An African drummer, a hip hop artist, a traditional kora player, and Albanian artisans may not be what you expect to see during a fashion show, but organizer George Kingsley had a vision to feature more than just clothing at a multicultural fashion show at ArtSpace last month.
ArtSpace, a modern art gallery in downtown Hartford, is currently showcasing the art of local residents of the Asylum Hill neighborhood. Participants in the fashion show -- which included men, women, and children from Cameroon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Iraq, Burma, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine, and Togo -- walked the runway that ran through the center of the exhibit to model their culture’s traditional clothing.
The artists, merchants, and models involved in the event have, for a variety of reasons, all relocated to the downtown Hartford area.
The Hartford Preservation Alliance reports 30 percent of the residents in the Asylum Hill Neighborhood represent 24 different countries, each with their own artistic styles and traditions. Kingsley recruited artists by starting conversations with people from local immigrant communities he met at markets and other places in downtown Hartford.
In a room full of diverse traditions and life experiences, there was also an strong sense of community.
Kingsley is a political refugee and professional artist from the Ivory Coast who has been living in the United States for two years, and said his inspiration for the fashion show came when he met an American woman in downtown Hartford wearing traditional African clothing. He said he was “shocked and happy” to find out the woman's husband was Nigerian, and she wore the clothing to show her love for his culture and cultural identity.
This interaction sparked a vision to create a fashion show where the clothing of all cultures can be showcased and celebrated together.
The evening began with an African drum and dance performance, followed by a fashion show that was punctuated by dance performances, hip hop, and traditional kora playing. In a room full of such diverse beliefs, traditions, and life experiences, there was also an strong sense of community and an emphasis on the creation of a common new home in Hartford.
The fashion show is part of a series of events put on by the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association.
Artists Anne Cubberly and LB Muñoz, are the organizers of the series. Each year, they treat Hartford to Nightfall, a “magical free outdoor community performance.”
Cubberly and Muñoz said that there are more art and cultural happenings in Hartford than most realize.
The night highlighted the rich diversity of Hartford, and showcased the diversity of art across the cultures represented in Hartford. According to Kingsley, the inclination toward creation and art does not need to be taught -- “it is in the blood," he said.