OLD LYME — The Florence Griswold Museum hosts a special, free, online talk titled, Beyond The Mural: Political Art to Empower and Effect Change, tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m. The talk will be given by Mary Kordak, Professor of Art History at the University of New Haven and followed by a Q & A facilitated by Jac Lahav, Secretary, PARJE (Public Art for Racial Justice Education) and Amy Kurtz Lansing, Curator of the Florence Griswold Museum.
Moving past the common misconception that public art is “all about murals”, Kordak will talk about more experimental public artworks. She will discuss cutting-edge art projects led by cultural leaders like Ai Weiwei, Kehinde Wiley as well as the Chicano Muralist Movement, and public/community art of young Yemeni Artists.
While these disparate artists/movements have racial or ethnic components, they also contain strong elements of social and economic disparity.
This talk will introduce audiences to contemporary public artists and how public art can be a springboard for effecting real change.
This lecture is part of a series “Arts & Advocacy: Methods to Spark Positive Change Through Art” and made possible by the State of Connecticut and the National Endowment for the Humanities, both of which provide significant support to Connecticut Humanities.
All are welcome to this virtual talk.
https://attendee.gotowebinar.c
Michela Wrong presents,
“Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad“
When: Wednesday, September 8, 2021, 4:00 p.m. (NOTE: earlier time than usual due to speaker’s location in England)
Where: Online on Zoom. Register in advance to receive the link via email.
If you are new to Zoom virtual meetings and would like to learn more about how to join us, visit zoom.us for more information. Also, feel free to call us at 860-912-5718 for technical advice prior to the event. We will not be able to resolve issues during the meeting. A link to the recording will be shared via email following the meeting.
Presenter: Michela Wrong, author and journalist
The Topic: “Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad,” based on Wrong’s book of the same name, available for purchase from local bookstore Bank Square Books.
In the wake of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda under President Paul Kagame has been hailed as a model of a modern African state: spotlessly clean, well-run and scoring impressively on every development index. A new book by writer Michela Wrong challenges this portrayal, highlighting instead a long history of violence by Rwanda’s ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front and the extraordinary lengths to which it goes to hunt down perceived enemies abroad.
She tells the story through the men and women who have known Kagame since childhood, who befriended, fought, and worked alongside him only to eventually fall out and be dubbed enemies of the state. The picture she paints suggests a fundamental reassessment of Kagame’s legacy and the West’s relationship with authoritarian regimes in Africa is long overdue.
Michela Wrong has spent nearly three decades writing about Africa, first as a Reuters correspondent based in Cote d’Ivoire and former Zaire, and then as the Financial Times Africa correspondent, based in Kenya. From journalism, she moved into book-writing.
Previous books include “In the Footsteps of
Mr. Kurtz”, the story of Mobutu Sese Seko, “I Didn’t do it for You”, focussing on Eritrea, “It’s Our Turn to Eat”, an examination of Kenyan corruption, and “Borderlines”, a novel set in the Horn of Africa. Her latest book, “Do Not Disturb”, is a scathing assessment of the Rwandan Patriotic Front and President Paul Kagame. She is based in London.
OLD LYME — The Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center (RTPEC) invites you to ‘make a beeline’ to their new home at 100 Lyme Street, Old Lyme (the former Bee & Thistle Inn) for an event this Friday, Sept. 10, to benefit RTPEC.
The event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and will include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres by Chef Ani, a silent auction and a live auction led by world renowned Senior Auctioneer C. Hugh Hildesley,
who has conducted some of Sotheby’s most prestigious sales, including the Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis Sale and the Property of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Click here to view live auction items.
Purchase tickets at $150 per person here
The event is being held outdoors and CDC Covid Protocols will apply.
Even with the event outside, it is requested that attendees be vaccinated.
OLD LYME — The Old Lyme Republican Town Committee’s (OLRTC) annual picnic returns this year Sunday, Sept. 12, with a festive and family-friendly barbecue from 3 to 6 p.m. at picturesque Griswold Point.
“Sunset on the Sound,” the committee’s annual picnic fundraiser, features a barbecue feast, live music provided by the String of Pearls band, and a silent auction.
Visit with your neighbors, meet the endorsed candidates for this November’s town elections, and hear from local and state officials and dignitaries.
Special invited guests include Mike France, Republican Congressional candidate for the 2nd District; Themis Klarides, former Connecticut House minority leader; Ben Proto, Connecticut GOP chair; and Bob Stefanowski, 2018 Republican gubernatorial candidate. It’s a delightful way to spend a late summer afternoon, with a view of the Sound.
Tickets for “Sunset on the Sound” are $50 per person, and may be purchased at the OLRTC website www.oldlymertc.org; or call Tammy Hinckley at 860-598-4375. Families are welcome — children 13 and under are admitted free.
This is a COVID-sensitive, outdoor event; the picnic will be held rain or shine.
For more information, visit www.oldlymertc.org.
OLD LYME — In March 2021, a group of interested residents of Lyme and Old Lyme met on Zoom to plan the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden (LOLFSG), a garden dedicated to growing and donating all produce to local food pantries. As the end of summer draws near, the group is delighted to share their progress and invite readers to visit the site.
The LOLFSG will be holding two Open House/Work Sessions on two upcoming Saturdays, Sept. 18 and Sept. 25 from 8 to 11 a.m. at the garden, which is located behind the field house and playground at Town Woods Park. All are welcome.
Jim Ward, who conceived the original idea for the garden and has been the driving force behind its development, explained, “Board members are anxious and excited to share the progress we have made in establishing the garden and look forward to answering any questions concerning our vision.”
In the months following the inaugural meeting, the LOLGSF participated in a crowdsourcing fundraiser sponsored by Sustainable CT in which 82 donors helped raise $8350. With $7500 of those funds being matched, the LOLFSG was able to purchase fencing materials and broke ground at Town Woods Park in June.
Ward commented enthusiastically, “Through the dedicated efforts of volunteers, an eight-foot deer fence has been erected, the installation of an irrigation system is in progress, three raised beds have been built and additional in-ground beds have been prepared. We are on track to plant and harvest our first crops in Spring 2022!”
As the number of LOLFSG members increases, volunteers of all ages are invited to join the organization. Ward invites readers to consider volunteering, visiting the garden, or continuing to support the LOLFSG financially.
He notes, “Our next steps are to complete the installation of the irrigation system, install electricity, erect a storage shed and garden (plant, weed, water, harvest). Updates and additional photos are available through Facebook, Instagram or at the LOLFSG website.”
Jim Cameron
OLD LYME — On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library hosts Jim Cameron in an Author Talk via Zoom from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Connecticut author Jim Cameron will share some funny and insightful tales about his 40 years as a news reporter, media trainer and public relations consultant. He’ll offer the inside scoop on how to get social media savvy with his best public relations techniques.
This is a virtual program. Registration required to receive the Zoom link. Register at the library website at www.oldlyme.lioninc.org
OLD LYME — On Wednesday, Sept. 22, the Florence Griswold Museum hosts a virtual lecture titled, Promise, Witness Remembrance: A Contemporary Response, starting at 3 p.m.
This virtual event is free but registration is required at this link.
The presentation will be given by Allison Glenn, Senior Curator and Director of Public Art, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and followed by a Q & A facilitated by Amy Kurtz Lansing, Curator, Florence Griswold Museum and Jac Lahav, Secretary, PARJE (Public Art for Racial Justice Education)
Glenn will discuss her celebrated 2021 art exhibition Promise, Witness, Remembrance, developed around Amy Sherald’s portrait of Breonna Taylor, at the Speed Museum in Louisville, Ky. She will reflect on the portrait of Taylor and her unique approach to curating this exhibition, and how artists can help us understand larger systemic issues of gun violence and inequity in policing.
Audience members will learn how a diverse range of artists addresses memory, hope, and racial justice through their work.
This lecture is part of a series Arts & Advocacy: Methods to Spark Positive Change Through Art and made possible by the State of Connecticut and the National Endowment for the Humanities, both of which provide significant support to Connecticut Humanities.
Register for this free lecture and conversation at this link.
Volunteers tend the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden at Town Woods Park.
OLD LYME — In March 2021, a group of interested residents of Lyme and Old Lyme met on Zoom to plan the Lyme-Old Lyme Food Share Garden (LOLFSG), a garden dedicated to growing and donating all produce to local food pantries. As the end of summer draws near, the group is delighted to share their progress and invite readers to visit the site.
The LOLFSG will be holding two Open House/Work Sessions on two upcoming Saturdays, Sept. 18 and Sept. 25 from 8 to 11 a.m. at the garden, which is located behind the field house and playground at Town Woods Park. All are welcome.
Jim Ward, who conceived the original idea for the garden and has been the driving force behind its development, explained, “Board members are anxious and excited to share the progress we have made in establishing the garden and look forward to answering any questions concerning our vision.”
In the months following the inaugural meeting, the LOLGSF participated in a crowdsourcing fundraiser sponsored by Sustainable CT in which 82 donors helped raise $8350. With $7500 of those funds being matched, the LOLFSG was able to purchase fencing materials and broke ground at Town Woods Park in June.
A view of the Community Share Garden showing the three raised beds in the background.
Ward commented enthusiastically, “Through the dedicated efforts of volunteers, an eight-foot deer fence has been erected, the installation of an irrigation system is in progress, three raised beds have been built and additional in-ground beds have been prepared. We are on track to plant and harvest our first crops in Spring 2022!”
As the number of LOLFSG members increases, volunteers of all ages are invited to join the organization. Ward invites readers to consider volunteering, visiting the garden, or continuing to support the LOLFSG financially.
He notes, “Our next steps are to complete the installation of the irrigation system, install electricity, erect a storage shed and garden (plant, weed, water, harvest). Updates and additional photos are available through Facebook, Instagram or at the LOLFSG website.”