Latin American and Caribbean Art & Life in Connecticut
MERGING CULTURES - Wed Feb 27, 2008
I will have work in this Exhibition. This is exciting for me considering that my family first moved to Waterbury. They then moved to Bristol were they were only one of two Puerto Rican Families in the 1950's. My grandmother, Carmen Marrero has very strong memories of the days in Waterbury. Those were difficult times.
MERGING CULTURES:
Latin American and Caribbean Art & Life in Connecticut
April 10 – August 10, 2008
The Mattatuck Museum will be presenting an exhibition and a series of public programs in the spring of 2008 that will explore how immigration affected the lives of Hispanic newcomers to the greater Waterbury region and how they viewed their assimilation into the community. The focus on ethnic heritage provides the themes of the project: Coming to Connecticut, Building Community, Social and Political Activism.
Merging Cultures is a narrative told by oral history, video, photography, text, paintings and installation sculpture and memorabilia. The exhibition is organized by independent curator, Ben Ortiz. The project will benefit from the input of historian Dr. Ruth Glasser, who will serve as advisor for the project
The project will consist of archives and narratives drawn from the Mattatuck Museum’s varied collections. It will include work by 14 visual artists (the artwork of each artist will be accompanied by wall text describing her/ his art as a reflection of intercultural identity). Oral histories collected by the Mattatuck Museum as part of its Neighborhood History Project are included as well as videos from the Museum’s archives, and music from the Museum’s Ethnic Music Project. The exhibition will build the immigrant story around the individual. More than 23,300 Hispanics live in Waterbury. Their stories and the stories of their families and friends will be told using the oral histories, photographs, art and music and literature in order to promote diversity and global awareness. This exhibition very much supports the Museum’s theme for 2008 that is linked to the opening of our new history exhibit, Coming Home: Building Community in a Changing World.
The Mattatuck Museum is distinctive in its long-time commitment to the region’s diverse audiences. It has collected oral histories and encouraged story-sharing in order to build communication and develop community.