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By Kerri Provost, February 6, 2010 3:36 pm

With Valentine’s Day approaching, and with a close friend going on a top secret date which led to discussion about what makes for a great or horrible date, and with an acquaintance asking me last night what I like about Hartford, I write this report on what I think makes for a (nearly) perfect night out.

Before riding my bicycle to the Wadsworth Atheneum, I began by having an impromptu conversation with my neighbor and was then joined by another resident on the block. There was a fire in a nearby house early Thursday morning, so we were all updating each other and feeling grateful that nobody was injured.

Upon arriving at the museum, I had my choice of parking spots: an entirely empty bike rack that meant my walk from parking spot-to-front door was under thirty seconds. After stashing my helmet and jacket inside one of the museum’s lockers, I grazed from the snack table and listened to the dj. When he was there a few months ago, I did not care much for his musical choices, but he had selections from an entirely different genre this time. Friends and friends-of-friends trickled in; among them included Jude, who writes about the MATRIX exhibit far better than I could. When I first began visiting the museum in the 1990s, the MATRIX was among my favorite sections of the Wadsworth. Continue reading 'On Any Thursday'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 4, 2009 2:00 pm

I have consistently heard that people need cars in Hartford. The lack of grocery stores in downtown is one reason cited for this claim. The lack of public transportation is also evidenced. Recently, in discussions about the Plan of Conservation and Development, this car “need” as been brought up as reason for why young urban professionals are hesitant to move downtown or come into the city for entertainment.

I live in one of Hartford’s neighborhoods. By someone’s definition, I am a young professional, though I despise that term. I do not have children. I am able-bodied, though have never been the type of person to “exercise.”

Since early October, I have been without a car. I have not starved to death, nor have I taken to wandering the streets naked (you’re welcome!).

Here is an explanation for how I have been able to meet my various needs and wants while living in Hartford without a car. Continue reading 'Car-Free in Hartford'»

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By Kerri Provost, October 19, 2009 5:55 pm

After a few days away, I returned to find obnoxious (but fairly routine) comments littering the Topix forum that one is routed to from the online Hartford Courant.

On my trip, I was thinking about civic pride and the need for community and cooperation between neighboring towns. I am not talking about these qualities on a political level, but on a personal level. There is community here, within the city, but it’s not something that gets much press. Crime and corruption are made public. Poverty and illiteracy are treated as mascots for my city.

What does not make the news are the minutiae.

One Friday night I gathered with a half dozen women to eat local pizza in the host’s dining room. We wolfed down three pizzas and laughed. Nobody got shot or stabbed.

Last week, I ventured with a friend and two of her children to Colt Park. We were hoping to catch a women’s rugby game. Though it seemed to be canceled, we picked up some delicious goodies from Modern Pastry, watched runners cross the finish line at the Hartford Marathon in Bushnell Park, and then headed to La Paloma Sabanera for an actual lunch. At the coffee house, we ran into more friends. Again, nobody got shot or stabbed.
Continue reading 'Words vs. Pictures'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 7, 2009 11:09 am

When my friend David told me he’d secured a reservation for a trip to the top of the Travelers’ Tower, I had no choice but to invite myself along. This would bring me downtown in the late morning, and since I had plans to be less than a block from there later in the afternoon, I figured I would just spend the time in between downtown.

At eleven we zoomed to the 21st floor. I did not think about the logistics of this. After having walked 2.5 miles to get downtown, the three flights of stairs did not seem so fun. The view was worth the panting. From the street, the tower does not look like it can hold more than two people. We had six people up there, and there was plenty of room for more. I had no luck locating my apartment.

Continue reading 'Staycation 2009'»

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By Kerri Provost, July 12, 2009 7:23 pm

What would Hartford be like with people on the streets? As Doug Suisman put it, “people attract more people.” A bustling city would seem like a happening place to be. One might even reserve a seat on the MegaBus from Boston to come here. One of the goals of the iQuilt project is to do just this– make Hartford a destination. Yet for those of us who live here, we know that there are people out and about in Hartford– they are just not plentiful downtown. Park Street’s activity was alluded to during the presentation on the evening of June 24th at the Belding Center for the Performing Arts, as was the need for such a downtown project to reach out to the neighborhoods, yet that part of the plan was more talk than design. It’s early still in the process and every idea was clearly up for further discussion. Some of the iQuilt ideas are hope-inducing and would be positive changes; some ideas did not go as far as they needed to and other aspects were ignored altogether. Leaving the forum, I would have felt better had Suisman asked for comments mainly from people whose names he did not already know.

David Fay–President of the Bushnell—explained that two years ago the Bushnell began thinking about a plan for Capitol Avenue, as the center is isolated from much of downtown. The iQuilt project began about six months ago; “up to this point,” Fay said, the project “has been paid for.” They want feedback and public support before an organization is developed to manage the project and move it forward. Getting questions and comments during the public forum should be a start, but not the only effort taken to gather feedback.

The presentation on Wednesday was given by Douglas Suisman, of Santa Monica, whose role as one of the project’s planning principals seemed less of an odd choice upon learning that he grew up in this area. He is the principal of Suisman Urban Design (Los Angeles), which describes its vision and guiding principles this way:

cities are complex human artifacts which evolve over time. We believe that urban design solutions must therefore incorporate a deep understanding of the physical place and a profound respect for its social and cultural fabric. We are committed to broad participation, clear communication, and high quality. We are motivated by a passion for the lived experience of cities.

Continue reading 'A Somewhat Holey Quilt'»

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By Kerri Provost, June 22, 2009 12:22 pm

iQuilt intends to improve pedestrian routes from Bushnell Park to the Connecticut River, along with connecting cultural sites in Hartford. Continue reading 'Our Charmingly Irregular Quilt'»

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By Kerri Provost, February 18, 2009 4:32 pm

Every evening at precisely 5:01 I crawl into my coffin. This shields me from the spates of gunfire, and to be honest, I might as well. When the actuaries, bankers, lawyers, and IT professionals hit the on-ramps, the entire city loses its raison d’être. My coffin protects me from the tumbleweeds that blow through here.
Continue reading 'Ghost Town'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 19, 2008 9:01 am

While re-reading Urban Nightmares: The Media, the Right, and the Moral Panic over the City by Steve Macek, I came across two quotes that could not be more relevant:

To put it crudely, the “moral panic” appears to us to be one of the principal forms of ideological consciousness by means of which a “silent majority” is won over to the support of increasingly coercive measures on the part of the state, and lends its legitimacy to a “more than usual” exercise of control.
–Stuart Hall

The cancer of fear has taken over. We have government by fear. We have a fear economy. We have a landscape of fear. We have a mass media that sells it.
–William Upski Wimsatt

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By Kerri Provost, June 30, 2008 10:55 pm

Hartford cares. Hundreds from Hartford and surrounding towns showed up to prove this. In the crowd, I spotted a former student of mine from a few years back, a former professor of mine from even more years back, and two colleagues–one from each place I’m employed at. There was an unofficial bloggers’ seating section, where innocent, objective reporters were being plied with strawberries by an unnamed city official. Under canopies, a dozen community groups set up to hand out literature, candy, magnets, and let people know what they offered. Knox Parks Foundation, Rebuilding Hartford, My Sister’s Place, CREC, Community Renewal Team, and Hartford Public Access were among these organizations.

A “Wall of Commitment” (giant posterboard) was set up for attendees to write on. Many used this as a place to publicly promise to make changes in their actions as related to Hartford; others used it to say what they are already doing (what organizations they are affiliated with) or what they think about the city.

The two-hour long program moved rapidly, lagging only during the extended candlelight vigil toward the end. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra performed several times during the night– a pleasant surprise for me, since I’m not the type to seek out orchestra music (or whatever kids these days call it).

Ted Carroll, President of Leadership Greater Hartford (organizers of the event) gave the greeting, which also moved along. I don’t want to be the person to point this out, but there is some irony in thanking the Hartford Courant and WTIC radio for being media sponsors of this event, since the Hartford Courant along with other local media are part of why the national media picked up on recent incidents, causing damage the Hartford’s reputation. Some on the Courant staff have written meaningful columns after this, but we should remain critical of any outlet that would post video without any context. We live in the age of the internet, when material is quickly picked up and dispersed. Few bother to investigate their sources, as Christine, Heather, and I were discussing. False information gets spread nearly instantly, and is difficult to rectify later. It’s fine to be diplomatic if a company is giving money, but let’s not forget their own role in why the event has to happen at all– even with such a great showing of people from Hartford who do care about our community, I have to wonder how much damage this will undo.

MIRA and Mind Evolution, both spoken word artists, earned robust applause from the audience. MIRA performed “I Wish We All Had Daughters,” and Mind Evolution, “When I Grow Up.” There was dance, drumming, a puppet of what I believe was a Phoenix (it was a bird of some kind, I think), and a series of “conversations” (interviews and speeches).

Rabbi Donna Berman announced that there would be a second Hartford Cares gathering held at the Charter Oak Cultural Center in July. That one will allow the community more of an opportunity to be active in the conversation.

From my chats with people, there was a lot of surprise about the number of people in attendance and the racial diversity. A few thought that the “cheese factor” would have been way higher than it was. Actually, until the grand finale of dozens of adults and children crammed on the bandshell stage, singing and swaying, it really was not corny. And for those who must know, there was absolutely no singing of Kumbaya.
Continue reading 'More than Violent Acts'»

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By Kerri Provost, June 27, 2008 10:45 am

This is a continuation from Part One:

Imagine other cultures through their poetry and novels: Although La Paloma Sabanera closed in December 2007, there are still many places in the city to explore other cultures through literature– the Hartford Public Library (main and branches), The Jumping Frog, and the Catholic Bookstore are just a few places where books can be found. There’s also several free book tables/carts in 56 Arbor Street.

The literature is just one place to begin.

Listen to music you don’t understand*Dance to it: The Artists Collective has dance and musical workshops for youth. Last year, one of my students gave a presentation about his involvement in The Artists Collective while growing up in Hartford, and after listening, not a person in the classroom could even entertain doubts that this young man was profoundly and positively affected by his experience.

The Charter Oak Cultural Center is home to many musical, theatrical, and other cultural events, ranging from Punk shows to Juneteenth commemorations. Continue reading 'How to Build Community (Against All Odds): Part Two'»