On Thursday June 10, 2010, The Institute for Community Research will host an opening reception for Ambassadors of Folk: Connecticut Master Traditional Artists, an exhibition showcasing the artistry of Connecticut folk and traditional artists who have achieved recognition on a national or international scale. The free event will take place from 5 to 8 PM and will include introductions of participating artists and a musical performance. The exhibit will run from June 10 to October 31 in ICR’s Jean J. Schensul Community Gallery, 146 Wyllys St., Hartford. The gallery is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 5 PM, and by appointment.

Ambassadors of Folk brings to wider attention the mastery of local artists who are highly respected exemplars of ethnic traditions within their communities. Eight visual artists and two performers will be featured, representing a wide variety of artistic genres and ethnicities and linked by their high degree of technical skill and sophistication. The artists’ accomplishments represent entire lives spent serving their communities through cultural production. Artists include Aldona Saimininkas, East Hartford; Romulo Chanduvi, East Hartford; Jampa Tsondue, Old Saybrook; Eldrid Arntzen, Watertown; Paul Luniw, Terryville; Valentine and Aili Galasyn, Canterbury; Shengzhu Chen, Torrington; Marek Czarnecki, Meriden; Negrura Peruana, East Hartford; and Daniel Boucher, Bristol.

Art forms to be exhibited have their roots in Lithuania, Peru, Tibet, Norway, Ukraine, Finland, China, and Eastern Europe, but all are made and used here in Connecticut and beyond. One unifying characteristic is that these pieces have been created for use in a community’s traditional practices. For example, the Buddhist thangka paintings and the Byzantine Christian icons exist for active veneration, they are not just paintings to be viewed. Other forms on display include decorative containers, cloth, commemorative pictures and rugs, wood carvings, and important seasonal decorations such as two types of dyed and etched Easter eggs. Performance traditions from African Peruvian and French Canadian communities in Connecticut will be presented.

Lynne Williamson, Director of ICR’s Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP) says, “This exhibit and associated performances give audiences a chance to explore creative expressions that may be new or unfamiliar, but are very popular in the artists’ cultural groups in Connecticut. CHAP has worked with these and many other little-known and excellent artists over two decades, so the exhibit is an exciting way to highlight CHAP’s twentieth year by celebrating these master traditional artists, and by inviting audiences to ICR’s gallery. This will be the 33rd exhibit presented by ICR and CHAP.”

Ambassadors of Folk is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation, the Greater Hartford Arts Council through contributors to the United Arts Campaign and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, and the Institute for Community Research.

For more information about the exhibit please visit www.incommunityresearch.org
or contact Lynne Williamson at 860-278-2044, x251 or

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. Its 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. For more information about ICR please visit our websites at www.incommunityresearch.org and www.ctheritagearts.org

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Visual Artists

Eldrid Arntzen paints useful household objects (usually wooden) in the Norwegian rosemaling tradition. In 2005 she was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the nation's highest honor in traditional arts. Her work is exquisitely detailed in a variety of rosemaling regional styles.

Romulo Chanduvi came to the US from Peru in 1992 and has established a successful woodworking and furniture-making business in East Hartford. His clients include several high-profile collectors in the northeast, and he recently created custom cases for the Sullivan Collection of 18th century porcelain at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Romulo also creates traditional woodcarving in the Spanish/Inca style.

Shengzu Chen designs and dyes traditional Chinese wax-resist cloth, and fashions it into clothing, wall hangings, and bags. She is now marketing her work internationally as well as throughout the Northeast.

Marek Czarnecki studied Byzantine iconography with Russian master Ksenia Pokrovsky, and has become a master in his own right. His commissions include Yale University, the Catholic Cathedral in Springfield IL, numerous churches, and private collectors. He has won the American Council for Polish Culture Award and the CT Commission on Cultural and Tourism Fellowship in Painting twice.

Val Galasyn weaves rug tapestries in the Finnish rya style of woven and hand-knotted fabric used as bed covers in Finland. He has won awards from Finnish cultural organizations across the country, and recently was honored by Governor Rell with induction into the CT Veterans Hall of Fame on the basis of his work. Val weaves in collaboration with his wife Aili, a master of Finnish textile traditions.

Paul Luniw learned to write Ukrainian pysanky, decorative and symbolic Easter eggs, from his mother. His work has been exhibited in Ukraine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and he won a Fund For Folk Culture award in 2008 in a national competition.

Aldona Saimininkas creates Lithuanian pictures and traditional ornaments using straw. One of her pictures was given to Pope John Paul II and is in the Vatican’s art collection. She was one of only two Connecticut artists featured in the DeCordova Museum’s Stories To Tell exhibition in Lincoln Massachusetts in 1989-90. Aldona has given many workshops to Scout groups, Lithuanian gatherings, and adult classes throughout the U.S. and in Canada.

Jampa Tsondue studied traditional Tibetan thangka painting with monks in India where his family fled after the takeover of Tibet in 1959. Jampa prepares the canvas, sketches the design as laid out by Buddhist texts, paints the details, applies gold leaf, and frames the thangka with silk. He has displayed his work in monasteries in New York, at Wesleyan University and Trinity College, and won a coveted Fund For Folk Culture award in 2007.

Performing Artists

Daniel Boucher plays fiddle in the French Canadian style, learning from his Quebecois father and relatives in Bristol. A phenomenal young traditional fiddler, Dan also writes his own songs and sings. He was invited to perform at last year's Quebec 400 celebrations, a highly prestigious festival event marking the 400th anniversary of Quebec’s founding. Daniel will perform at the exhibit opening on June 10.

Negrura Peruana is a group of East Hartford-based dancers and musicians originally from Peru. Their high-energy drumming and colorful dancing expresses the music and history of Peru's little-known African community. They were invited to perform at the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center in Washington as part of the Homegrown: Music of America series in 2008. The group is on the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism Performing Roster. They will perform at the exhibit later in the summer.