Staff Changes at Creative Connections

Alan Steckler, Creative Connections' founder and Executive Director since 1992, announced today these changes and additions to CC's staff:

* Alan's title is now President and CEO
* Melissa Thomson is now the Chief Operating Officer
* Sudha Sankar remains the Program Director
* Miguel Barreto is now the Director of Operations
* Polly Loughran is now the Program Manager


These changes will help Creative Connections better serve our exchange partners and expand our programming and outreach to bring quality cultural experiences to even more of the world's young people.

We've Moved Across the Street to Stepping Stones Museum for Children

In late August, Creative Connections moved across the street. Our new offices are in Stepping Stones Museum for Children.

While we remain a fully separate organization, we eagerly anticipate the joint programming we will be providing for the hundreds of thousands visitors that come to Stepping Stones each year.

Initial plans call for an international art exhibit for their November re-opening, working with their middle/high school volunteers on an Artlink Plus exchange, and bringing our International Young Performers' Tour (featuring a troupe of talented teenage Cambodian folk and temple dancers) to the museum in May.

Our street address has changed to Mathews Park, 303 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850 but our email address and phone numbers remain the same.

Please stop by for a tour of our new space and the wonderful museum. We'd love to show you around!

Creative Connections Holds Exciting Gala Fundraiser

Creative Connections’ annual Gala Fundraiser took place on May 13, 2010 at Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT. Nearly 100 guests enjoyed the following:

* a selection of children’s art work from our 2009-2010 International Children’s Art Exhibition, including pieces from recent exchanges between kids in the US and Haiti and the Guatemalan rainforest;
* lively entertainment from the a capella singing groups, Beachside Express and Harbor Blues, from Greens Farms Academy (Westport, CT) and by the Terry Hess Band (Stamford, CT);
* delicious hors d’oeuves from Valencia Luncheria (Norwalk ,CT);
and an exciting silent auction.

The evening also featured a new video detailing some of Creative Connections’ work in recent months. It can be viewed by clicking here.

Our thanks go out to all who helped to make this special evening such a great success!

Newly Posted: The 2010 International Children's Art Exhibit

The show, featuring insightful art from young artists in 28 countries, was on display at the New Canaan Library from April 7-May 12. The festive artist reception was attended by over 100 local artists, teachers, family members and friends.

"Expressions: Celebrating our Traditions and Values", showcases the talents of 180 student artists sharing the traditions that mean the most to them.

This exhibit can now be viewed on our website. Click here to go directly to this exhbit.

Creative Connections thanks Developing World Markets for underwriting both the "live" show and the online exhbit.

Announcing the 2010 Int'l and US Art Partners of the Year

Princess and Mohammed at the opening reception of our 2010 Art Show on April 7.

Creative Connections is honored to announce this year's Art Partners of the Year:

International Award: Mohammed Abdel Dayem's class at the Wakalet El Ghouri Art Center in Cairo, Egypt.

US Award: Princess Cureton's class at North Mianus School, Riverside, CT.

Both Mohammed's and Princess' classes produced a wide variety of colorful, thoughtful pieces for their partners that communciated the richness of their respective cultures. Congratulations to the talented young artists and their teachers for being such fine ambassadors for their countries.

Now Booking! "The Children of Khmer" Dance Troupe for May 2011 Tour

We are thrilled that the exquisite "Children of Khmer" from Cambodia will be our Spring 2011 International Young Performers' Tour participants. Ten talented teenage dancers in beautiful costume perform a combination of exquisite classical and exhuberant folk dances.

Following the troupe's highly successful appearances at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (see video and review excerpts below), this tour will be the troupe's first visit to the USA.

This tour is produced in partnership with Cambodian Living Arts, a group dedidicated to supporting the revival of traditional Khmer performing arts by bringing motivated youngsters together with master dance and music teachers.

We will be shortly taking full and half day school bookings for "Children of Khmner" for their 2-week stay with us from May 2 - 13, 2011. As always, the group will not only perform, but visit classrooms and give dance workshops at each school venue.

Click here for booking details, video of the group, press reviews, tour testimonials, etc.

You can also watch the video here and read some press reviews from their Edinburgh performances.



From The Independent

The country's ancient arts and legendary tales are revived in an irresistibly engaging production by these highly disciplined, enthusiastic teenagers. From the elegant opening candlelit "Prayer", the show focuses on varied aspects of folklore and tradition – as depicted in the carvings of Angkor Wat temple – from the ritual of "dashing coconut shells" and skill of picking cardamom, to an amusing re-enactment of the tale of the golden mermaid and the monkey king.
Exquisitely stylised in gesture, gorgeously colourful in costume, the dancers are expertly accompanied on traditional and ceremonial instruments in a show that dazzles in its infectious exuberance.

From The List - click here

From The Scotsman click here

Artist/Educators Jury Tackles Art Show Selection Task

On Tuesday, January 5th, and Friday, January 8th, a group of energetic and thoughtful volunteers came together to serve as the jury for Creative Connections' 2009-2010 International Childrens Art Exhibition, to be presented from April 14 to May 16, 2010 at the New Canaan Public Library in New Canaan, CT.

The selection took place at the studios of the Wilson Avenue Loft Artists in Norwalk, CT. Over 2,000 pieces of student art from the United States and 28 other countries were viewed by the jury and around 150 pieces were selected for the show. Selection criteria included both the pieces' cultural content and artistic merit.

Since November, packages of artwork have been arriving at our offices in Norwalk, CT from classrooms in the US and around the world as part of our ArtLink exchange program. Now that the selection is completed, each package of artwork from the US will be forwarded to a partner classroom overseas and each overseas package will be sent to a US classroom.

The students in each class will use the art as a means of learning about the culture of their partners and many of the partner classes will engage in further dialogue and communication with each other, continuing their exchange of information and ideas.

Creative Connections would like offer our sincere thanks to the following individuals who gave so much time and careful consideration to the selection process:

Peter Corbin, Millbrook, NY
Kathy Draper, Norwalk, CT
Maria del Rosario Fernandez, Key Biscayne, FL
Barbara Kurtz, Stamford, CT
Christine Glidden, Redding, CT
Leslie van de Velde Laughren, Darien, CT
Gillian Marshall, Norwalk, CT
Kim Pendergast, Norwalk, CT
Ann Weiner, Westport, CT

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