
Alibaba Awrang, left, with family and friends at the opening of his show at The Good Gallery in Kent on Saturday, May 4.
Alexander Wilburn
Alibaba Awrang, left, with family and friends at the opening of his show at The Good Gallery in Kent on Saturday, May 4.
The Good Gallery, located next to The Kent Art Association on South Main Street, is known for its custom framing, thanks to proprietor Tim Good. As of May, the gallery section has greatly expanded beyond the framing shop, adding more space and easier navigation for viewing larger exhibitions of work. On Saturday, May 4, Good premiered the opening of “Through the Ashes and Smoke,” featuring the work of two Afghan artists and masters of their crafts, calligrapher Alibaba Awrang and ceramicist Matin Malikzada.
This is a particularly prestigious pairing considering the international acclaim their work has received, but it also highlights current international affairs — both Awrang and Malikzada are now recently based in Connecticut as refugees from Afghanistan. As Good explained, Matin has been assisted through the New Milford Refugee Resettlement (NMRR), and Alibaba through the Washington Refugee Resettlement Project. NMRR started in 2016 as a community-led non-profit supported by private donations from area residents that assist refugees and asylum-seeking families with aid with rent and household needs.
This is also not the first time two men have shown work in Connecticut together, as they both recently exhibited at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury in an exhibit curated jointly by The Boston Museum of Fine Art, The Munson-Williams Proctor Arts Institute, and The Mattatuck Museum, which was on display from fall 2023 through spring 2024. The exhibition covered topics of diaspora, immigration, and displacement across the 20th century, including the Jim Crow-era Great Migration, the plight of American Indigenous communities, as well as leading up to the international refugee crisis of the modern day. As the U.N. reported in 2023, “Afghan refugees are the third-largest displaced population in the world after Syrian and Ukrainian refugees.” Awrang and Malikzada, who both have young children, found themselves and their families whisked away from Kabul, the large capital city in the eastern part of the country, by the United States as chaos erupted following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. The surge in instability and insecurity, as well as the threat of violence in Afghanistan, propelled their separate evacuations.
"Pomegranate Blood" by Alibaba Awrang.Alexander Wilburn
Malikzada’s pottery, beautifully adorning the front windows of The Good Gallery, shows off both the craftsman’s extreme precision — this is not the “flaws and all” farmhouse style that has become trendy in the U.S. — and his strength in building up large, voluminous vases that finish on a delicate neck and slightly curved opening. As The Museum of Fine Art in Houston wrote, “Matin [has] revitalized a nearly lost art of symmetrical design and turquoise glaze derived from natural pigments unique to Istalifi pottery.”
One of the most striking pieces in the show by Awrang is “Pomegranate Blood,” which infuses the mediums of acrylic paint with watercolors and gold leaf to create an arresting blend of fiery colors and ornate textures woven into the paint like a poem. As the master calligrapher wrote in the show notes, “Kandahar [an Afghan city on the Arghandab River] is one the provinces of Afghanistan where pomegranates are famous for their sweetness. It is a time of celebration. When I was in Kabul, we had pomegranate parties every year at the house of a dear friend. For this reason, I see the pomegranate as the heart of all and it is blood sugar.”
The show notes provide a journey for gallery viewers as they can travel from the Japanese ink painting “Through The Ashes and Smoke,” noted as the last calligraphy piece Awrang did before leaving Afghanistan in 2021, up to more recent 2024 paintings like “Fall,” a mix of intense pinks and blues that serve as his interpretation of the autumnal New England serenity that yearly envelopes the town he’s come to call his new home.
Town of Salisbury
Board of Finance
Notice of Public Hearing Hybrid Meeting
Wednesday,
April 30th, 2025
7:30pm
A public hearing called by the Board of Finance will be held in-person and via Zoom at 7:30pm on Wednesday, April 30th, 2025 at Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, Salisbury, CT 06068 with the following agenda:
1. To receive public comment on the proposed Board of Education budget as presented.
2. To receive public comment on the proposed Board of Selectmen, town government budget as presented.
Note: Copies of the proposed budgets are available at Town Hall.
Board of Finance Meeting Immediately following the Public Hearing
1. Final Budget Review; Discussion and possible vote to present the Board of Education and Board of Selectmen, Town Government Budget to the Annual Town Budget meeting, which will take place on Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 at 7:30pm
Please Note: The Annual Town Budget Meeting date has been changed to Wednesday, May 14th, 2025 at 7:30pm.
Topic: Public Hearing on Budgets immediately followed by Board of Finance
Time: Apr 30, 2025 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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04-24-25
Legal Notice
The Planning & Zoning Commission of the Town of Salisbury will hold a Public Hearing on Special Permit Application #2025-0280 by owner Richard Cantele for Structures Located less than Fifty (50) feet from a Waterbody or Watercourse at 204 Between the Lakes Road, Salisbury, Map 58, Lot 03 per Section 404 of the Salisbury Zoning Regulations. The hearing will be held on Monday, May 5, 2025 at 6:45 PM. There is no physical location for this meeting. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom where interested persons can listen to & speak on the matter. The application, agenda and meeting instructions will be listed at www.salisburyct.us/agendas/. Written comments may be submitted to the Land Use Office, Salisbury Town Hall, 27 Main Street, P.O. Box 548, Salisbury, CT or via email to landuse@salisburyct.us. Paper copies may be reviewed Monday through Thursday between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM.
Salisbury Planning & Zoning Commission
Martin Whalen, Secretary
04-24-25
05-01-25
Notice of Decision
Town of Salisbury
Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission
Notice is hereby given that the following action was taken by the Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission of the Town of Salisbury, Connecticut on April 14, 2025:
Approved - Application 2025-IW-050 by Engineer Pat Hackett to install a new septic system. The property is shown on Salisbury Assessor’s map 59 as lot 09 and is known as 36 South Shore Road, Salisbury. The owner of the property is Noelle G Becker, Trustee.
Any aggrieved person may appeal this decision to the Connecticut Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes §22a-43(a) & §8-8.
04-24-25
TAX COLLECTOR TOWN OF
SALISBURY CT
LEGAL NOTICE
Pursuant to Sec. 12-145 of the Connecticut State Statutes, the taxpayers of the Town of Salisbury are hereby notified that the fourth installment on the Grand List of October 1, 2023 is due and payable on April l, 2025. Payments must be received or postmarked by May 1, 2025. If said Real Estate and Personal Property taxes are not paid on or before May 1, 2025, interest at the rate of one and one half percent (18% per year) will be added for each month or a fraction thereof which elapses from the time when such tax becomes due and payable until the same is paid. Minimum interest charge is $2.00.
Pursuant to Section 12-173 of the Connecticut State Statutes, unpaid Real Estate tax on the Grand List of October 1, 2023 will be LIENED on JUNE 6, 2025. Payment must be received by 12:00 p.m. on June 6, 2025 to avoid a Lien. Tax Office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9am- 4pm. Closed 12:30pm- 1 :30 pm.
Taxes can be paid by mail addressed to: Tax Collector, P.O. Box 338, 27 Main Street, Salisbury, CT 06068, There is a drop box in the vestibule of the Town Hall which is available 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday as well as a 24-hour drop slot at the rear of the building adjacent to the parking area. The Town is urging taxpayers to mail checks or use the option of paying by credit card or E-Check. Please see the Town website salisburyct.us for additional information. Dated at Town of Salisbury, CT this 15TH day of March 2025.
Jean F. Bell, CCMC
Tax Collector
Salisbury CT 06068
03-20-25
04-03-25
04-24-25
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Help wanted: Small Angus Farm seeks reliable help for cattle and horses. Duties include feeding, fence repair, machine repair. Will train the right person. 860-671-0499.
The Town of Cornwall has several job openings for the Town Beach: Beach Director, Water Safety Instructor, and Certified Lifeguards. For more details and to apply, contact First Selectman’s office 860-672-4959.
Hector Pacay Service: House Remodeling, Landscaping, Lawn mowing, Garden mulch, Painting, Gutters, Pruning, Stump Grinding, Chipping, Tree work, Brush removal, Fence, Patio, Carpenter/decks, Masonry. Spring and Fall Cleanup. Commercial & Residential. Fully insured. 845-636-3212.
Hay For Sale: Round Bales. First Cutting covered hay, round bales. First cut hay covered with plastic. $25 for bale loaded. 860-671-0499.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: Equal Housing Opportunity. All real estate advertised in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1966 revised March 12, 1989 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color religion, sex, handicap or familial status or national origin or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All residential property advertised in the State of Connecticut General Statutes 46a-64c which prohibit the making, printing or publishing or causing to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, familial status, physical or mental disability or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
3b/3b home in Sharon:fully furnished, lake access, 3.84 acres. $5000 per month. 860-309-4482.
MT RIGA Two Bedroom LAKEFRONT: Log cabin. Private beach, canoes and kayaks. $1350/Week. 585-355-5245.
Seasonal rental: Very private and comfortable 4B/3B home set back from the road. 6/15-9/15. sun rm/dr, upper and lower decks, ping pong and knock hockey, den, FP, W/D, fully equipped. 15K seas. 917-887-8885.
Sharon Rentals: 1b/1b home on a private lake. Avail 4/1/25. Yearly. $2750/Furnished, weekly house--keeping, garbage, water, ground maint. included. utilities addtl. 860-309-4482.