Hmong New Year & Weavings of War Events, 2006
SubjectPortrait of
Aron Sarwar
SubjectPortrait of
May Kue
(Hmong)
SubjectPortrait of
Mai See Vang
(Hmong)
SubjectPortrait of
Chia Thao
(Hmong)
SubjectPortrait of
Heang Tan
(Cambodian)
SponsorSponsored by
Peggy Rambach
SubjectPortrait of
Ilana Hardesty
SubjectPortrait of
Natasha Sazanova
(Ukrainian)
SubjectPortrait of
A Vang
(Hmong)
SubjectPortrait of
Juan Brito
(Chilean)
SubjectPortrait of
Roberto Clavijo
SubjectPortrait of
Marjorie Agosin
(Chilean)
SubjectPortrait of
Luis Cotto
SubjectPortrait of
Lynne Williamson
SubjectPortrait of
Judy Dworin
SubjectPortrait of
Marta Leal
(Chilean)
Date2006 November
Mediumborn digital photography
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.437.1-.31
Description2015.196.437.1-.4: Images showing Aron Sarwar discussing Afghan war rugs at the Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan in West Hartford during a project event.
2015.196.437.5-.6: Images showing Hmong women in traditional dress at Hmong New Year in November 2006. Pictured left to right are: May Kue, Mai See Vang, and Chia Thao Lor.
2015.196.437.7-.8: Images showing Hmong women in traditional dress playing the ball toss game at Hmong New Year in November 2006.
2015.196.437.9-.11: Images showing a tobacco barn on North Maple Street in Enfield, near the hall where Hmong New Year was held.
2015.196.437.12: Image showing participants in the Narratives of War panel discussion held on November 11 as part of the Weavings of War exhibit project. Speakers included Heang Tan (left) from Khmer Health Advocates, Peggy Rambach (center), and Ilana Hardesty (right).
2015.196.437.13: Image of Ukrainian artist Natasha Sazanova with her artwork at the Weavings of War Marketplace event.
2015.196.437.14-.16: Images of Hmong textiles made by A Vang pictured with her family at the Weavings of War Marketplace event.
2015.196.437.17-.31: Images showing a Weavings of War event with Chilean artists at La Paloma Sabanera in Hartford with Luis Cotto and Lynne Williamson pictured among others.
(.17) Musicians Juan Brito, guitar, and Roberto Clavijo, charango.
(.18-.19) Artist Silvia Fernandes Stein who made the long Chilean arpillera.
(.20) Audience and artists at La Paloma.
(.21-.23) Poet Marjorie Agosin.
(.24) Singing Chilean folk songs.
(.25) Choreographer Judy Dworin.
(.26-.27) Audience with the long arpillera made by Silvia Fernandes Stein on the wall.
(.28) Marta Leal with Lynne Williamson of CCHAP.
(.29) Roberto Clavijo playing panpipes.
(.30-.31) Musicians Juan Brito, guitar, and Roberto Clavijo, charango.
NotesSubject Note: On October 27, 2006, the Institute for Community Research (ICR) hosted an opening reception for the traveling exhibit "Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory." This thought-provoking exhibit featured sixty appliqués, clothing, embroideries, story cloths, and woven rugs created by artisans from war-torn countries around the world. While the textiles depict startling images of conflict, the exhibit also demonstrated that art, narrative, and tradition can help to heal those who have suffered through strife. The exhibit was displayed at the Jean J. Schensul Community Gallery at ICR, 2 Hartford Square West Suite 100, 146 Wyllys St, in Hartford, CT, from October 27, 2006, through January 13 2007, the only showing in New England.2015.196.437.5-.6: Images showing Hmong women in traditional dress at Hmong New Year in November 2006. Pictured left to right are: May Kue, Mai See Vang, and Chia Thao Lor.
2015.196.437.7-.8: Images showing Hmong women in traditional dress playing the ball toss game at Hmong New Year in November 2006.
2015.196.437.9-.11: Images showing a tobacco barn on North Maple Street in Enfield, near the hall where Hmong New Year was held.
2015.196.437.12: Image showing participants in the Narratives of War panel discussion held on November 11 as part of the Weavings of War exhibit project. Speakers included Heang Tan (left) from Khmer Health Advocates, Peggy Rambach (center), and Ilana Hardesty (right).
2015.196.437.13: Image of Ukrainian artist Natasha Sazanova with her artwork at the Weavings of War Marketplace event.
2015.196.437.14-.16: Images of Hmong textiles made by A Vang pictured with her family at the Weavings of War Marketplace event.
2015.196.437.17-.31: Images showing a Weavings of War event with Chilean artists at La Paloma Sabanera in Hartford with Luis Cotto and Lynne Williamson pictured among others.
(.17) Musicians Juan Brito, guitar, and Roberto Clavijo, charango.
(.18-.19) Artist Silvia Fernandes Stein who made the long Chilean arpillera.
(.20) Audience and artists at La Paloma.
(.21-.23) Poet Marjorie Agosin.
(.24) Singing Chilean folk songs.
(.25) Choreographer Judy Dworin.
(.26-.27) Audience with the long arpillera made by Silvia Fernandes Stein on the wall.
(.28) Marta Leal with Lynne Williamson of CCHAP.
(.29) Roberto Clavijo playing panpipes.
(.30-.31) Musicians Juan Brito, guitar, and Roberto Clavijo, charango.
ICR’s Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP) worked closely with local community leaders whose cultures were represented in "Weavings of War," in organizing a series of events accompanying the exhibit, starting with a traditional artists’ market held at ICR in conjunction with Hartford Open Studios Weekend 2006. Other activities included an Afghan dinner, a Chilean story cloth workshop, presentations of personal experiences of war, and a Cambodian court dance performance. These events and others brought forward the stories and direct experiences of those who live in Connecticut now as neighbors, sharing their powerful narratives of trauma and dislocation, seldom heard publicly, that gave testament to resilience, grace, and the power of art to heal. For many immigrant groups, teaching about cultural heritage and history is crucial to maintaining the health and well-being of the community, especially among the younger generations. These groups - Afghan, Laotian, Hmong, Vietnamese, Chilean, and Peruvian - represent important newcomers to the Greater Hartford area. Having lived under the threat of political turmoil and genocide, their cultural leaders are deeply committed to the survival of their languages and traditions. Local project partners have experienced the events that the textiles depict, and they will contribute to programming by offering narratives and performances about the events and their cultural contexts. They are concerned about public misunderstanding or forgetting of important historical events, and wish to develop and maintain positive paths towards both integration and cultural preservation.
"Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory" was a traveling exhibition curated by Ariel Zeitlin Cooke; produced by City Lore, Michigan State University Museum, and the Vermont Folklife Center; and funded by the Coby Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, and Paul and Eileen Growald. ICR's programming was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts; the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism; The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation; the Knox Foundation; the Connecticut Humanities Council; the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, Trustee; and the Greater Hartford Arts Council, through its United Arts and United Way campaigns.
The exhibit presented sixty traditional textiles made by artisans from several cultural groups worldwide. The textiles, including embroideries, appliques, woven rugs, clothing, and story cloths, depict motifs, images, or narratives of the wars and traumas undergone by these groups in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Textiles that are traditional in form and technique, but include startling imagery of tanks, helicopters, and other depictions of battle became noticed in the 1980s, as refugees from the mujahadeen war with the Russian-backed government in Afghanistan fled to Pakistan. Their "war rugs" became highly valued by collectors, and have since found a popular market with New York street vendors. The rugs express many fascinating convergences and disjunctures, inviting investigation of traditional and contemporary art form definitions, anthropological topics, such as the effect of dislocation on social and ethnic identity, changing concepts of oriental and western art, and debates about dealers' and collectors' effects on craft production and markets. Other themes suggested by these textiles explore women's resistance through narrative in various theatres of war, and the process of healing trauma through the production of art.
Subject Note: "Weavings of War" events depicted include:
1. Traditional Crafts Marketplace (in conjunction with Hartford Open Studios Weekend) held on November 4, 2006. A wide variety of local artists sold their crafts and offered hands-on demonstrations, including artists from the Hmong, Peruvian, and Ukrainian communities
2. Narratives of War Forum held on November 11, 2006. Keynote speaker Anne Brodsky discussed her work in Afghanistan. Panel discussions presented the personal stories of several local artists and cultural leaders who have experienced war and dislocation, and investigated strategies for healing trauma through art and narrative. Members of the project team who have experienced events depicted talked directly about the events displayed in the textiles. Two panel discussions explored the effects of strife on health issues for refugees, and the process of healing trauma through art. Tibetan flute player Lakedhen brought the event to a close with his traditional melodies.
3. The Legacy of the Afghan Wars - Afghan Dinner & Discussion held on November 18, 2006, at Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan, 36 LaSalle Rd., West Hartford. An evening of music and food hosted by the Sarwar family, who moved to the U.S. from Afghanistan in the 1980s. Aron Sarwar presented war rugs from their collection and discussed his family’s experiences leaving the country during the Russian occupation, and some of the cultural effects of the conflict. Chef Halaima cooked traditional foods, and Naseer’s ensemble played harmonium and drum.
4. Chile: From Pinochet to Bachelet - Chilean Music, Poetry Reading & Discussion December 2,2006, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m, held at La Paloma Sabanera Coffeehouse and Bookstore, 405 Capitol Avenue, Hartford. Chile’s journey from cruel dictatorship to full democracy and its first woman president were celebrated in this event. Poet Marjorie Agosin from Wellesley, a survivor of the Pinochet regime, discussed the country’s history and read her work. The evening included musicians Juan Brito and Roberto Clavijo, and a talk by Judy Dworin on her collaboration with women in Chile on a history and dance project. Educator Juan Brito (editor of Que Pasa ) hosted the evening which included music by Juan Brito and Roberto Clavijo, and cueca dancing by Silvia Fernandez-Stein and Marta Leal.
Biographical Note for "Weavings of War" Artist: Marta Leal was forced to leave her native Chile when she was 23, because of her community activism and involvement with the left-wing student group at the University of Chile. She lived in Paris for more than ten years, and then moved to Venezuela where her daughter Morella was born. They came to the U.S. fifteen years ago, and Marta has since earned an MSW from the UConn School of Social Work. She is a social worker in Hartford. She believes strongly in the power of art, music, and dance as ways to express peoples’ struggles and maintain traditions for the next generation. Marta advised the Judy Dworin Performance Project’s 2001 production of ¿dónde estás?, teaching the traditional Chilean dance cueca which was incorporated into the production as a metaphor for the lost partners and children of the Mothers of the Disappeared.
Biographical Note for "Weavings of War" Artist: Juan Daniel Brito was born in Santiago, Chile. He worked as a social worker there and was a composer and singer with the music group Apurimac until September 11, 1973, when the military junta prohibited the broadcasting or performance of folkloric music and the use of Andean instruments. He was blacklisted, along with many teachers, artists, journalists, and social workers, and forced to leave the country in 1975. He moved to the U.S. in 1975, gaining an MSW from the UConn School of Social Work and forming the music group Kataris with his wife, Rebecca. Juan provided the live music for the Hartford Ballet’s Murmurs of the Stream, and for the Judy Dworin Performance Ensemble’s 2001 production ¿dónde estás?, about the struggles of the Mothers of the Disappeared in Chile and Argentina. He is a popular local musician, school social worker, and journalist for La Voz Hispana.
Biographical Note for "Weavings of War" Artist: La Paloma Sabanera has become a beloved gathering place in Hartford’s Frog Hollow neighborhood. Run by Luis Cotto and his sister Leticia, it was a coffee house, bookstore, and center for Latino arts and film. They hosted the Chilean programs.
Biographical Note for "Weavings of War" Artist: Marjorie Agosin is a Jewish-Chilean poet and powerful voice expressing the trauma of the Pinochet era. She is a professor at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She read poetry from her new collection, Mother Speak To Us About the War, and discussed her personal experiences at the Chilean event. Marjorie Agosín, Luella LaMer Professor of Latin American Studies at Wellesley College, is a highly respected and prolific writer and human rights activist. She grew up in Chile where her Jewish parents had settled after escaping from Vienna during the Second World War. She received her higher education and a Ph.D. in America, but has continued to write bilingually. Agosin's work, including several books of poetry as well as memoirs, fiction, anthologies, and translations, have often chronicled the difficult time of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, particularly its brutal effects on women, such as the arpilleristas and their families. She has received the Letras de Oro Prize for Poetry from the Spanish government and the Latino Literature Prize for Poetry.
Biographical Note for "Weavings of War" Artist: Heang Tan was Associate Director at Khmer Health Advocates (KHA), a West Hartford-based organization dedicated to promoting mental, physical, and cultural health of Cambodian survivors of the Mahantdorai, the destruction of the Khmer Rouge era. She has many years of experience working with Cambodians as a Community Health Worker (CHW) and has assisted in the development of CHW training tools. She managed KHA’s National Cambodian American Diabetes Project, which created awareness of diabetes and the negative impact of serious psychological distress on diabetes health outcomes, brought proven education programs to Cambodian communities nationwide to prevent diabetes in this high-risk community, and prevented complications in those who have diabetes through increased use of health services. Ms. Tan was born in Cambodia and came to the United States as a refugee in 1982. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biopsychology from Bates College, as well as advanced degrees.
Biographical Note for "Weavings of War" Artist: Ilana Hardesty is the Program Manager of the Healing Arts Initiative, a partnership between the Vermont Arts Exchange and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which allows her the opportunity to work closely with both artists and healthcare professionals. With 20 years of administrative and management experience, in the arts, academia, and health-related fields, she sees her work in the Healing Arts as the perfect combination of her professional lives and her personal interests. Assistant Director at Boston University School of Medicine CME office.
Biographical Note for "Weavings of War" Artist: Peggy Rambach is the author of the novel, "Fighting Gravity," and a collection of short stories entitled "When the Animals Leave." She is the editor of "All That Matters: Memoir From the Wellness Community of Greater Boston," also published by The Paper Journey Press. She was twice awarded the Massachusetts Cultural Council Individual Artist Grant in Fiction, was the recipient of the St. Botolph Foundation Grant in Literature, was a Fellow at the MacDowell and Yaddo Artist Colonies, and was named a 2005 Literacy Champion by the Massachusetts Literacy Foundation. Ms. Rambach is a resident teaching/artist in Health Care with grant support from the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center and in collaboration with the Mass Cultural Council and the Vermont Arts Exchange, and she continues to teach writing at the Asian Center of Merrimack Valley Inc. She lives in Andover, Massachusetts.
Subject Note: The Hmong community in Connecticut, around 300 in number, is based mostly in the Enfield and Manchester areas. They work in factories and service occupations, as well as skilled manufacturing, often in aerospace industries. The Hmong came to the United States as refugees from the Indochina wars in the 1970s after the Communist takeover of Laos, sponsored by the American government because many Hmong assisted the military and the CIA. At that time the Hmong were persecuted in Laos, and this still continues today with considerable fighting going on. The Hmong are a tribal group originally from Mongolia who migrated to Laos where many still live today. There are also Hmong communities in northern Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, and China (where they are called Miao).
Connecticut Hmong people are both traditional and contemporary. Older women used to make the gorgeous applique and embroidery work known as paj ndau, and they still create traditional costumes for women and men, albeit with modern shortcuts (traditional dyeing techniques are replaced by printed cloth, for instance). Men who are traditional community leaders, such as Boua Tong Xiong, still perform wedding and funeral rituals, as well as conflict resolution according to time-honored practices. Hmong traditions practiced in Connecticut include embroidery and story cloths, funeral and wedding songs, music on the bamboo instrument qeej, ballads and courtship songs kwv ntxhiaj, and social dancing. Hmong leaders started the Hmong Foundation of Connecticut as a way to keep the community together and continue to provide many kinds of needed assistance. The Foundation, which is led by a Board of Directors, is open to all Hmong living in the state. Members provide services such as translation, transportation, family relocation to Connecticut, assistance with finding jobs and access to health care, Hmong language classes, and traditional Hmong advising and dispute resolution. The Hmong Foundation of Connecticut became a separate organization in 1996 after the Connecticut Federation of Refugee Assistance Agencies, an umbrella service group, disbanded. The group sponsors Hmong New Year in November and a celebration for Hmong high school graduates in June.
The Hmong have a number of sub-cultural groups; one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Blue Hmong is their custom of batiking cloth with blue indigo. One specific kind of textile that the Hmong have become known for are the “story cloths”. These are a comparatively new genre first made in the Thai refugee camps around 1975. In these embroidered pieces, direct figurative references are made to folk tales, myths, personal family stories, and scenes of village life. These story cloths also depict the turbulence and hardships of the war years in Southeast Asia. Hmong textile works also include many references to the natural world, to the plants and animals, which are native to the hills of Laos. (Winifred Lambrecht, Ph.D (CCHAP project partner); July 2006)
Subject Note: Hmong New Year, Nyob Zoo Xyoo Tshiab, is the Hmong community’s most important annual festival. The New Year festival, always held late in the year, includes the ball toss, a game between young people that is a courtship ritual; a fashion show of different tribal costumes; a cultural presentation of dance and song; and a community-prepared feast with traditional foods. The spiritual connotation of the festival is for thanksgiving and new beginnings, and to honor ancestors. Hmong participants wear traditional dress, make speeches, and sing songs appropriate to the celebration. New Year also serves as a reminder and practice of traditions, as well as a gathering of cultural and social leaders.
Biographical Note: Hmong textile artist, A Vang, from Providence, Rhode Island is a highly skilled embroiderer and seamstress. She creates traditional Hmong story cloths (paj ntaub), reverse applique textiles, embroideries, Hmong costumes, and clothing. She has marketed her work around New England. After CCHAP met her at a craft fair in Litchfield, Connecticut, she participated in several of CCHAP's open house marketplaces for refugee and immigrant artists.
Subject Note: From 2007 to 2019, almost annually, CCHAP held a traditional arts marketplace during Open Studios Weekend (a Hartford-wide self-guided artist studio tour held on the second weekend in November), to support folk artists from several communities living in Connecticut. The artists would bring their crafts, often exquisite textile arts, to sell while discussing their art forms and cultures with visitors. A Vang and her family were among the vendors for several years.
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
Haris Gusta Guya
2011 November 4
