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Welcome to your free bi-weekly newsletter from Connecticut Explored with the latest stories, the newest Grating the Nutmeg podcast, programs and exhibitions from our partners to see/watch this month, and more!
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Register for this Litchfield Historical Society event here!
A 3D Journey Into the Past: Life and Labor at the Joseph Hempsted House
by Aaron Marcavitch
Aaron Marcavitch, the executive director of Connecticut Landmarks, invites readers to take a 3D tour of the Hempsted House. This tour allows the participant to experience the history of the colonial New London house—all from their own computer screen. The partnership between CTL and Capture Visual Marketing provides extensive photographs of the structures. With this technology, more historical sites will be accessible to the public at no cost and without any physical barriers to engaging.
Tony Healy from Capture Visual Marketing remarked, “By embracing these technologies, these institutions are forging a bridge between the past and the present, inviting us to become active participants in the ongoing narrative of humanity’s shared history.”
To learn more about how these two co-operate, and to see images from their scans of the Hempsted house, read the full article here!
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Access Connecticut Landmarks’ 3D tours of the Hempsted Houses
Preserving and Revitalizing Connecticut Churches Through 3D Tour Technology
by Tony Healy
Tony Healy, president and founder of Capture Visual Marketing, expresses the importance of digital media in historical preservation. As church attendance in Connecticut plummets, many are forced to close or combine with other churches. In doing so the churches are lost, whether they are sold or demolished. The archdiocese has commissioned Healy’s company to take full scans of central Connecticut churches to build 3D tours of the spaces. The Church of the Good Shepard, founded by the wife of Samuel Colt, Elizabeth in 1869 so the town had a religious center, and Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, dedicated in 1962, were two of the first churches to be scanned and turned into virtual tours. As churches become old and even run the risk of being destroyed, we now have a way to preserve that space.
Read the entire story with your Connecticut Explored subscription.
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Access Archdiocese of Hartford’s 3D Tours
The Latest From Grating the Nutmeg
Margaret Ruskin of Pepperidge Farm
One of the most recognizable food brands in the world got started in a kitchen in Fairfield, Connecticut. In this episode, Natalie Belanger chats with historian Cathryn J. Prince about Margaret Rudkin, the woman who founded Pepperidge Farm amidst the Great Depression.
Listen: Margaret Rudkin of Pepperidge Farm
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Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Month
Fun and Games? Leo Jensen’s Pop Art
February 10 - May 19 | Florence Griswold Museum
The Florence Griswold Museum presents Fun & Games? Leo Jensen’s Pop Art on view through May 19, 2024. Pop artist Leo Jensen (1926–2019) turned a winking eye on America, producing irreverent art that is nevertheless serious in its cultural observations. Known best regionally for his bronze frog sculptures on the Thread City Crossing Bridge in Willimantic, Jensen infused his work with humor as well as thought-provoking reflections on modern American society. His paintings, sculptures, and assemblages of recycled materials borrow from the signs and symbols he saw in his youth when he traveled as a fancy horseback rider in Depression-era circuses and rodeos and developed further when he moved to Connecticut after art school.
Yvonne Wells: Stitched Stories
April 11 - August 11 | Wadsworth Atheneum
Alabamian fiber artist Yvonne Wells (b. 1939) embraces a style that uniquely melds traditional geometric quilt patterns with bold imagery. In 1984, Wells began creating story quilts to visually address religious, historical, and sociopolitical concerns, as seen in The Great American Pastime: The Negro Baseball League. On loan from the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, this work commemorates the organization that paved the way for Black and Latin American men to play professional baseball. Over the course of 30 years, approximately 3,400 players competed in the historic Negro Baseball League until Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947.
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Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School Student Exhibition
April 27 - May 19 | Lyman Allyn Art Museum
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is proud to present its annual exhibition by the students of the Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School in Glassenberg Gallery. Students, parents, teachers, families, and art enthusiasts of all ages are invited to explore artwork created by students, grades K-5. Two-and three-dimensional artworks, in a variety of media, are included in the exhibit. A visual delight, this exhibit showcases student talent, creativity, and critical thinking.
Come see the great artwork made by the talented Nathan Hale students! The Lyman Allyn is free to New London residents. All school families visit free during the exhibition.
Click Here for More Information
Editor’s Picks
Want to explore the topics featured in this edition of the e-Newsletter? Check out these stories and podcasts from the archives.
“The Suspicious Colt Factory Fire.” Connecticut Explored, Fall 2006.
“Adam Jackson’s History Revealed". Connecticut Explored, Spring 2013.
“City, Country, Town: Connecticut Landmarks.” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2010
“New Lives for Old Factories.” Grating the Nutmeg, episode 167.
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