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NEWS
from
Central Connecticut State University
Honored as a "Leadership Institution" by the Association of
American Colleges & Universities
Media contact:
Bart Fisher,
Associate
Director of
Marketing and Communications
(860) 832-1624;
Fisherb@ccsu.edu
Free Program at New Britain Museum of American Art Features
Tapestry of Cultural Performances by CCSU Students, Faculty
NEW BRITAIN (October 30, 2007) -
Thomas Hart Benton’s 1932 mural, “Arts of Life in America,”
served as inspiration for a project that will bring Central
Connecticut State University and the New Britain Museum of
American Art closer together. Among the results of the
University, Museum, Community Collaboration (UMC) will be a
program that includes singing. dancing, poetry reading,
theatric performances and photography. The event is
scheduled for November 1 at the Museum, 56 Lexington Street.
Created by CCSU students and faculty members and open to the
public without charge, the event is titled “A Night at the
Museum. Seeking to share traditions that connect CCSU, the
NBMAA and the city of New Britain, this is the first in a
series of similar events that celebrate the diversity of
cultures and visions on the CCSU campus in different media.
The inaugural program will be held from 5-7:30 p.m. Light
refreshments will be served. To kick-off the event, there
will be a “Mural Bus Tour” that begins at 2 p.m. and leads
directly into the “Night at the Museum.”
According to Dr. Karen Ritzenhoff, an associate professor in
the Communication department at CCSU and a member of the
planning committee, the initiative began when CCSU provost
and vice president for academic affairs Dr. Carl Lovitt
called a committee to work as a liaison with the New Britain
Museum of American Art.
“We gladly took on this task and it has blossomed over the
past nine months into a creative showcase for our students’
work,” Ritzenhoff said. “Our students have an amazing
creative energy and this event gives them the opportunity to
shine.”
CCSU students have completed projects that bring to life
Benton’s mural that focuses on the United States in the
1930’s as well as other murals. This includes entries from
the “Student Arts Creative Competition,” where students were
asked to chose a figure of vignette from “Arts of Life in
America,” envision themselves as that person in the 1930’s
and express that vision in words, visual images or music.
The students involved will exhibit their talents using art,
poetry, video, journalistic writing, performance, theater,
music and multimedia.
“CCSU students have risen to the
challenge, providing us with unexpected insights into
America’s present state of mind and their updated ‘Arts of
Life in America 2007,’ said Dr. Elizabeth Langhorne, a
professor of art history and a member of the planning
committee.
In addition to the students’ work from many different
departments, two community groups will also perform during
the event: The “Hot Stixx”, a drum-line under the direction
of Lisa Prokop from Jefferson Elementary School in New
Britain and members of the New Britain “Boys and Girls
Club,” directed by Lisa Velasquez.
Other performers will include university singers and the
CCSU jazz ensemble, which will open the event with a
performance during the reception.
Preceding “Night at the Museum” will be the “Mural Bus Tour”
that has been designed and organized by Langhorne and Dr.
Briann Greenfield, an associate professor in the History
department and director of the Public History program.
“The Mural Bus Tour will showcase the way in which murals on
our campus resonate with murals in downtown New Britain and
the Thomas Benton Murals at the New Britain Museum of
American Art,” said Ritzenhoff.
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