PDF) 

                            List of Featured Artists  

Destination Connecticut Arts: Visionary Landscapes
December 6, 2002 - March 2, 2003
An exhibit recognizing Connecticut's beauty and its long tradition of landscape artists.
Exhibition Brochure (PDF)

 

Focus on 4: Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Waterbury
June 29, 2000 - October 13, 2000
An exhibit of new works by artists from four cities

in the Urban Artists Initiative.
Press Release | List of Featured Artists

 

Reinventing Urban Areas Through the Arts
November 6, 1997 - January 14, 1998
An exhibit of works by selected artists from the Urban Artists Initiative, formerly known as the the Inner City Cultural Development program.

Left: Detail from True, False, True, 1997, by Margaret Plaganis. 

                           Mixed media.

                           Press Release | List of Featured Artists