THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS CELEBRATES FREEDOM’S JOURNEY IN STATEWIDE CULTURE AND HERITAGE INITIATIVE WITH EVENTS LEADING UP TO AND PART OF FESTIVAL 201

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THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS
CELEBRATES FREEDOM’S JOURNEY
IN STATEWIDE CULTURE AND HERITAGE INITIATIVE
WITH EVENTS LEADING UP TO AND PART OF FESTIVAL 2012
 
Initiative includes statewide events and partnerships,
as well as a curriculum guide and poetry contest
for Connecticut schools
 
At a launch event held at the foot of the Prudence Crandall Statue in the State Capitol Building in Hartford, International Festival of Arts & Ideas Executive Director Mary Lou Aleskie today announced the events celebrating Freedom’s Journey leading up to and part of Festival 2012.
 
The event at the Capitol was hosted by Senator Toni Harp, and included remarks by Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Cultural Affairs Kip Bergstrom, readings by poets Bessy Reyna and Kate Rushin, and a presentation by Connecticut school students.
 
Freedom’s Journey underscores the rich history and cultural resources of the state of Connecticut.  Through the incredible network of partner organizations, local artists, and the Festival’s international visitors, Freedom’s Journey highlights the statewide impact and importance of our shared Connecticut history.
 
Freedom’s Journey will include performances, activities, and walking tours at treasured cultural organizations throughout the state.  These events lead up to and include headliners at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in June 2012.  Previously announced Festival headliners include SING THE TRUTH! with acclaimed singers Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, and Lizz Wright, as well as lectures and conversations with civil rights activist Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette and artist Winfred Rembert. The complete listing of Freedom’s Journey events follows.
 
The initiative also, significantly, includes a Curriculum and Resource Guide for Connecticut schools, and the Sing Your Truth! poetry contest for Connecticut school children, designed to engage students in the study and celebration of shared Connecticut heritage.
 
STATEWIDE EVENTS
Freedom’s Journey: A Celebration of Heritage & Art
AME Zion Church, Middletown, CT
Saturday May 5, 2PM
An afternoon celebration of poetry, music and dance at the historic AME Zion Church in Middletown, featuring Connecticut poets Bessy Reyna and Kate Rushin and dancer Jennifer Newman.  Reyna and Rushin will read the works they created as part of the Festival's 2011 Freedom’s Journey series.  Newman will perform a new work-in-process that explores history, memory and ancestry through the multiple realities, inspired by FSA photographs of her great aunt Geneva Varner Clark.  Newman happened upon these personal photographs while doing research for a graduate school project in the archives of the Library of Congress.
 
The Cross Street A.M.E. Zion Church originated in 1823, under the leadership of Reverend Jehiel Beman. The church became known as the Freedom Church for its abolitionist activity, its goal was not only to bring an end to slavery, but also to improve the condition of free African Americans. The church continued to be a community leader during the Civil Rights movement of the late 1950s and 60s: the congregation participated in protest marches and was witness to numerous visits and speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Freedom’s Journey: The Prudence Crandall Story in Poetry & Dance
Prudence Crandall Museum, Canterbury, CT
Saturday May 12, 2PM
Schoolteacher Prudence Crandall braved intense criticism and controversy when she began teaching African-American girls alongside white schoolchildren at her Canterbury, Connecticut schoolhouse in 1831.  She created what is widely considered the first integrated classroom in the United States. 
 
This event celebrates Crandall’s bravery and legacy through poetry and dance:  2012 Frost medal-winner and former Connecticut Poet Laureate Marilyn Nelson and poets Bessy Reyna and Kate Rushin will read selections from Nelson’s collaboration with Elizabeth Alexander, Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color. The book of sonnets recreates the remarkable story of Prudence Crandall's school and the bold young women who dared to attend Miss Crandall's classes.  The afternoon also includes an outdoor dance performance by Deborah Goffe, founder and Artistic Director of Scapegoat Garden, a collaborative dance theater based in Hartford, Connecticut.
 
PARTNER EVENTS FROM AROUND THE STATE
 
Sunken Garden Poetry Festival
At the Hill-Stead Museum
35 Mountain Road, Farmington, CT 06032
 
June 1 – 4:30pm
 
As part of the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival in Farmington, poet Bessy Reyna will read her poem Freedom Journeys in Four Voices (commissioned by the Festival in 2011), with Kate Rushin and Susan Holmes.
 
Amistad Center for Art & Culture Photography Exhibition
New Haven Free Public Library
133 Elm Street, New Haven
 
June 15-30
 
An ongoing exhibit of photographs from the Amistad Center’s collection of pioneering African-American singers in conjunction with the New Haven Free Public Library’s 125th Anniversary.
 
AT THE FESTIVAL: PERFORMANCES
Sing the Truth! Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves & Lizz Wright
Continue the Legacies of Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln & Odetta
New Haven Green – FREE!
Saturday June 16, 7:30PM
This performance on the New Haven Green opens Festival 2012 with style: Sing the Truth! is a dazzling evening of song that honors the music and spirit of great women of jazz, folk, R&B, gospel and the blues. Three of today’s most popular and acclaimed female vocalists, Angélique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, and Lizz Wright continue the legacies of recently departed legends Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln, and Odetta by performing songs by these and other great women of music, ranging from Billie Holiday to Lauryn Hill, along with selections of their own original songs. 
 
AT THE FESTIVAL: IDEAS PROGRAMS
Sing the Truth: Reflections on Justice and Freedom’s Journey
Yale University Art Gallery
111 Chapel Street, New Haven
Saturday June 23, 3:00PM
Our Festival opening night concert, Sing the Truth!, gives voice to the legacy of the civil rights journey here in Connecticut—in this Ideas program, several figures important to that journey in Connecticut share thoughts and reflections.  Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr., a civil rights activist and an authority on nonviolent social change, will give a keynote address and share his journey with Judge Constance Baker Motley.  
 
Sing the Truth: Reflections on Art and Freedom’s Journey
Yale University Art Gallery
1111 Chapel Street, New Haven
Sunday June 24, 3:00PM
Explore the links from the civil rights era to the present, and understand the cultural and artistic context that informs the practice and journey of New Haven’s own Winfred Rembert: The program will begin with the screening of the documentary film All Me: The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert, followed by discussion with Rembert moderated by Yale University Art Gallery director Jock Reynolds.
 
AT THE FESTIVAL: TOURS
 
Little Red Brick School House Museum
Prince Hall Masonic Temple (formerly New Goffe Street School) Walking Tour
106 Goffe Street, New Haven
Sunday, June 17, 2:30PM (2.5 hours)
 
Tour led by Anne Robinson and author David A. Taylor.
 
Farmington Canal Heritage Trail: A Walk into the Political Ecology of the Trail in Newhallville
Newhallville at Division Street, New Haven
Tuesday, June 19, 1:00PM (1 hour)
 
Learn about the settlement of this historic African-American neighborhood and the influence of the Winchester Arms Factory on social and labor relations, and environmental affairs.
 
In the Footsteps of Constance Baker Motley Walking Tour
Corner of Day and Edgewood Street, New Haven
Thursday, June 21, 2:30PM (1 hour)
Traditional Ethnic Celebrations Exhibition
Ethnic Heritage Center at Southern Connecticut State University
270 Fitch Street, New Haven
Sunday, June 24th, 4:30PM
 
Tour and explore some of the cultural traditions of Irish, Italian, Jewish, Ukrainian and African Americans that are on display in this exhibit.
 
Amistad Cultural Heritage Walking Tour
Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church
217 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven
Thursday, June 28, 4:00PM (1 hour)

Walking Tour of the Grove Street Cemetery
Egyptian Revival Gate
227 Grove Street, New Haven
Thursday, June 28, 1:30PM (1 hour)

Discover the history of New Haven in this walking tour of the oldest incorporated cemetery in the United States. The tour will highlight influential African-Americans buried in New Haven’s famous burial site.
 
Martin Luther King Photography Exhibit Walking Tour
Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (CONNCAT)
4 Science Park, New Haven
Friday, June 29, 2:00PM (1 hour)
 
CURRICULUM MATERIALS
Opening night of the 2012 International Festival of Arts & Ideas will be a performance by SING THE TRUTH!—Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, and Lizz Wright—that honors the music and spirit of great women in jazz, folk, R&B, gospel, and the blues. This event, and countless others at the Festival, celebrate actions toward justice.
In this spirit, the Festival has assembled a Resource Guide to explore the lives of two pioneering Connecticut women who 'sang' the truth: opera giant Marian Anderson and Connecticut state heroine Prudence Crandall. Through their actions, these women made great strides toward justice in their times, and continue to inspire. We hope students will reflect, and create, and be inspired to find their own voice of justice and change.
Produced with materials curated and provided by The New Yorker and The Metropolitan Opera.
A copy of our Curriculum Guide may be downloaded at http://www.artidea.org/educational-resources.
 
SING YOUR TRUTH! POETRY CONTEST
Connecticut school students grade 6 through 12 are invited to enter the Festival’s poetry contest to write about people who inspired THEM to sing the truth! 
To enter, students write their own poem, song, or creative expression about someone who 'sang the truth' and inspired them: through their work, their life, their actions, or their example. It could be a teacher, your brother, your favorite musician or even one of women in the Curriculum Guide.
Winning poets selected through this contest will be invited to read their work as part of Festival events held across Connecticut. They will also be invited, along with two members of their family and their teacher or mentor, to be guests of the Festival at the SING THE TRUTH Concert and VIP reception on June 16th, 2012.
Contest Details:
  • Who is Eligible: All Connecticut Students in Grades 6 through 12
  • Deadline: April 27, 2012
  • Send To: ldonius@artidea.org, or Sing Your Truth, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, 195 Church Street 12th fl, New Haven, CT 06510
  • Please type all entries and include the following information: parent/guardian name, student name, grade, school, email address and phone number
Questions? Contact Elizabeth Donius, ldonius@artidea.org or (203) 498-3750.
Information online at http://www.artidea.org/educational-resources.
 
FREEDOM’S JOURNEY PARTNERS
 
Amistad Center for Arts & Culture
Amistad Committee, Inc.
Connecticut Library Consortium
Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame
Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School
Cross Street AME Zion Church
Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology
Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office
Ethnic Heritage Center
Farmington Canal Heritage Trail
Friends of Grove Street Cemetery
Greater New Haven Labor History Association
HOT Schools Initiative
Little Red Brick School House
The Metropolitan Opera
New Haven Free Public Library
New Haven Preservation Trust
The New Yorker
Prudence Crandall Museum
Sunken Garden Poetry Festival
Yale High School Programs
Yale University
 
 
OTHER RELATED PROGRAMS AT THE FESTIVAL
The Radio Show
Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion
Iseman Theater, 1156 Chapel Street, New Haven
June 19-23
Kyle Abraham and his 7-member company Abraham.In.Motion dance with a highly engaging, larger-than- life style that combines influences from hip-hop to ballet.  In The Radio Show, the closure of the urban Pittsburgh radio station that Abraham grew up listening to—and the attendant loss of a musical voice in the community—sets the stage for an exploration of cultural identity, personal history, and the heartbeat of a neighborhood.
Carolina Chocolate Drops
New Haven Green – FREE!
Saturday, June 23
A rollicking concert for a Saturday night on the New Haven Green: The Grammy- nominated Carolina Chocolate Drops are the newest and youngest players in a long line of black string bands. Rolling Stone Magazine says, “The Carolina Chocolate Drops are...revisiting, with a joyful vengeance, black string-band and jug band music of the ’20s and ’30s—the dirt- floor dance electricity of the Missippi sheiks and Cannon’s Jug stompers.”
Rosanne Cash
New Haven Green – FREE!
Saturday, June 30
Rosanne Cash is an icon of country rock whose earthy sound is both magical and real: it is gritty and powerful, yet intimate and honest. She has recorded eleven No. 1 singles, blurring the lines between country, rock, roots, and pop.  Her performance of her recent album The List—which will be presented in the open air on the closing night of the Festival—shows her considerable talent and appeal. The List is a deeply personal album: a peaen to her father, Johnny Cash.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS
 
Since its founding in 1996, the International Festival of Arts & Ideas has presented more than 15,000 artists and thinkers in 5,000 events, celebrations, explorations, forums, exhibitions, debates, presentations and more at its annual Festival in June. The Festival plays host to more than 100,000 people each year, and takes place in more than two dozen venues in and around New Haven, Connecticut, including theaters, concert halls, courtyards and the streets. More than 75 countries have been represented since the Festival’s inception.  In addition to its annual event, the Festival presents a number of community events and education efforts throughout the year, including Unsilent Night during the holidays, and the Visionary Leadership Award in the autumn.
 
The 2012 Festival will take place from June 16 to 30, 2012.
 
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