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By Kerri Provost, January 30, 2012 6:06 pm

You could spend all winter working on growing out your leg hair while watching reruns of 30 Rock, but why? Here are some alternatives to that scenario: Continue reading 'February Events'»

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By Kerri Provost, January 27, 2012 6:31 pm

On a dreary day in January, artist Angel Sánchez Ortiz delivered dozens of his vejigante masks to the Park Library. The artist — formerly of Holyoke, now living in Delaware — demonstrated that these pieces of artwork are not meant only to be displayed on the wall. They can be worn. Some have movable pieces, like jaws that open and close.

The brightly painted papier mâché and coconut masks are like those seen in the Carnival de Ponce in Puerto Rico, an event comparable to the Mardi Gras. The vejigante mask is often meant to be frightening.

These masks will be on view at the Park Branch of the Hartford Public Library from February 1, 2012 through March 2, 2012. This branch is located at 744 Park Street.

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By Kerri Provost, January 13, 2012 3:45 pm

Not a corset, but part of a woman's dress that requires a corset. It looks smaller than a size zero.

Back in 2002, when Abercrombie & Fitch sold thong underwear for children, many understandably interpreted this as the beginning of the erosion of America’s moral fabric.

They were wrong.

There’s proof — in the form of a corset designed to be worn by a four-year-old girl — at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) that this trend of sexualizing young girls did not begin this century.

Starting on January 14th, CHS will be leading two behind-the-scenes tours every second Saturday of the month to give visitors the chance to see other quirky items, such as as a body preserver. This was a type of casket with space for ice, a spigot for draining out melted ice, and horse hair insulation. A lever allowed mourners to adjust the position of the corpse for better viewing. Emily Dunnack, the Head of Education Programs at CHS, said that other strange-to-us death customs from the past included making jewelery out of the deceased person’s hair, and evidence of this is also among items at CHS. Continue reading 'What’s Behind the Mantel?'»

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By Kerri Provost, January 11, 2012 2:55 pm

rendering courtesy of iQuilt

As barrels of trash heaved into the pond in Bushnell Park remain there for nearly a week and as the water feature in the playground nearby continues to be broken for years on end, residents and stakeholders were presented with the iQuilt’s dream plan of bring flowing water through the park.

Using identity strategy and enculturation to rally support, those leading this project dismissed skeptics as lacking vision. As much was said twice yesterday at a mini-presentation during a Rising Star Breakfast and in the evening before the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The presentation included codewords,  as several supporters described selves as “believers” and even went so far as to say that bring flowing water back into the park would be good for our “souls.”

The presentation included visual appeals to nostalgia and romance. The lovely, verdant design renderings seduced the participant into imagining a pristine urban paradise in which those seeking recreation can choose to wade across a 50-100 foot wide brook, meander through pop up studios and greenhouses, or linger on any of the nine bridges that would be added to Bushnell Park.

Urban design presentations, as a whole, dazzle those from whom they want support, but fail to provide real answers that concerned residents have about what is slated to happen in our backyards.

Prior to the presentation, Real Hartford readers submitted questions they had about this project, which are marked in bold and are direct quotes, unless noted otherwise.

Who is doing the planning?

The iQuilt, in the works for several years now, is described as a “culture based urban design plan for Downtown Hartford.”

The iQuilt is a private/public partnership which receives support from various institutions including the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, Bushnell Park Foundation, CIGNA, City of Hartford, State of Connecticut, MDC, Riverfront Recapture, Connecticut Light & Power, Northeast Utilities, Travelers, and United Illuminating. Suisman Urban Design has been leading the iQuilt design team. A 501(c)3 was formed recently. Continue reading 'iQuilt: Dotting i’s'»

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By Kerri Provost,

There was a lot of buzz yesterday about the iQuilt project, which many had not heard of despite it being in existence since 2008.

One space this plan focuses on is Bushnell Park.

The photos below were taken on Tuesday, the same day as when Doug Suisman of Suisman Urban Design shared many ambitious ideas about how the iQuilt plan can impact the park. These photos are taken from the perspective of a pedestrian/cyclist commuter, though an effort was made to include some of the park’s attractions. These photographs show the range of conditions and maintenance in Bushnell Park as of January 2012.

Part of the East Coast Greenway runs between the Armory and the Legislative Office Building. This path continues over a highway on-ramp, along the railroad tracks and viaduct, and into Bushnell Park. Sand continuously covers part of this path because of poor maintenance. None of the neighboring entities (Bushnell Park, State of Connecticut, Amtrak, etc.) take consistent responsibility for dealing with the erosion issues.

Continue reading 'Walking Tour of Bushnell Park'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 30, 2011 10:54 am

photo courtesy of Wadsworth Atheneum

Baltimore-based actor Felicia Pearson — “Snoop” on The Wire — will be signing copies of her memoir Grace After Midnight at the Wadsworth Atheneum’s Art After Hours in January. The museum will be screening two episodes of the show at 8.

Art After Hours will also feature music by the Nat Reeves Quartet with vocalist Dana Lauren. There will be ice sculpting and fiery hula hoop dancing.

There are various admission prices for this event on January 5th, which begins at 5pm.

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By Kerri Provost, December 8, 2011 9:03 am

With eyes closed, a circle of about sixty people were asked to visualize a street they were familiar with– what it looks like now and what this community could look like. Shawn Sweeney, of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program, asked participants to think about whether or not there was litter, if there was a grocery store in walking distance, and if they could safely walk to that store.

This is an exercise similar to the creative visualizations that Sweeney leads for youth in the Roots & Shoots program. For that group, he then takes it further, having them draw onto a map the things that they believe would make their communities more ideal.

Sweeney shared this as part of the “Creativity, Social Change and You” event held Wednesday night at Billings Forge. Other guest speakers included Chris Doucot from Hartford Catholic Worker, LaResse Harvey of A Better Way Foundation, Magdalena Gómez, a performance poet out of Springfield, and Joe Miguez, with the Labyrinth Experience.

The purpose? To inspire. Continue reading 'Creativity, Social Change and You'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 2, 2011 4:38 pm

Artists of all ages and levels who live in Hartford or Middlesex County will be competing for a total of $2,400 in prize money.

The Community Renewal Team is inviting artists to submit any type of visual art that they have created within the past three years. They explain that, “first, second and third prizes will be awarded in each of the adult categories of Amateur, Intermediate and Professional. First prizes are worth $300, second prizes are $200 and third prizes are $100 each. First, second and third prizes also will be awarded in Youth (12 and under) and Teen (13-18) categories. First prize is $75, second is $50 and third is $25. An overall best of show prize of $300 also will be awarded. Each artist will receive a Certificate of Participation in the National Arts Program.” Continue reading 'Competition for Local Artists'»

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By Kerri Provost, November 28, 2011 7:00 am

Making 'Of Lamb' on display at Real Art Ways through December 11th

December tends to be a whirlwind of activity, between festive events, office parties, and the gatherings for family and friends. Here are just a few of December’s open-to-the-public highlights:

December 1, 2011

December 1st is World AIDS Day, which means it is also The Day With(out) Art. Real Art Ways will be participating by screening Untitled all day. This is free. While there, check out the “Making ‘Of Lamb’” exhibit.

In the evening, there is the opening reception for Andres Chaparro’s artwork at Theatreworks (233 Pearl Street) from 5-7:30pm. Continue reading 'Your Guide to December'»

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By Kerri Provost, November 27, 2011 1:52 am

While last year’s opening of the Festival of Lights was met with scathing criticism, Friday evening’s unveiling of Winterfest received a more cordial welcome. Continue reading 'Looks Like Winterfest'»