Drought continues
The signs of drought are obvious: sunny days without end, trees dropping leaves in summer, soil so dry it’s become dust and grass once soft and green now a hard brown thatch that crunches underfoot. Combined with this summer’s record-setting heat, the parched conditions in Connecticut are worrisome.
Local dancers, musicians and storytellers will get national attention Monday in a Connecticut episode of the Kennedy Center’s “Arts Across America” series.
The episode premieres Sept. 28 at 4 p.m., and will remain online after that initial airing.
“Arts Across America” is a monthlong online series of 20 episodes, each devoted to a separate state, region or community. According to a the show’s promotional materials, it focuses on “diverse, visionary artists who play leadership roles in their communities, exemplify unique regional artistic styles, and are using their medium as a tool for advocacy and social justice.”
The Autorino Center for the Arts and Humanities at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford and New Haven’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas are co-curating the show, with each organization taking charge of half.
Autorino Center director Steve Raider-Ginsburg calls the opportunity “a virtual stage where we can share the work of some important Connecticut artists.”
In its half hour, the Autorino Center is showcasing two projects it has helped develop: excerpts from the social-action themed “Human Be-In” by Jolet “Flo Jo” Creary’s Hartford-based hip-hop troupe 860 MVMNT, which will premiere in December at the center; and Abdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad’s “Fatherhood Manologues,” the parenting-themed storytelling event created by the Manhood Tree.
Arts & Idea’s section of the “Arts Across America” webcast is called
“Celebrating New Haven” and features five notable jazz/soul musicians: keyboardist/producer Chris “Big Dog” Davis (who was born in Waterbury), Bridgeport-based vocalist Aleecya Foreman, popular bandleader Rahsaan Langley, and New Haven guitar legend Rohn Lawrence.
“Arts Across America” is produced by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in partnership with Facebook. It airs daily on Facebook Live, YouTube and on the Kennedy Center website, kennedycenter.org.