An exhibit of
Puerto Rican traditional arts opens Thursday, July 1 at
the Institute for Community Research Gallery at 2 Hartford
Square West (off Wyllys Street). Mano a Mano: Puerto Rican
Traditional Arts from Island to City showcases 15 traditional
craft forms practiced on the island. The opening reception
is from 5:00-8:00 pm, and features folk musicians Amor
y Cultura. Admission is free. The exhibit will continue
through October 15, noon to 4:00 pm weekdays.
The exhibit is part of a project developed by the Institute
for Community Research (ICR), in collaboration with a
locally-based team of Puerto Rican artists, Guakia, and
PRIDCO (formerly FOMENTO), the government's economic development
department in Puerto Rico. Mano a Mano features the work
of Puerto Rican master traditional artists and their students
in PRIDCO's apprenticeship arts program. The 15 traditions
represented include the making and playing of musical
instruments-the marímbola, a percussion instrument,
and the pandero, a type of tambourine used in plena music;
mask making; saint carvings; kite making; cattail weaving;
indigenous pottery making; papier maché; book binding;
and tin crafts.
"These arts are loved and commonly practiced in Puerto
Rican communities both on the island and here in Connecticut,"
says Lynne Williamson, Director of the ICR's Connecticut
Cultural Heritage Arts Program. "The exhibit shows
how as master artists pass on their traditions to their
apprentices mano a mano-hand to hand-a vibrant culture
is maintained and generations are connected."
In addition to the exhibit, five masters from Puerto Rico
will give week-long, hands-on workshops in their art forms
in July and August to artists and others interested in
learning these crafts. The master artists are pandero
maker Jesœs Cepeda; cake decorator Amelia Fonseca;
cuatro maker Vicente Valent’n; mundillo lace maker
América Nieves; and potter Alice Chéverez
Chéverez. After the masters return to the island,
the local project team artists will mentor workshop participants,
helping them to practice their new skills and market their
crafts. Also, the pieces that workshop
participants produce will be added to the exhibit.
The Mano a Mano project is supported by the Lila Wallace-Reader's
Digest Community Folklife Program, which is administered
by the Fund For Folk Culture and underwritten by the Lila
Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, The Edward C. and Ann T.
Roberts Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council,
The Crafts Development Office of the Puerto Rico
Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), the National
Endowment for the Arts, and the Connecticut Commission
on the Arts. |
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"The exhibit shows how as
master artists pass on their
traditions to their
apprentices mano a
manoÑhand to handÑa
vibrant culture is
maintained and generations
are connected."
Lynne Williamson,
Director, Connecticut
Cultural Heritage Arts
Program
|
