Anyone who wants to tap into their inner artist won’t want to miss the third annual lunchtime “I Am An Artist Day” on Wednesday, Sept. 12, when dozens of free events take place in Hartford’s Old State House Plaza from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
It would be difficult for one person to participate in all the arts activities available, so take your pick and dance, sing, write, draw, make music or just listen and watch.
Greater Hartford Arts Council spokespeople Kate McOmber and Dan Deutsch say “I Am An Artist Day” was conceived in 2016 to highlight the work done by grantees of the GHAC.
“Everybody has an inner artist, even people who walk up to us and say ‘I’m not creative, I can’t participate’,” Deutsch says. “Everybody has some type of creativity, some spark of artistic talent inside of them.”
The centerpiece of the event will be community-participation drip-and-splat paintings. All are invited to get their Jackson Pollock on, grab a brush and add a dribble or a fling of the paint to the four 4-feet-by-3-feet canvases.
The Pollock-like paintings will be used as the backdrop for a series of TedX talks on Dec. 4 titled “Imagine” at Infinity Hall in Hartford, McOmber says. Speakers on that day are branding expert Stacey Ross Cohen, orthopedic surgeon Frank Maletz, hypnotist Ryan Mazurkivich, relationship expert Rachel DeAlto, retired Hartford fire chief Charles Teale, inclusiveness expert Selena Rezvani and botanical researcher Arthur Haines. (Details: tedxhartford.com.)
Many community organizations and art spaces will be at the event with activities, including:
Amistad Center for Art & Culture: historical dress-up. Collage-making, Polaroid pictures.
Ballet Theater Company: Name-that-ballet game, peek into a ballerina’s dance bag.
Caribbean American Dance Company: demonstrations, lessons and group dances.
Charter Oak Cultural Center: African percussion.
Connecticut Landmarks: Tissue-paper flower craft.
Cuatro Puntos: Singing performances, audience members invited to join in.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center: Social justice-themed art- and poetry-making.
Hartbeat Ensemble: Call-and-response hip-hop poetry.
Hartford Stage: Dress-up, bubble blowing, coloring, candy and catchphrase game.
Hill-Stead Museum: Poetry-making, printmaking based on Monet’s haystacks, story-writing with only six words.
Judy Dworin Performance Project: Story-sharing about hopes and dreams.
New Britain Museum of American Art: Color Field art making.
Noah Webster House: Giant Scrabble board.
Queen Ann Nzinga Center: Maraca-making activity, then use the maracas in a drum circle.
Poetry on the Streets: Poetry-making.
Theaterworks: Build-your-own Theaterworks.
Other events may be added as the day grows closer. letsgoarts.org
