Visitors are welcome to try their hands at various textile arts at The Institute for Community Research (ICR) Open House on Saturday, February 6 from 11 am to 1 pm (snow date Sunday, February 7). The event will feature demonstrations and instruction by Sewing Circle Project artists. Basic materials will be provided at no cost, and visitors may also bring their own projects to work on. The Open House will take place in ICR's gallery at 2 Hartford Square West, 146 Wyllys Street in Hartford. The Sewing Circle Project brings together immigrant, refugee, and folk artists who create and sell a variety of textiles in traditional styles. The project is a collaboration of ICR, Catholic Charities Refugee and Migration Services, and the Hartford Public Library.
The event is being held in conjunction with Community Threads, an initiative throughout Greater Hartford that encourages quilting and textile arts on the local level. ICR is one of several museums and organizations that have partnered to display textiles made by local quilting circles as well as the famous Gee's Bend quilts from Alabama. Community Threads exhibits are on view through February, and the Hartford Stage production of the new play Gee's Bend runs through February 14. For detailed information visit www.Community-Threads.com.
ICR's Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program has developed the Sewing Circle Project to encourage production and sales of traditional arts among immigrant communities in the Greater Hartford area and across the state. ICR Open House artists will include Bosnian rug weavers and knitters, Assyrian lace crochet specialists, Somali basketweavers, Burmese Karen weavers, Hmong embroiderers, and more. The artists will also sell their work. "Working with these talented women for the past three years has shown me that they bring excellent needlework and weaving skills with them to America," says Lynne Williamson, ICR's Director of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program. "They love to teach others how to sew, knit, and weave as a way to connect with their new neighbors here." For further information contact Lynne Williamson by phone at 860-278-2044, x251 or email.
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The Institute for Community Research is an independent research institute that conducts applied research and supports community enhancement programs on issues of health, education and cultural heritage. ICR’s Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program 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. Project supporters include the Aurora Foundation for Women and Girls, the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Hartford and the Greater Hartford Arts Council, and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
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