Event Calendar

Date: April 18th, 2021

Time: 4:00 pm 

The League of Women Voters of Litchfield County will partner the Litchfield HistoricalSociety to host Alicia Kinsman for a Zoom talk titled "Human Trafficking: A Victim Service Provider Perspective” on Sunday, April 18^th, at 4:00 PM. Please sign up to join by emailing registration@LitchfieldHistoricalSociety.organd the link will be sent to you.

Alicia Kinsman is an immigration attorney who provides technical assistance and support for the legal immigration program at the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (CIRI), which serves over 3,000 clients each year.  She also works as staff attorney for Project Rescue, CIRI’s anti-human trafficking program, and provides legal representation in immigration matters to victims of human trafficking and other crimes.

Kinsman will address the fundamentals of human trafficking, a euphemism for the crime of modern-day slavery. The devastating truth is that slavery is more widespread than ever before. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), in2016, at any given time, 40.3 million people were enslaved.  And in 2020, CIRI worked with nearly 100survivors of this heinous crime here in our state. She will discuss the seriousness of this crime, the many forms it can take, and the important role that everyone can play in identifying and serving victims.

Date: April 22, 2021

Time: 6:00 pm 

Location: Zoom

Registration: Required

Email registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org to get the Zoom link

The Litchfield Historical Society is planning a series of virtual lectures that reexamine fine and decorative art pieces through the human, ecological, and economic impact of the production and distribution of these objects. Join us for a virtual lecture on Thursday, April 22nd at 6:00pm. Author and Professor Jennifer Anderson will be giving a talk on her book “Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America”.    

The Society typically uses its collection of regional furniture from the late-18th and 19th centuries to interpret local furniture makers and their clients, but what about the wood itself?   By the 1760s, imported mahogany was all the rage for fine furniture in colonial America. As these coveted trees were quickly depleted in much of their native Caribbean range, however, the mahogany trade became increasingly risky and competitive. In her talk, Prof. Jennifer Anderson will discuss some highlights of her research into the adventures (and misadventures) of various participants and their quest to secure this precious material. 

Jennifer Anderson is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Stony Brook University (SUNY). Jennifer has an MA from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture and a PhD in Atlantic and Early American History from New York University. She is the author of Mahogany: The Costs of Luxury in Early America (Harvard Univ. Press, 2012) about the social and environmental history of the tropical timber trade in the 18th century. Strongly committed to public history, she has served as a historical consultant at numerous historic sites and museums.  

The lecture will be presented over Zoom. Space on zoom is limited and early registration is recommended. To Register  email registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org

Date: May 12, 2021

Time: 7:00 pm 

Location: Zoom

Registration: Required

Email registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org to get the Zoom link

The Litchfield Historical Society is continuing their series of virtual lectures reexamining fine and decorative art pieces through the human, ecological, and economic impact of the production and distribution of these objects. The second talk in the series will be held on Wednesday, May 12th at 7:00 pm. Brandy Culp, the Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, will be sharing the bitter side of sugar’s history.  

The Society has a rich collection of objects related to sugar - bowls, boxes, tongs, nippers and more. But where did this sweet treat come from and how did it end up on tables in Litchfield?  In her talk, Brandy Culp will share the darker side to Sugar’s past, from its place as a luxury item, to the integral role of slavery in its production and global trade.  

Brandy S. Culp is the Richard Koopman Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Before joining the Atheneum, Culp was the curator of Historic Charleston Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in the Department of American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. She has held positions at the Bard Graduate Center (BGC) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She received her M.A. from the BGC. She has most recently curated, Simply Splendid: Rethinking American Design, Bed Furnishings in Early America, An Intimate Look, and Design in the American Home. She is currently working on the Wadsworth’s American art galleries reinstallation, a permanent silver installation, and an exhibition on the material culture of sugar. 

The lecture will be presented over Zoom. Space on zoom is limited and early registration is recommended. To Register  email registration@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org