A watercolor artist tells me it’s a shame Hartford is not recognized for having such an abundance of artists. Across town, a photographer reminisces about the thriving artists’ community in the Colt Building; years ago, the artists were pushed out as the building went through a “revitalization” resulting in more expensive and fewer units. Even with apparent setbacks like loss of studio space, this past weekend should have removed any doubt that Hartford is an arts city.
Among Friday evening’s fare: the grand opening of The Dirt Salon. This space at 50 Bartholomew Avenue houses several studios and a stage. The first floor offered standard art opening food; the second floor featured sangria and paella. Classes will be offered at this space.
Homegrown Dance can be seen moving to music provided by the Ray Gonzalez Orchestra. The upbeat performance at Billings Forge on Thursday evening was free to all. This was part of the MashUP event which included open artist studios and a cooking class.
With Cook’s efforts, eleven local museums agreed to stamp the passports. An unexpected bonus, which was kept fairly quiet until the passports were printed, is that there are some additional benefits, like free admission to Mark Twain House, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, and the Wadsworth Atheneum, to name a few. Even several institutions that will not be stamping the passports have agreed, at least through August 2012, to grant passport holders free or discounted admission/tickets. Among them: CT Ballet, The New Britain Museum of American Art, Playhouse on Park, and Bushnell Theater.
For questions about the passports, contact Brian Cook directly.
Here is your monthly list of hand-picked events. There may be others, but those did not make the cut:
November 1st
Hartford Candidates Forum: Candidates from all parties and running for all offices this year have been invited to participate in a forum hosted by the Greater Hartford NAACP. This will be held in the Northend Senior Center at 80 Coventry Street, from 6 to 9 in the evening. The local NAACP’s president, Muhammad Ansari, says “this forum will provide an opportunity for residents in North Hartford who may not have been able to attend events in other parts of the city.” UPDATE: forum cancelled due to Storm Alfred. It will not be rescheduled.
Get HYPEd at ON20. The casual networking event, open to members and non-members of HYPE, will feature a free raffle. The prize? A tasting dinner for two at ON20. This event runs from 5:30-8:30pm.
November 4th
Women’s Oppression and Liberation Forum: three of the six panelists will include Nellie Bailey, the host of weekly radio program “Inside Housing” on WHCR; Monami Maulik, founder and executive director of Desis Rising Up and Moving; and a representative from Hartford Vecinos Unidos. The event begins at 7:30pm and will be held at La Paloma Sabanera.
Even with her decades of accomplishments — music, print, and photography — Patti Smith is not pretentious. On Thursday afternoon when she arrived for a brief talk with the media, there was no entourage, no wall. Instead, she was profusely apologetic about how little time she was able to spend talking, as she was needed for soundcheck.
Wishing a “Happy Rimbaud’s Birthday” to everyone, she breezed through the installation, Une Saison en Enfer (AKA “The Rimbaud Room”), providing background about the litters, which were modeled after a sketch Rimbaud did of his own. Smith said Rimbaud was “carried down a mountain” on a litter when he had gangrene. The large litter has inscriptions of Rimbaud’s last words, something not obvious upon first glance.
When asked about a display case containing books and other Rimbaud-related artifacts, Smith said some of it is “just really for fun,” and possibly disappointed others by explaining that one of the books on display was not the one she wrote about stealing in Just Kids. Continue reading 'Camera Solo: Rooms of Patti Smith’s Own'»
“It is important that they are there declaring their existence,” Patti Smith said of the Occupy Wall Street activists, even naming Occupy Hartford. And, she said, in between songs Thursday evening at the Wadsworth Atheneum, “we should look to them with love and pride.”
The musical performance by Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye (whom she has worked with for forty years), and her daughter, Jesse Smith, was a benefit show for the museum; it also marked the opening of her exhibition, Camera Solo, and coincided with poet Arthur Rimbaud’s birthday, which she honors every year.
The show began with “Grateful,” written for Jerry Garcia, and the between-song-banter was not nervous noise to fill empty space, but stories about different photographs in her exhibit. To this, she added poetry. If you wondered how poetry was meant to be read, the answer is by Smith, who understands where lines break, where words are meant to be drawn out, and how to enunciate consonants correctly. Her performance of “The Tyger” by William Blake showed more about that poem than most critiques of it could hope for. This was followed by “My Blakean Year.” Continue reading 'Patti Smith Rocks the Wadsworth'»
Poster Boy’s work will be displayed in a local gallery after all.
Last month, Trinity College postponed the solo exhibit after Poster Boy’s art was already set up in the gallery. Before heading back to New York, the artist altered two billboards in the Parkville neighborhood, where the public could view the work in spite of the canceled/postponed show.
Poster Boy’s Street Alchemy 2.0 exhibition of altered billboards will open on October 20th at Real Art Ways, an arts center which has a history of supporting controversial and censored art. Last December, after the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery bowed to pressure and removed video art by David Wojnarowicz, Real Art Ways displayed the disputed artwork here in Hartford.
The opening reception for Street Alchemy 2.0 will take place during Real Art Ways’ Creative Cocktail Hour from 6-8pm on October 20th. There is an admission fee for the opening event, but entrance to the exhibit is free other times. The work will be on display through January 20, 2012. Real Art Ways is located at 56 Arbor Street.
Comments (4) 
It must be the season, again, for helping 
The 
Even if the Frog Hollow group did not win a major award in the Hooker Day Parade, Saturday would have been fantastic anyway. The parade was larger than in past years, with even more random weirdness than usual. 
Even with her decades of accomplishments — music, print, and photography — 
“It is important that they are there declaring their existence,” 
