WNPR <3ford

Hooker and Company Journeying through the Wilderness from Plymouth to Hartford in 1636 by Thomas Cole

WNPR gave some serious love to Hartford last week on two of my favorite local radio shows...

First up: last Wednesday, Where We Live broadcast a live show from the theater at Real Art Ways in my old neighborhood, Parkville. The topic was "Hartford: New England's Rising Star?" (Download episode) The discussion examined the now all too old slogan that attempted to market the city at the turn of the century. It has become horribly played out; no one ever really knew what it meant nor what it was meant to inspire. At one point, truly cynical critics tweaked it to "Hartford: New England's Shooting Star" during a particularly horrible string of violence. John Dankowsky and guests held "a conversation about our capitol city – where it’s been, where it is, where it’s going."

Second: While the topic was more about evolving art in our state, Friday's Colin McEnroe Show did feature The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. The show began with an audio tour of the newly opened Rembrandt's People exhibit. This was followed by a discussion with curator Betsy Kornhauser about the newly reinstalled Hudson River School paintings from the permanent collection. I've actually become a big fan of these paintings, particularly due to their place in American history as the first national school of art to come out of the United States, and the allegories that they convey about their time in that history. The second segment of Mr. McEnroe's show included both the Wadsworth Atheneum and the New Britain Museum of American Art.
(Download episode)