Charter Oak Cultural Center

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Meredith Arcari Gallery Opening: Exploration Thursday, June 4, 5:30PM Oil paintings fostering a globalization that celebrates difference and respect. Exhibit runs through July 31. Wine and hors d'oeuvres served. Free.
Juneteenth Pilgrimage Friday, June 19, 5:30PM A ceremony commemorating the end of slavery will take place. Refreshments will be served. Free.
Read it and Sleep: A Community Pajama Party Friday, June 19, 7:00pm The third Friday of every month, January through June, you are invited to join us for hot chocolate, cookies and a beautiful children's book read by a guest reader. Come in your pajamas, come with your family, come enjoy the wonder of reading and the sweetness of ending a long day with the magic of story-telling. Free.
Tierra Mestiza Saturday, June 20, 7:30PM Traditional melodies from the ‘golden era' of Latin American and Caribbean music using an array of native instruments, supported by brass and vocals. Free. Made possible thanks to the generosity of the Evelyn Preston Memorial Trust Fund.
Speak Easy: A Generational Poetry Slam Wednesday, June 24 6:30PM Generational poetry slam, a panorama of artistic performances and cultural/political dialogues. In partnership with Riverwood Poetry Festival and One Word CT. Free.
Fiesta Del Norte Wednesday, July 15 - 6:00pm Audience participation with singing, dancing, hand-clapping, maracashaking, and the joyful calls or ‘gritos' heard on every song. Put on your sombreros and celebrate Mexico with Fiesta del Norte ! Free. Made possible thanks to the generosity of the Evelyn Preston Memorial Trust Fund.
Instruments of Culture Dance Performance Totoro Thursdays, July 30 & August 6, 6:00PM Inspired by a 1988 Japanese anime film by Hayao Miyazaki. Choreographed by Olivia Davis, performed by students in our summer youth dance program, Instruments of Culture.
Michael Grady Gallery Opening: Odes to Solitude Thursday, August 6, 5:30PM Portraits that record essential truths and unexpected detail. Exhibit runs through September 5. Wine and hors d'oeuvres served. Free.
Department of Children and Families Gallery Opening: Heart Gallery, A Gallery of Waiting Hearts Thursday, August 20, 5:30PM Photographs of remarkable children in state care who need an adoptive family. Exhibit runs through September . Wine and hors d'oeuvres served. Free.
Val Ramos Flamenco Ensemble Saturday, August 22, 7:00PM One of the best Flamenco fusion groups in the country joined by a singer from Seville , Alfonso Cid, and a fabulous flamenco dancer, Julissa Cadenillas. Free. Made possible thanks to the generosity of the Evelyn Preston Memorial Trust Fund.
“The Mural as Mirror: Reflections on the Immigrant Experience,” enabled Hartford artists/activists, Carlos Hernandez Chavez and Marela Zacarias , to create 8' x 20' murals at the Charter Oak Cultural Center that illuminate the immigrant experience in the U.S., both past and present. Working on wood with tempera paints specially designed to endure the elements, they were given free reign to develop their own work based on their own experiences of immigration and their intimate knowledge of the struggles and challenges of the immigrant community of Hartford in 2009. Our goal was to create powerful art and vital conversation about this important issue that is, yet again, so prominent in our national discourse. Just as two colors next to each other on a pallet subtly change one another so, too, two artists working side by side and exhibiting their art in the same gallery adds a new dimension to their work. This is a particularly interesting juxtaposition. Both in terms of their gender and generation, Carlos Hernandez Chavez and Marela Zacarias are different from one another. On the other hand, both are of Mexican descent and both are activists, living and working in Greater Hartford. These contrasts and similarities make the work that much more interesting and provocative. See the artists work on the Murals on YouTube These magnificent murals are for sale. For more information, please call us at 860.249.1207 Made possible with a grant from the Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation.
Charter Oak is available for rental! Give us a call or email us for details 860.249.1207 abbey.willis@charteroakcenter.org
Our regular office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Our gallery hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please call first to schedule an appointment 860.249.1207.
Introduction to Kathak Movements Sundays starting January 17 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Students will learn to create and communicate meaning through this compelling dance form. Different hand gestures of classical Indian dances will be demonstrated and explored. Students will learn rhythmic footwork and will examine the different sounds made by a dancer's ankle bells. For more information, call 860.651.8727 or visit the Kathak website	Putting Down Roots in Hartford Monday through Friday, July 6 through August 7, 2009 9:00-12:00 pm An exciting summer youth gardening program for Hartford kids, ages 7-13. The program is free and kids will learn how to tend a garden, nurture plants and vegetables, and produce their own food. The food grown by program participants will be distributed to their families and neighbors. This program is made possible by a grant from the S.A. Johnson Family Fund and the B. Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.	Instruments of Culture A summer modern dance intensive June 29 through August 7, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Olivia Davis, Artistic director of Spectrum in Motion dance Theater Ensemble will provide a core group of 10 to 12 Greater Hartford Arts Council’s Neighborhood Studios teen apprentices with the leadership-building opportunity to be mentors for younger members of the 55 children in this summer program that culminates in an original production based on a children’s story. The Neighborhood Studios apprentices will be immersed in their own age-appropriate and level-appropriate studio work in dance, but also be part of a team that helps guide younger children. This summer’s production “Totoro” is inspired by a 1988 Japanese anime film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The story centers on the two young daughters of a professor and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan. While it addresses the concerns of the family due to the mother’s illness and relocation from the city to the countryside, it offers rich areas of creative exploration and lends itself well to casting the broad age range we have in the program. The student performance will take place on Thursday, July 30 at 6 p.m. The Apprentice Showcase will be on Thursday, August 6, also at 6. Apprentice applications are online at http://www.letsgoarts.org/Page.aspx?pid=241 The children’s application is available by emailing spectruminmotion@gmail.com. Cost per week per child is $110 with full financial assistance available.
You've Got Rhythm" - School of Percussion Mondays from 6:00pm to 8:30pm You ' ve Got Rhythm" - School of Percussion is open and welcoming new drummers every week! Every Monday night we are working on traditional Djembe rhythms, from West Africa or Conga rhythms from Cuba and Puerto Rico . This program is a collaborative effort among drummers with many years of experience to give beginners, novices and advanced percussionists an opportunity to learn in a group atmosphere. Drumming is fun and it is also a viable tool for wellness. Like any art form, the drums take effort to learn, time to understand, and years to master. We come together every Monday night to share lessons, techniques, and rhythms that we have learned on our journey with the drum. The drumming takes place at the Charter Oak Cultural Center. Donation requested. Drums can be borrowed, bought and repaired by members of the school. This program welcomes drop in ' s...Bring some friends and play some drums. $5-$8 suggested donation.
Coming Attractions Gallery Opening: Epic Change- Photography by Tim Llewellyn - 9/10 @ 5:30 pm Transfigurations - Transgressing Gender in the Bible- 9/11 @ 7:30 pm Stephen Haynes Music- 9/12 @ 8:00 pm Music: Tierra Mestiza+InfiniTango - 9/26 @ 7:30 pm For tickets to our events, call 860.249.1207 Event parking is available diagonally across the street at Betances School. There is also metered parking available on the street in front of the Cultural Center and on Prospect Street. Free spaces can be found further down Charter Oak Avenue and on Charter Oak Place.
About Us Charter Oak Cultural Center, housed in Connecticut ' s oldest synagogue building, is a non-profit, multi-cultural arts center committed to preserving the Jewish Heritage of our building, giving access to the arts to all people and doing the work of social justice. Charter Oak has long been an arts showcase for the region's ethnically and culturally diverse communities. We offer performances, exhibits, classes, two free after school programs for inner city youth, lectures and cultural programming that nourish the mind, soul, body and spirit of young and old alike. Our mission is to provide access to the arts for all.