A Partnership of Ethnic Museums and Cultural Centers Museums and cultural centers are essential resources for learning about our diverse cultures and interwoven histories. This year, twenty-two Chicago-area cultural resources have partnered with The Field Museum’s Center for Cultural Understanding and Change to bring you an eighth season of Cultural Connections – a dynamic exploration of Chicago’s communities’ histories, perspectives, and cultural changes. Cultural Connections offers you a unique opportunity to explore Chicago’s communities and uncover connections among people of diverse cultural backgrounds. Program participants experience Chicago in a new way by becoming "urban anthropologists" who use a comparative framework (Common Concerns, Different Responses) and the technique of participant-observation to deepen their understanding when they travel to partner museums and cultural centers. As a program participant, you will observe first voice presentations and performances, examine museum collections, participate in fascinating discussions, and uncover the reasons for cultural differences. As you explore and get to know your neighboring communities through their cultural organizations, you will uncover your cultural connections and deepen your appreciation of the value of Chicago’s cultural diversity! Eight Cultural Connections events take place during a program year that extends from late September to early June. Joint events are developed around an annual theme; this year’s is entitled The Language of Looks. Under this theme partners will explore the different ways we send messages about ourselves through aspects of our appearance. For example, some of the questions partners will consider include: How and when does their appearance reveal a person’s place of origin? Who determines what is appropriate appearance? And why do people sometimes deliberately take on the appearance of others? Each event is a comparative collaboration between two or more Cultural Connections partners. The Cultural Connections partnership for 2005-2006 includes: • American Indian Center • Arab American Action Network (Arts Council) • The Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture • Brazilian Cultural Center of Chicago • Bronzeville/Black Chicagoan Historical Society • Cambodian American Heritage Museum and Killing Fields Memorial • Chicago Historical Society • Chicago Japanese American Historical Society • DuSable Museum of African American History • The Field Museum • Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago • Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center • The HistoryMakers • Indo-American Center • Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture • Italian Cultural Center • Korean American Resource and Cultural Center • Mitchell Museum of the American Indian • The Polish Museum of America • Swahili Institute of Chicago • Swedish American Museum and Center • Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art • Ukrainian National Museum Go to: Program and Registration Information Cultural Connections has received generous support from: Institute of Museum and Library Services Kraft Foods Polk Bros. Foundation Chase Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Chicago Public Schools' Office of Language and Cultural Education Illinois Humanities Council Charles and M.R. Shapiro Foundation The Field Museum salutes the people of Chicago for thier longstanding support of the Museum through the Chicago Park District. Cultural Connections is proud to partner with Chicago Access Network Television (CANTV)