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On Friday, April 17, 2009, The Institute for Community Research (ICR) will host an opening reception for Siyazama: Traditional Arts, Education, and AIDS in South Africa, an extraordinary exhibit featuring beadwork, story quilts, dolls and other folk arts created by those suffering with AIDS as a way to educate others about prevention and treatment. The opening will take place from 5 to 8 pm with a gallery talk by curator Marit Dewhurst and remarks by AIDS Project Hartford and CT AIDS Resource Coalition leaders. The event is free, open to the public, and ADA accessible. The exhibit is located in ICR's Jean J. Schensul Community Gallery, 146 Wyllys St., Hartford, through June 26. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, during special weekend events, and by appointment. This will be the only showing of Siyazama in New England.
The exhibit will be accompanied by several public events to raise awareness about the serious AIDS epidemic both in Africa and here in Connecticut where AIDS is growing fast among African-Americans. The public events will showcase new research and interventions that use innovative and culturally appropriate approaches to AIDS education and prevention, and encourage dissemination of information through arts methods.
"The exhibit and related programming show how cultural intervention methods are being used to translate science into information that communities and people can use," says Lynne Williamson, exhibit coordinator and director of ICR's Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program. "This is especially important with HIV/AIDS, where 40,000 cases are diagnosed annually in the United States and where African-Americans, especially women, account for 60% of new infections."
Organized by the Michigan State University Museum, Siyazama: Traditional Arts, Education, and AIDS in South Africa includes 120 art works made in traditional South African styles by rural craftswomen to carry messages about AIDS prevention. The Siyazama (Zulu for 'we are trying') Project began in 1998 as a way to empower women who suffer the worst consequences of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa, by educating them about prevention and health practices while encouraging production of their beautiful folk arts as an income source for families. Folklorists Marit Dewhurst and Marsha MacDowell at Michigan State University collaborated with the Siyazama Project to gather a collection of the art works and develop a traveling exhibit for the United States.
The Hartford showing of Siyazama is supported by the Aetna Foundation, the Knox Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council through its United Arts and United Way Community Campaigns, the National Endowment for the Arts, the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism, The Institute for Community Research, and the Michigan State University Museum.
For more information about the exhibit and related events, please visit contact Lynne Williamson at 860-278-2044 x251 or lynne.williamson@icrweb.org.
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The Institute for Community Research is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts applied research and community enhancement programs to promote equal access to health, education, and cultural resources. ICR's 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. |
