Tibetan Community Event at Torrington Historical Society
SubjectPortrait of
Kalsang Jorden
(Tibetan, died 2006)
SubjectPortrait of
Tsering Yangzom
(Tibetan)
SubjectPortrait of
Thapkey Tsering
(Tibetan)
SubjectPortrait of
Mark McEachern
Dateca 1997
Mediumnegatives
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.243.2-.20
Description2015.196.243.2-.19: Images from black and white negatives showing a Tibetan gathering at the Torrington Historical Society (THS) to celebrate a new Torrington history exhibit that included works by local Tibetan artists Kalsang Jorden and Tsering Yangzom.
(.2-.3) Artist Kalsang Jorden (left) and THS Director Mark McEachern (right) at the event at Torrington Historical Society
(.4) Artist Tsering Yangzom on the right and Nyima Dorjee on the left, at the event at Torrington Historical Society
(.5) Kunchok, the wife of community member Jyurme, holding their son at the event at Torrington Historical Society
(.6-.12) Several people seated on the floor playing Sho, a Tibetan game with dice and cowrie shells at the event at Torrington Historical Society. 2015.196.243.8 shows Thapkey Tsering, president of the Tibetan Association of Connecticut.
(.13) Thapkey Tsering, president of the Tibetan Association of Connecticut, at the food table.
(.14) Kunchok and Jyurme's son in baby carrier at event at Torrington Historical Society
(.15) Kunchok and Jyurme's son, with Kunchok and Tsering Yangzom (right) at event at Torrington Historical Society
(.16-.18) Several people seated on the floor playing Sho, a Tibetan game with dice and cowrie shells at the event at Torrington Historical Society.
(.19) Artists Tsering Yangzom and Damdul with other community members at the event at Torrington Historical Society
NotesSubject Note: Torrington was home to three Tibetan families in the 1990s and early 2000s, where they worked at the Brunswick Golf Company factory (now closed). Artist Kalsang Jorden lived on Chestnut St. in the upstairs flat, and the family of Kalsang Choedak lived downstairs. Tsering Yangzom lived in an apartment on Hotchkiss Place before her family came over from India under family re-unification, then they bought a house on Evans St. where her husband Damdul Lama still lives in 2023. Damdul has donated one of Tsering Yangzom’s belts and a bag they made from one of her weavings to the CCHAP collection.(.2-.3) Artist Kalsang Jorden (left) and THS Director Mark McEachern (right) at the event at Torrington Historical Society
(.4) Artist Tsering Yangzom on the right and Nyima Dorjee on the left, at the event at Torrington Historical Society
(.5) Kunchok, the wife of community member Jyurme, holding their son at the event at Torrington Historical Society
(.6-.12) Several people seated on the floor playing Sho, a Tibetan game with dice and cowrie shells at the event at Torrington Historical Society. 2015.196.243.8 shows Thapkey Tsering, president of the Tibetan Association of Connecticut.
(.13) Thapkey Tsering, president of the Tibetan Association of Connecticut, at the food table.
(.14) Kunchok and Jyurme's son in baby carrier at event at Torrington Historical Society
(.15) Kunchok and Jyurme's son, with Kunchok and Tsering Yangzom (right) at event at Torrington Historical Society
(.16-.18) Several people seated on the floor playing Sho, a Tibetan game with dice and cowrie shells at the event at Torrington Historical Society.
(.19) Artists Tsering Yangzom and Damdul with other community members at the event at Torrington Historical Society
This event at the Torrington Historical Society (THS) was organized for the community by THS Director Mark McEachern and curator Gail Kruppa, when they acquired a belt made by Tsering Yangzom and a painted scroll made by Kalsang Jorden for the THS collection. CCHAP Director Lynne Williamson, who lives in Torrington, made the connection between the artists and THS. The game being played is a traditional Tibetan game of chance called Sho. This game played with dice was traditionally played by shepherds and involved storytelling, chance, and counting.
Subject Note: Since the Tibetan Resettlement Project brought 21 Tibetans from India to live in Connecticut in 1992, the state has become home to one of the fastest growing Tibetan communities in the U.S. Several Connecticut Tibetans are traditional artists of great skill who are deeply committed to expressing and passing on Tibetan culture. The story of the Tibetan community in Connecticut shows resilience and commitment to making a home in a new world. These first arrivals were sponsored to live in Old Saybrook, and they quickly found housing, jobs, and a welcome there. Many of them still had spouses, parents, and children back in India and Nepal so they applied for family reunification visas which often took years. The community has thrived and grown rapidly, choosing to remain in this part of the state. Recently the availability of jobs especially in the Asian gaming sections of Connecticut’s two casinos has encouraged many new Tibetan arrivals to settle in Norwich, bringing the community’s population up to about 500. Tibetans gather regularly for community social and ceremonial celebrations in Norwich and Old Saybrook, and they work tirelessly to educate others about the difficult situation faced by Tibetans in Tibet as they fight to protect their centuries-old culture that is threatened by a dominant political and social Chinese presence.
The Tibetan Association of Connecticut was formed in the early 1990s by the first Tibetans to settle in Connecticut, and it is active in bringing the state’s Tibetans together for social, cultural, educational, and spiritual events. “We have a thriving Tibetan community in State of Connecticut and this organization allows us to share common experiences of modern life in addition to keeping alive a strong sense of ancestral pride. TACT is dedicated to preserve, promote and flourish Tibetan culture for upcoming generations.”
Many of the community’s excellent traditional artists continue a wide variety of art forms as a way to sustain their language and culture and pass their heritage on to their children. Music and dance, featuring flute player Lakedhen Shingsur and dancers both young and old, are part of every Tibetan gathering especially Losar (New Year) and the Dalai Lama's birthday celebration in July. Dadon, a leading singer and composer of popular music in Tibet, was very active in performing in Connecticut and for several large Tibet benefit concerts in New York City. Yeshi Dorjee, a Buddhist monk, lives in Old Saybrook where he offers spiritual support for the community’s ceremonies and teachings. A multi-talented artist, Yeshi creates sand mandalas, butter sculptures, religious paintings, book illustrations, and is a storyteller. Jampa Tsondue paints thangkas, religious images of deities and Buddhist teachings, and has taught his daughter this process. Carpet weavers Tentso Sichoe and Kunga Choekyi participated in CCHAP’s Apprenticeship Program to share and teach their specialized craft and produce new carpets on a loom donated by weaver Tsultim Lama. Tibetan families use these folk arts every day in their homes, especially in the rooms devoted to their Buddhist spiritual practice. Many of these artists as well as other Tibetans from New York and New England participate in TibetFest, an annual gathering in Litchfield County that began in 2005.
Additional materials exist in the CCHAP collection for this community.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
Jampa Tsondue
2018 March 10
