HARTFORD PARTNERSHIP WITH AMISTAD CENTER FOR TWO JUNETEENTH EVENTS

Published on June 10, 2022

HARTFORD, CONN (June 10, 2022) – Today, Mayor Luke Bronin announced that the City of Hartford will partner with the Amistad Center for Art & Culture for two city events commemorating Juneteenth. Juneteenth was officially recognized as a federal holiday last year. 

The first event will be held on Saturday, June 11th from 12 PM to 4 PM on Burr Mall. The City of Hartford and The Amistad Center will collaborate with the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art on the first event, which will be held at Burr Mall between City Hall and the Wadsworth. This outdoor community celebration will feature programming for all ages, including live performances, music, crafts, and food trucks. Admission to The Wadsworth Atheneum will be free that day.   The second event will be held on Sunday, June 19th at Bushnell Park, and will be a City-wide celebration of Juneteenth featuring live performances, vendors, food, and a showcase of Black art from emerging local artists.

“We are proud to partner with The Amistad Center to host these two community commemorations of Juneteenth, a holiday that both celebrates our nation’s progress toward civil rights and recognizes the unfinished work we have left to do,” said Mayor Bronin. “After last year’s beautiful Juneteenth celebration in Bushnell Park, we’re committed to sustaining and building these celebrations as a new tradition in Hartford, and I’m grateful to Kimberly Kersey and The Amistad Center, as well as the Wadsworth Atheneum for their partnership.”

“For over 30 years, The Amistad Center for Art and Culture has celebrated Juneteenth. Our partnership with the City of Hartford for 2022 promises to bring our most dynamic series of public events while still holding true to The Amistad Center legacy of honoring outstanding community leaders and highlighting area artists,” said Kimberly Kersey, Executive Director of The Amistad Center for Art & Culture.

“The City of Hartford’s Office of Equity and Opportunity is proud to collaborate with local organizations like the Amistad Center on two Juneteenth events this year, which will honor our residents’ diverse heritage while building community connections,” said Karen Taylor, Director of Equity & Opportunity for the City of Hartford. “Our office hosted the City’s first Juneteenth event last year, and it was a beautiful display of talent and culture. This partnership with The Amistad Center will help us build on that effort to celebrate and commemorate Juneteenth.”

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture was founded in 1987 in order to purchase, protect and provide public access to the Randolph Linsly Simpson Collection. This collection, which now consists of 7,000 works of art, artifacts and archives, documents more than 300 years of the artistic, literary, military, enslaved and free life of Blacks in America. In addition to collection care and development, The Amistad Center takes on the broader tasks of preserving and interpreting African American culture and history and addressing misrepresentation and under-representation of this important aspect of our country’s evolution.

A list of participating artists in the June 19th celebration is below:

  • Ellis Echevarria
  • Andre Rochester
  • Jonathan Bruce
  • David Jackson
  • Darryl Oats
  • Mina Echevarria
  • Lindaluz Carillo
  • Danessa Pedrosa
  • Linda Martin
  • Jaii Marc Renee
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