Contact: Erik Clemons
Phone: (203)823-9823
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 A.M. EDT, September 17, 2012
CONNCAT Reception To Honor Renowned MLK Photographer
NEW HAVEN, CT (September 17, 2012): The Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (CONNCAT) will host a reception for celebrated photographer Benedict J. Fernandez in its Science Park facility at 6:00 p.m. on September 27, 2012. The reception highlights Fernandez’s “Countdown to Eternity” collection, an intimate chronicle of the last year of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life. The event is open to the public and RSVPs are requested.
Donations are suggested and will benefit CONNCAT programs.
From 1967 through Dr. King’s death in 1968, Fernandez traveled with the civil rights leader, photographing both public and personal experiences. The resulting images provide a unique look into the King home and daily life, while chronicling Dr. King’s work in civil rights, the mourning of his 1968 assassination, and the joy and struggle associated with a time of extraordinary change in U.S. history.
The collection is displayed at CONNCAT, on loan from Manchester Bidwell founder Bill Strickland to celebrate the Center’s opening.
“We are honored to have Ben’s collection at CONNCAT and to share it with the public at this special reception,” said Erik Clemons, CONNCAT’s Executive Director and President. “These photographs reflect not only Dr. King’s professional and personal activities and relationships, but his unwavering belief in a better future. They remind CONNCAT staff, students, and supporters of all that is possible even through difficult times.”
The reception will include an opportunity for guests to tour CONNCAT’s facility and learn more about the Center’s work in the New Haven community.
To RSVP or obtain more details about the reception, contact Melanie Seawright, mseawright@conncat.org, or (203) 823-9823.
ABOUT CONNCAT
CONNCAT is a 501C(3) affiliate of the National Center for Arts & Technology and is modeled on the nationally acclaimed Manchester-Bidwell model founded in Pittsburgh by Bill Strickland. The Center, which opened in 2012, currently offers a youth arts program and an adult job-training program. The youth program includes Digital Studio and Design Studio courses, and is offered at no cost to underachieving students identified by New Haven and Hamden public schools. The intention is to leverage the demonstrated value of arts education as a weapon against high dropout rates.
CONNCAT’s adult program provides affordable industry-specific job training to the city’s under-employed and unemployed adults. With assistance from partners including Yale-New Haven Hospital, CONNCAT carefully selected and developed programs in medical coding and phlebotomy. The programs provide students with practical, in-demand skills that can move them into meaningful employment. CONNCAT’s adult programs are free of charge, but students must demonstrate commitment by meeting registration, attendance, behavioral, and course completion requirements.
For more information, visit www.conncat.org.
ABOUT BENEDICT J. FERNANDEZ
Benedict J. Fernandez was born in 1936 in the East Harlem region of New York City. He is renowned for his ability to capture and convey subjects of social significance, and his photographs of protest activities in the 1960s include some of the most crucial moments in U.S. history. Mr. Fernandez’s work has been detailed in numerous books and is housed in permanent collections worldwide.
For more information, visit www.benedictjfernandez.com.
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