Photographer is focus of projects

NORFOLK — In conjunction with its 2018 exhibition “’Artistic Taste and Marked Skill”: The Photography of Marie H. Kendall,” the Norfolk Historical Society is engaged in a number of exciting enterprises, according to a press release.

A trove of Kendall’s late 19th and early20th-century glass-plate negatives and black-and-white prints is being digitized, with support from the Norfolk Foundation and the Keroden Endowed Fund, a fund of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, Inc., and will be available on the NHS website by summer 2018. The high resolution of these scans allows for examination in precise detail, which will be a boon to historians, genealogists, and townspeople engaged in preserving the historic village center of Norfolk.

Along with the digitization project, the Historical Society is working with the Botelle School to engage students with the Kendall photographs, through writing, art, and social studies projects. This pilot program will serve as a prototype for furthering the connections between the Society and the school, giving students hands-on interactions with town history.

Also in the works this year is a beautiful, richly illustrated book about Kendall and her photographs, her broad range of skill, adventuresome spirit, and high level of artistry that was recognized at two international expositions. The hardbound book will feature a foreword by Naomi Rosenblum and essays by curator Ann Havemeyer and photographic historian Michaela Murphy. It will draw from the Society’s collection of Kendall photographs and glass negatives as well as albums she put together highlighting what she thought was her best work. A special subscriber’s edition is planned containing a gelatin silver print from an original Kendall negative by local photographer Michaela Murphy.

The highlight of the year’s programs will be the exhibition, which will feature Kendall’s detailed, carefully composed, and beautiful photographs of Norfolk in the mid-1880s through the 1910s. Also on view will be objects and information related to her technical processes and her commercial enterprises. Kendall photographed everything from pastoral scenes to town buildings, and school children to the epic blizzard of 1888 and ice storm of 1898. Natural beauties, the charms of country life, and the pleasures of a burgeoning resort community, are all documented in Kendall’s work. The exhibition will be at once a celebration of this intrepid female photographer and the town upon which she aimed her lens, leaving behind a rich scrapbook from a pivotal period in Norfolk’s history. The exhibition will be open free of charge from June 2 through Oct. 7, on Saturdays and Sundays 1-4 p.m., and by appointment.

Public programs relating to Marie Kendall’s photography will occur throughout the season. A members-only event will open the exhibition; be sure to join the Norfolk Historical Society so as to not miss a moment: http://norfolkhistoricalsociety.org/ membership/

VNA to hold cancer survivor celebration

SALISBURY — Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association (SVNA) is hosting the 3rd annual Cancer Survivor Celebration on Tuesday, June 5, to commemorate National Cancer Survivors Day. The celebration will provide an opportunity for survivors to connect with other survivors, inspire one another, celebrate milestones, and recognize those who have supported them along the way. Anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life – is a cancer survivor, according to the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation. In the United States alone, there are more than 15.5 million people living with a history of cancer. Major advances in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment have resulted in longer survival, and therefore, a growing number of cancer survivors.

This year’s Celebration of Life will be held at The Town Grove, 42 Ethan Allen Street, Lakeville, Tuesday, June 5, 5-7 p.m.

The celebration will include a variety of hors d’ oeuvres, wine & beer, a keynote speaker, live music, and raffle. All are welcome to attend the celebration, and to show support for the cancer survivors in our community. There will be a suggested $10 donation at the door that includes 4 raffle tickets. The celebration is provided free of charge to all survivors. To rsvp, please call Joanna Geiger at 860435-0816 or email jgeiger@salisburyvna.org.

Founded in 1904, the Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association is the oldest and most comprehensive home care, hospice and private care agency serving all of the Northwest Corner of Connecticut. The not-for-profit, state licensed and Medicare certified home health and hospice agency’s mission is to provide advanced, compassionate care at home and in the community. Serving: Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Goshen, Kent, Lakeville, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Taconic and Warren.

Italian classes begin in June

TORRINGTON — The Sullivan Senior Center, 88 East Albert St., Torrington, is offering the following Italian classes this summer:

Conversational Italian, Fridays, 9:15 -11:15 a.m., June 8-Aug. 10.

This 10-session course is designed to build vocabulary and conversation skills. The required text is Conversational Italian in 20 Lessons by Michael Cagno, ISBN 06-463603-8, out of print, available at amazon.com for under $10.00. This is not a beginner course. Fee for the course is $90 for seniors, $105 for others.

Basic Italian, Thursdays, 9:15 -11:15 a.m., June 28-Aug. 23.

This 9-session beginner class covers conversation, grammar, vocabulary, and culture. The required text is learn Italian the Fast and Fun Way by Marcel Danesi, available at Barnes and Noble and online. Fee for the course is $85 for seniors/ $100 for others.

Students may pay at the first class. The instructor for both courses is Dona Frauenhofer. For more information, call 860-4892211.

Library seeks art gallery submissions

LITCHFIELD — The Oliver Wolcott Library is accepting submission to show in the Library’s Jamie Gagarin Community Room & Gallery.

Submissions are due by June 30 and must include an artist bio, statement, and color copy or postcard representing the kind of work to be shown. All work must be original, by the submitting artist and for sale and acceptance is a juried selection by the OWL Cultural Committee. Contact Jordan McCorison at jmccorison@owlibrary.org or call 860-567-8030.