4:00 P.M.

CONCORA members past and present come together for a gala concert of diverse music from the professional choir's 35-year history, from Duke Ellington to Sergei Rachmaninoff! Special appearances by the quartet CONCORA-to-Go and founding accompanist Larry Allen, and a post-concert reception. Conducted by Artistic Director Richard Coffey.
“Anniversary Angels” are invited to a private reception with the artists on Saturday, Nov. 21. For tickets, call (860) 224-7500 or order online at www.concora.org.

A Veterans Memorial Garden is an installation created by Connecticut artist Noelle Carr to honor American Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the global war on terror. "My intent is to express gratitude to our troops and their families and remember all of the men and women who have served in America's Armed Forces, especially our fallen heroes," said Ms. Carr.

A Veterans Memorial Garden  will include an A Million Thanks receptacle for visitors to leave their own letters of thanks to the troops that will be sent at the close of the exhibit. A portion of proceeds from the exhibit will be donated to Wounded Warrior Project.

Since 1901, Nobel prizes have become the most prestigious international recognition of achievement. They are earned by a broadly international register of scientists, activists, and authors. This salon will selected readings from the works of recent Nobel Laureates together with a discussion of the criteria for establishing Nobel’s ideal of the “greatest benefit [to] mankind,” as it relates to literature.

10:00am – 4:30pm Daily; Sunday, 12:00pm-4:30pm

10:00am – 4:30pm Daily; Sunday, 12:00pm-4:30pm

10:00am – 4:30pm Daily; Sunday, 12:00pm-4:30pm

10:00am – 4:30pm Daily; Sunday, 12:00pm-4:30pm

The works in this exhibition reflect the visions of Swedish women who broke from their traditional roles of women, mothers and homemakers to explore their creativity as textile designers, weavers, painters, sculptors and glass artists. Their art resonates with dream-like images of free-flying birds evoking flight and escape from domestic confinement, year-round idyllic visions of midsummer blossoms, and spare Nordic landscapes filled with greenery, water, space, and light.  

Women's Work, Women's Dreams celebrates a remarkable legacy from a country whose art and artists are little known to American viewers.  The Benton Museum is grateful to Samuel and Ann Charters for sharing their extraordinary collection of Swedish Art and Art Glass and for curating this exhibit.

Gallery Hours: 

Thursday & Friday: 10 am - 4:30 pm

Saturday & Sunday: 1 - 4:30 pm

The Benton will be closed:

November 23 - December 2

Three decades of wars have deeply marked the entire culture of Afghanistan, yet artistic expression, particularly through carpets, has been maintained in spite of hardships including displacement to refugee camps.  

In traditional Afghan carpet-weaving, patterns tended to be geometric or floral, reflecting the Islamic rejection of anthropomorphic depictions.  However, by the mid-1980s, in response to the 1979 Soviet Invasion, Afghani weavers, principally women, were creating carpets that showed Russian tanks, helicopters and guns.  The subtle geometric borders often contained rows of bullets and grenades.  Most recently, these "war carpets" have included references to the American conflict and even to 9/11.  Although many of the carpets have Arabic or Persian woven into their designs, the Afghani who created them found a market for these rugs in the West.  In part this may be presumed anti-war sentiments but also, while the rugs are generally traditional in design and relatively inexpensive, they are nonetheless a contemporary artistic expression of a century old craft.  

In this exhibition of over fifty contemporary Afghan carpets showing both war and traditional designs, the rugs offer a commentary on modern Afghan history and, in their maintenance of a vibrant tradition, a measure of hope for the future.

Gallery Hours:

Thursday & Friday: 10 am-4:30 pm

Saturday & Sunday: 1-4:30 pm

The Benton will be closed:

November 23-December 2

The venerable Talich String Quartet from Prague, Czech Republic, will perform in concert at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, Newtown, on Sunday November 22 at 3:00 pm.  On the program are string quartets by Mendelssohn, Benjamin Yusupov and Dmitri Shostakovich. Reception to meet the artists follows the concert.  Children are welcome for free when accompanied by ticket-holding adult.

David Koch, an instructor of history at Housatonic Community College, returns to the Trumbull Library to speak on Charles Darwin and the publication of his controversial book "Origin of Species." This talk will center on the intense controversy that surrounds Darwin and the Theory of Evolution.
      This year marks the150th anniversary of the publication of “Origin of Species” and the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth. Darwin was an English naturalist, who was responsible for the theories of natural selection and evolution.
      Please reserve your seat online at www.trumbullct-library.org or by contacting the Main Library at 203-452-5197.

Opening Reception 2PM-4PM.

26^th Print Triennial, a juried competition/exhibition featuring the finest contemporary prints by established and emerging . To present a show that is in tune with the ever increasing global nature of the contemporary art world, this year Print Americas has expanded its scope to include entries from Canada, Latin America as well as throughout the United States. This year’s juror is Jacob Lewis, Director of Pace Prints in the Chelsea section of New York City. 

26^th Print Triennial, a juried competition/exhibition featuring the finest contemporary prints by established and emerging . To present a show that is in tune with the ever increasing global nature of the contemporary art world, this year Print Americas has expanded its scope to include entries from Canada, Latin America as well as throughout the United States. This year’s juror is Jacob Lewis, Director of Pace Prints in the Chelsea section of New York City. 

Solve infectious disease mysteries by examining interactive patients, analyzing lab tests and identifying culprit microbes. Running Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. through Jan. 31.

Hartford Public Library Exhibit

The American Mural Project (AMP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the creation of the largest indoor collaborative artwork in the world – a mural 120 feet long, 5 stories high, and up to 10 feet deep. Over 10,000 people have worked on it since artist Ellen Griesedieck conceived of it ten years ago. This exhibition at Hartford Public Library will feature some of the finished pieces of the mural, as well as a scale model and plans for elements in progress. Visitors will also have the chance to work on an eight-foot paper-pulp sculpture, one of many AMP is now sending across the country to be painted before their eventual installation in the mural. Throughout the month of the exhibit, AMP will also be coordinating projects with kids from local schools, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Hartford Stage, and other arts organizations around the city.

The Artist’s Vision

In the American Mural Project, Ellen Griesedieck celebrates the engineers and ironworkers, heart surgeons and athletes, cattle workers and craftsmen, and many others who have defined our nation through their work. Ellen paints on a large scale but with an intimate relationship to each of her subjects.

To make the mural as large in spirit as it is in size, Ellen asked people in all 50 states to contribute. Thousands of artists, scientists, teachers and children from coast to coast have responded. Children have worked together with remarkable people, including the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, an inner-city dance troupe, scientists of the 2003 Mars Explorer Rover Mission, survivors of a Japanese-American internment camp, and an intergenerational foster-home community.

About one quarter of the mural is finished. Collaborative projects are in progress around the country, and work on the mural’s new home, in the Whiting Mills complex in Winsted, CT, is about to begin. With soaring ceilings, open floor plans, and long rows of windows, this 19^th century complex of mills and warehouses is an ideal setting for a monumental mural about working Americans. The future includes a visitor’s center with spaces for a theater, studios, and classrooms, as well as a woodland park for outdoor summer concerts and special events.

Hayrides are available every WEEKEND in November as well as SCHOOL holidays. Rides begin at the W.O.L.F. Cabin and are $2.00 each.

Hunt Hill Farm invites you to “A Home Town Holiday” at The Silo Gallery, the theme of this year’s 37^th annual Christmas tree beginning Saturday November 7^th, at 44 Upland Road, New Milford, CT.  View the 27 ft. towering tree decorated with hand-crafted wooden ornaments by folk artist Joy Gaiser.  Adorning the tree are 21 well-known New Milford buildings, over 40 snow-capped pine trees and a moon with the silhouette of Santa and his eight reindeer at the top.  Gaiser’s garland of festive picket fences and snowflakes made by 4^th graders at Sarah Noble Intermediate School add the finishing touches to this spectacular tree!  The New Talent Gallery will feature artist Diana Luscombe for a second year, displaying her “Healing Strokes” paintings and a new line of note cards.  Silo tastings from The Silo Cooking School will be served throughout the exhibit’s opening day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Joy Gaiser and her father started “Handmade by Dad and Me” in 1985 consisting mostly of Christmas ornaments, wooden jewelry, birdhouses, home decorations and historic buildings of New Milford.  After her father passed away in 1997, Joy’s husband John took over the task of cutting the wood, formerly her father’s job, so the business could continue and renamed it “Dad and Me Too”.  The husband and wife team with the help of their daughter and Joy's sister worked over a year to complete the ornaments in time for this year’s show.  Over 200 additional ornaments and decorations made by the artist will be for sale in The New Talent Gallery.

Diana Luscombe’s acrylic paintings continue to be inspired by scenes from nature.  Her study on birds has progressed with more sensitivity to detail compared with last year's paintings which were derived primarily from memory and imagination.  After a serious car accident over two years ago resulted in Diana being paralyzed, painting became an emotional release for her.  She is having fun with her new endeavor and is amazed at what flows from her paintbrush!  Prior to the accident, being an artist had never crossed her mind.  The gift of painting, Diana says is “an emotional and spiritual place for me to heal and let go because it’s peaceful.”   It also is much needed “me time” for the painter who is married with two young children, all who are extremely supportive of her efforts.  “Hannah is my biggest fan!  With Cole, I just have to keep his fingers out of the paint!”  Donations from her “Healing Strokes” exhibit will go towards a handicap accessible van for Diana.

This holiday season, plan on spending some extra time on the farm to see all that The Henderson Cultural Center has to offer.  Find your traditional Silo favorites like Marzipan Stolen and Holly Berry Wreaths under the tree.  View a slice of Skitch’s life touring The Skitch Henderson Museum.  Stop by The Silo Cooking School to register for a holiday cooking class including; Gingerbread House Making, Rick Rodgers’ Thanksgiving Bash, Christmas Cookie Workshops for all ages and more!  A Home Town Holiday is free and open to the public.  Hunt Hill Farm hours are Wed. through Sat., 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday’s noon to 5 p.m.  For more information, please call Valerie Culbertson, Silo Gallery Director at (860) 355-0300 or visit their website www.hunthillfarmtrust.org. 

Stanwyck Cromwell

Journey (2):  A Renewed Consciousness

Downtown Library, 3rd Floor

November 6, 2009-January 15, 2010

Artist Reception November 6, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

The American Mural Project will create the single largest piece of indoor collaborative artwork in the country.  A mixed-media painting and relief sculpture, it will ultimately be housed in the Whiting Mills Complex in Winsted, CT and measure 120 feet long, 5 stories high, and up to 10 feet deep. This exhibition features some of the huge finished pieces of the mural, a scale model, drawings and plans for elements in progress, and an eight-foot sculptural element.

Downtown Library

October 26-November 29, 2009

Artist Reception Friday, November 13, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

The Bowl-A-Thon is a sale of handmade pottery bowls and mugs made for the event by Creative Arts Workshop studio potters, faculty, students and friends. Bowls and mugs come full of hearty soup with bread on the side, donated by local merchants. All proceeds benefit the Community Soup Kitchen.

Exhibition tour of Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill at 2pm

Back by popular demand after last year's packed event, organists from the East End of Long Island are getting together in a free public "Thanks-Giving" Concert showcasing the historic Estey pipe organ at the Cutchogue Methodist Church, Main Rd.-Rte. 25, Cutchogue, NY at 4 PM, Sunday, November 22, 2009.  The organ, which is under restoration by the Foley-Baker Company in CT, is unusual in that it uses all reedless pipes and Haskell-patent double-base pipes which permit installation of tall pipes in limited space.  A free-will offering will be collected to support the ongoing restoration of the organ.  Everyone is invited to hear this unique instrument and East End treasure.

WEST HARTFORD, CT – Join us for a musical and artistic afternoon with Steinway pianist Ann Sweeten, who will bring her signature sound to The Bruyette Athenaeum’s Hoffman Auditorium on Saint Joseph College’s West Hartford campus on Sunday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m. Guided Art Gallery tours of the latest exhibition will be offered prior to a one-hour concert by Ms. Sweeten. The showcase concert will be followed by a complimentary meet and greet reception with the artist. Advance Tickets: $25 (adults), $20 (senior citizens), $12 (children); Day of Performance: $30 (adults), $25 (senior citizens), $17 (children); reserved seating. For more information, please call the Frances Driscoll Box Office at 860.231.5555 or visit us online at www.sjc.edu/arts.

Contemporary Pianist/Composer, Ann Sweeten, has crafted a signature sound over the course of eight chart-topping albums and two Italian compilation albums over the past 13 years of her professional recording career. Often placed in the New Age genre, her style is decidedly unique, embracing not only the classical realm, but aspects of jazz, film scoring, and popular music. Ms. Sweeten's music has aired and been reviewed across the world to wide critical acclaim. Her musical talents have been showcased on albums beginning with her 1997 debut, “Prism” which was followed by: “Passage,” “Christmas Presence,” “Reflections,” “Sapphire Days,” “A Place in the Sun,” and “Grey Sky and Bittersweet.” Ms. Sweeten’s newest album, “Just this Side of Spring,” will be released in February, 2010.

A truly well-rounded individual and artist, Ms. Sweeten is a staunch environmentalist, animal activist and vegetarian. In addition to her concert and recording career, she is also a professional actress and singer with Actors’ Equity Association. A trained ballet dancer, she earned a degree in foreign languages from Smith College, (B.A., Cum Laude), studied in Paris and later at the Boston Conservatory. Ms. Sweeten is a breast cancer survivor and is involved with the Arts in Healthcare Initiative.

The Greater Middletown Chorale is honored to present two world premieres by Connecticut composers in its upcoming fall concert, billed as a tribute to living American composers.  Artistic Director Joseph D'Eugenio has created a program to showcase recently composed works by New England artists with compelling texts.  Hartford composer Peter Niedmann's premiere, "Come, Let Us Sound with Melody!" will provide a rousing start to the concert.  "One Loves" by Sarah Meneely-Kyder of New London will also premiere.  Accomplished Connecticut soloists soprano Adele Paxton and mezzo-soprano Margaret Tyler will perform Meneely-Kyder's "I Have Read You Like a Book" and the Chorale will perform her "I Do".  Vermont composer Gwyneth Walker's suite "Songs to the Lord of Peace", based on the writing of Thomas Merton, displays the lush harmonies and word-painting that characterize her unique compositional style.  Commemorating the recent anniversary of the death of Matthew Shephard, the acclaimed youth theater of the Middletown Oddfellows Playhouse will perform a scene from "The Laramie Project" followed by a Chorale performance of David Conte's "Elegy for Matthew".  Accompanist Allan Conway will perform two Dave Brubeck pieces.  In the spring of 2010 the Chorale will present Felix Mendelssohn's masterpiece orato "Elijah", and this concert will feature two Elijah solos as a prequel to that event.  There is something for everyone in this concert.  This is the year to come and see us.  Please join us as we celebrate New England.

Contemporary American composers will be featured in Greater Middletown Chorale’s fall concert on November 21 and 22, with world premiere performances of works by Connecticut composers Peter Niedmann and Sarah Meneely-Kyder. Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio has created a program to showcase recently composed works by New England artists with compelling texts. Hartford area composer Peter Niedmann’s “Come, Let us Sound with Melody!” provides the title for the show and a rousing start to the concert.

Imagine if "NYPD Blue" had been written 60 years ago. Beginning November 20, Hole in the Wall Theater in New Britain presents the prototype of the modern cop drama, Sidney Kingsley's "Detective Story." "Detective Story" chronicles one steamy summer night in the lives of detectives at Manhattan's 21st Precinct in 1949. Amid cases small and large, Detective James McLeod confronts his own self-righteous ideas of good and evil as a steady parade of criminals both naive and dangerous come through the Precinct. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, November 20 through December 19, at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays, December 6 and 13, at 2:00 p.m. Hole in the Wall Theater is located at 116 Main Street, New Britain. Admission is by a $20 suggested donation. Please call 860.229.3049 for reservations, and visit www.hitw.org for further information.

The Chorale will present a variety of festive music accompanied by Brass Ensemble and Steel Drums. Featured work is "A Christmas Cantata" by K. Lee Scott, plus spritials, multi-cultural numbers, gospel, lullabies and medley of carols and other selections.

 Hartford — The Clare Gallery is pleased to present A Prophet’s Ink: Drawings by Brian Kavanagh, Catholic Worker Artist. The exhibition is free and open to the public and extends from November 19, 2009 to January 26, 2010. A reception and panel discussion will be held on Tuesday, January 26th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The panel will include the artist Brian Kavanagh; his agent Stephen Kobasa, writer on the arts for the New Haven Advocate, New Haven Independent, and Big, Red and Shiny: An Arts Web Journal;Jackie Allen-Doucot, activist and artist, of the Hartford Catholic Worker; and Father John Baptist Pesce, C.P., Passionist priest from Holy Family Monastery.

For over fourteen years Brian Kavanagh’s work has graced the pages of the Hartford Catholic Worker newsletter, reflecting the tradition of Christian pacifism and solidarity with the poor. Therefore, his artwork feels right at home in the communal meditative environment of the Clare Gallery at the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry. The small drawings, artwork from 1997 to the present, are graphic in style referencing a woodcut texture. Themes of outrage, sorrow and hope are powerfully visible throughout the series.

The Clare Gallery primarily features exhibitions that emphasize world religions or interfaith themes, as well as social justice themes, on either a global or local level. The Gallery is housed in the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry at 285 Church Street. The Center is part of St. Patrick – St. Anthony Church, a vibrant and active downtown faith community.  

The Clare Gallery’s hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The Gallery and all related events are free and open to the public. Free parking is available directly across from the church, and the facility is handicapped accessible. More information may be found at www.spsact.org, click “Community Life” and then “Clare Gallery

This exhibit is ONGOING through Feb. 27, 2010. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday noon to 5 p.m.

The New Haven Museum announces the opening of a new exhibit, “East Shore Reflections,” a shining review of this neighborhood’s evolution from agrarian farm area, to seaside resort, to modern day family enclave and residential setting.