MY PICKS
Here is my selection of events that you should definitely consider checking out this week.
8/25
Stretch & Strength at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 12-1 pm, $5
Open Life Drawing at AS220, 6 pm-8:30, $6
Intermediate Ballet Class with Danielle Davidson at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 7:15 pm-8:45 pm, $13 per class/$60 for 6 classes
Single Lash, Future Museums, Pixels, and Twenty Four Hours at Psychic Readings, 9 pm, $5
Boot Leg Soul, John Paul Colasante, Not For Coltrane at AS220 Main Stage, 9:30 pm, $6
Beach House at Lupo’s, 9 pm, $27 adv/$30 day of
8/26
MOVIES ON THE ROCKS: Breakfast Club at Ballard Park Quarry Meadow, Dusk (8:15-8:30), Free
Vinyasa Yoga with Julie Shore at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, Noon-1 pm, $5
Open Level Modern Dance at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 6:30-8 pm, $13 per class/$60 for 6 classes
Music at Sunset – Super Chief Trio at Blithewold Mansion Gardens & Arboretum, 6 pm, Member $7, Non-Member $10
Arkham Film Society presents: THE NORTHVILLE CEMETERY MASSACRE at 95 Empire, 9 pm, $5
Jeff Lavender (Valencourt), Rich Ferri, Travis Alexander (Ghost Thrower), Ava Callery at AS220 Main Stage, $6
Earl Sweatshirt at Lupo’s, 9 pm, $22.50 adv/$25 day of
Shark Rock at The Met, 9 pm, $8
8/27
Musette Explosion at The Towers, 7 pm, $15
Evening Yoga at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 6:15 pm, $13 per class; $60 for 6 classes
Movies on the Block: BADLANDS at Grants Block, 7:30 pm, Free
2015 Burnside Music Series: Dirt Pony + DJ LaRochelle at Kennedy Plaza, 4:30 pm, Free
Songwriters in the Round at AS220 Main Stage, 7 pm, $5
Top 5 Fiend Presents: Seven Hats Parade, Debcaster, Hwuevo, Feng Shui Police at AS220 Main Stage, 9 pm, $7
Debcaster, Two Brothers, Feng Shui Police, The Novi Giants at AS220, 9 pm, $7
8/28
Gallery Talk With Mara Metcalf at AS220 Project Space, 5:30 pm, Free
Lulz! Comedy Open Mic Night at Psychic Readings, 9 pm, Free
Triangle Forest, Home Body, House Red at AS220 Main Stage, 9 pm, $6
8/29
Newport Stamp Act Protest Re-Enactment at Colony House, 1 pm, Free (Afterparty $25)
Traditional Irish Music Session at AS220 Bar & FOO(D), 4 pm, Free
Chalk the Walk at Providence Children’s Museum, All Day, Free with Museum admission of $9.00 per person
Field of Artisans at South Kingstown Town Beach, 11 am, Free
Slater’s Art and Manufacture Festival at Slater Mill, 11 am, Free
Film Screening: (IT’S A) COMPLEX WORLD at Slater Mill, 8 pm, Free
Morals, She Said That, Twin Foxes, Otp, and Forrest Fires at AS220 Main Stage, 9 pm, $6
Mike Mave, Nostalgia, Beth Killian, Sun of Sound, Big Scythe and SOL, and Aubrey Mable at The Met, $10 adv, $12 day of
8/30
Core Workout with Daniel Shea at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 9 am, $5
Beginner Ballet at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 10:30, $13 per class/$60 for 6 classes
Intermediate Ballet w/ Stephanie Albanese at 95 Empire Dance Studio, Noon, $13 per class/$60 for 6 classes
Jay Brunelle, Bobby B. Keyes, “Sax” Gordon Beadle, The Young Adults at Slater Mill, 11 am, Free
The Wankys (Uk), Who Killed Spikey Jacket?, Cabbageheads (Mi), and Funeral Cone at AS220 Main Stage, 9 pm, $6
8/31
Intermediate/Advanced Modern Dance at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 6:30 pm, $13 per class/$60 for 6 classes
9/1
Stretch & Strength at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, Noon, $5
Open Life Drawing at AS220, 6 pm, $6
Intermediate Ballet Class with Danielle Davidson at AS220 Live Arts Dance Studio, 7:15 pm-8:45 pm, $13 per class/$60 for 6 classes
Open Sewing Circle at AS220, 9 pm, Free
]]>Says co-founder Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, this performance
Continues a tradition that explores how we can take advantage of a diversity interests and talent but at the same time explore and heighten experience of art froms that might not be presented together but can heighten experience of both.
Interested parties can contact the theater via their website, www.mmtri.com, or at 401-305-7333.
Ricardo and Bernadet Pitts-Wiley founded Mixed Magic Theatre in 2000. Located in the Hope Artiste Village, the 501 (c) (3) is a multi-ethnic performance collective that has been responsible for a variety of shows and exhibitions, including MOBY DICK: THEN & NOW, FATE COMES KNOCKING, MISERY’S FIEND: FRANKENSTEIN, DUNBAR DONE BY, and DON QUIXOTE.
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Rhode Island College alumnus and East Providence High School art teacher Amy Rudis will become the featured artist of the URI Feinstein Providence Campus Urban Arts and Culture Program Art Windows & Providence Art Windows gallery exhibition from July 1-August 21 with her new show EMERGENCE.
The principal portrait painter at TEN31 Productions, her work has reached a nationwide level with TEN31’s Performance Art/Living Statues show and individual canvas work. She concentrates her efforts especially on human figure and nude paintings.
In her artistic statement, she cites as some of her influences Lucian Freud and Philip Perlstein, as well as the chiaroscuro notions of using light and shadow as seen in major works of the Renaissance. She writes in her artistic statement:
As a figurative artist, I feel the importance of capturing both beauty and imperfection in the human form is imperative in evoking emotion within the viewer. Nudes have long been a popular subject matter amongst artists, and have in the recent past seemingly, become a dying art form. It is my desire to give rise to the appreciation for figurative art simply as a work of beauty; drawing the viewer’s eye into the subtle nuances of form and color being my main goal.
The exhibit’s Gallery Night Reception will be held from 5-9 PM on July 16. Questions can be directed to Providence Art Windows Director Rebecca Siemering at rebecca.siemering@gmail.com. Founded in 2010 with funding from Arts Jobs Program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Providence Art Windows is a juried series of exhibitions of art held in empty retail storefronts and collaborating galleries. For more information, visit their website at http://providenceartwindows.blogspot.com. The Urban Arts and Culture Program at URI Providence Campus is a program that brings together students, alumni, and community groups to foster education about culture, urban issues, diversity, and nonviolence. Their website is http://www.uri.edu/prov/arts/ and can be contacted via the URI Urban Arts and Culture Program Marketing Department at 401- 277-5162.
]]>Please pardon me if I lead with a shockingly “artistic” word that wouldn’t be printed in a family newspaper…
What the fuck is the State of Rhode Island doing by removing the sales tax on “the arts” and then proposing to borrow $35 million to fund the arts? And why the hell is the Governor proposing to shift the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the RI Film and TV office into the made-over EDC, now called the Rhode Island Commerce Department?
In case you missed it, let me give you a brief recap. During the last legislative session, the government freed citizens from the onerous burden of kicking in 7% extra on purchases of paintings, sculptures and so on. Since the whole state is now tax free, you won’t have to travel to the former tax havens of Newport, Tiverton, and Little Compton or lesser-known parts of Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket or Warwick to get a deal on a stainless steel mobile or a portrait of your great Aunt. (See http://www.arts.ri.gov/special/districts/)
The idea is that Rhode Island would become an art buying tourist destination, drawing thousands of wealthy patrons from around the globe to spend their millions here. Yes, we’ll lose the 7%, but we’d gain so much more in hotel and restaurant revenue.
Theoretically lucky artists, maids and waiters will dance in the streets filling their buckets from the rain of money showered upon them by all those wolves and wolverines of Wall Street looking to wallpaper their apartments in Dubai. I’m not going to hold my breath.
But, in the meantime, if we’re not generating revenue from the arts, where will we get state funding for the arts?
We’re going to borrow it. Yes, just like we pay for our bridges and roads, Rhode Islander’s are going to be asked to pay extra for years to come for the art that we use today.
Maybe if the $35 million was going to actually pay for new works of art, that might be interesting (as well as profitable for folk like myself), but it’s not. According to the Providence Journal, $30 million of that will be funding for “public and non-profit cultural and performance centers” like Trinity Rep. The last $5 million will go to fund historical sites and cultural centers. I like Trinity. I like historical sites. That’s not arts funding.
The Governor also proposed an additional $1 million for art to come from the general revenue fund.
Will this million go to make more art? Will it go to bring more art to children in public schools?
According to RISCA, the answer is, nope.
“This $1 million in new funding does not provide additional resources for grants to artists, arts organizations or schools. The Governor recommended a hold-even budget of $590,000 in state funds in our discretionary grant category.”
—RISCA Website (http://www.arts.ri.gov/blogs/?p=11952)
Under this proposal, the former EDC, now called the Rhode Island Commerce Department, will become the administrator for the $35 million. RISCA and Film will move into the Commerce Offices and “collaborate.” (Editor’s note: here’s how Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts described their proposed new relationship on Twitter today and here’s how he describe it in a blog post recently.)
According to the Governor, this will “synergize and enliven the state’s creative apparatus.” Furthermore, Chafee said, “the Commerce Corporation will be a valuable tool for organizing customized programs for the arts: design shops, historical sites, intellectual property producers, all of which drive so much of our economy.”
We’ve seen how great the EDC has been at disbursing creative funds that generate jobs so far (See 38 Studios). I can only imagine how much better the arts will be when fully “synergized”
Oh, and instead of making a campaign contribution this month. Go out and spend a few dollars or a hundred dollars or even $1,000 on art made in Rhode Island. I can promise you that every dollar you spend will be appreciated and recycled within the community. And you’ll have something cool to hang on the wall, or read.
And maybe donate an extra 7% to a charity. Rich people might not be able to afford it, but you can.
]]>Rosenbaum said the money would go towards upkeep, restoration and safety upgrades at some of the many historic and/or aging theaters and galleries around Rhode Island. He mentioned, among others, PPAC, Trinity and the Second Story Theater in Warren. He also pointed out how such spending has a direct and demonstrable effect on the Ocean State economy:
“These investments actually turn into an opportunity to make these arts facilities work better as an economic generator for our state,” he said. He said there is $300 to $400 million in direct spending because of the non-profit art industry, not to mention all the additional economic activity that spending generates and that there are some 13,000 artists or people in creative professions in the Ocean State.”
Rosenbaum, who celebrates 19 years with the state Council on the Arts next month, said Chafee isn’t the first governor in recent memory to offer vociferous support to the arts. Linc Almond, he said, pledged to commit $1 million to art grants and “we got really close to that” securing $965,000 in grants. “During the Carcieri Administration we started a fairly steep decline,” he said, funds cut by 40 percent. He applauded Chafee for holding the line during lean years on this program.
You can listen to our entire conversation about how the arts can and does drive the local economy.
But now, pretty much everybody who’s ever been to a Wooly Fair has been asking, “What happened to Wooly Fair?”
The truth is that the event got too big for the rag-tag coalition of artists and activist to manage effectively. So in 2012 we chose to focus on reorganizing ourselves to support the growing event.
Now we’re Wooly Town, established 2013, and bigger and better and woolier than ever. And tonight we’re launching work on the 2013 Wooly Town Fair…WOOLY FAIR!!!
At the Wooly Town Meeting tonight in Monohasset Mill the Wooly Town governors, who have been working for a year to get ourselves to this point, will present our plans for the 2013 Wooly Town Fair before holding an moderated, open discussion on the same. Then the various Wooly Town departments will hold a job fair and recruit people to work on various parts of the event.
Your Frymaster is director-nominee for the Wooly Town Deparment of Public Works, aka, the Wooly Works, and we have plans for wicked pissah building and stuff. But the 2013 Wooly Town Fair focuses primarily on electricity – generation, storage and delivery – so Power & Light will undertake an ambitious project to develop stand-alone, 12-volt infrastructure that will let us eliminate extension cords entirely.
Learn (barely any) more at the new Wooly Town website and/or sign up at the Facebook event linked above. And we’ll see you in Wooly Town!
]]>Saturday night I went to the Revival! show, which reopened the Columbus Theatre on Broadway after years of vacancy, finally allowing the Theatre’s years-old ‘Opening Soon’ marquee to host a far cheerier message: “Sold Out.”
The Columbus was packed and the sets by Brown Bird and The Low Anthem were, unsurprisingly, excellent. And the building, while not yet a finished product, really is a gem.
But the vibe in the Columbus last night seemed to go beyond the excitement produced by a good show. This is an unscientific measure, but from the people I talked to myself and the conversations I overhead and the general ebullience I observed on the faces of the (approximately 1,000?) concert-goers filling the long-abandoned hall, I could tell there was another emotion shared by many throughout the course of the evening—hope. Hope that this humming, spirit-filled theater might be a tool for, and a symbol of, the revitalization of the neighborhood and the city at large.
“This building comes alive for an event like this,” said Bryan Principe, City Councilman of Ward 13, who seemed to be having this same thought when I spotted him sitting towards the back of the theater with a big grin on his face. “The whole street comes alive. There’s electricity in the air. It’s absolutely a boon for the neighborhood.”
Principe had a good point. I can’t remember when I’ve seen Broadway like it was last night, lined with parked cars as far as the eye could see, the sidewalk bustling with people and the street filled with energy and excitement.
The social and cultural benefits provided by a place like the Columbus–which will soon be regularly hosting concerts, comedy shows, and other community meetings and events–are plain to see. But it’s important to also keep in mind the economic stimulus such spaces have the potential to offer to our city. The energy and the excitement and the crowd that the Columbus drew to Broadway this weekend resulted in an influx of folks simply wanting to be there, in that neighborhood, in our capital city, eating and drinking and talking and spending their money in the community
What I’m saying isn’t novel, of course. In Providence it is not a new idea that the arts can serve as a potent economic engine for the community, and I’m not just talking about WaterFire–just look at the unbelievable work AS220 has done to bring life and vibrancy and beauty to our downtown. Our city’s and our state’s amazing artistic foundation has been one of the pillars of our economy for some time, and as such, it must be one of the central pillars of our economic revitalization. That’s why Mayor Taveras (who gave remarks at Saturday’s opening), was absolutely right when he said, “This building represents what’s best about the City of Providence.”
And it’s why all of us–policymakers and consumers alike–should be prioritizing support for ventures like the Columbus, which epitomize the lesson that collectively, we can bring something empty and forgotten back, and make it work, and make it beautiful again. It might sound crazy, but for those few hours I was in that space, reveling in the rush of reincarnation, it really did all feel possible. We can revitalize, we can rebuild. Let’s keep it up.
]]>The creative sector – which includes performing and visual arts, museums, film, radio, and TV, design and publishing and arts schools and services – added 770 jobs between 2011 and 2012, according to the report and 460 new businesses were created, for a 16 percent growth.
Since 2007, the creative sector has added 52 percent more businesses and overall job growth has grown by 13 percent.
“Anecdotally, we’ve long understood the creative industries as a strong and resilient sector, and a significant asset to RI’s economy,” said Libby Slader, the chairwoman of RI CFA who owns an interior design firm. “With these compiled figures, we now also have concrete evidence. This is truly a solid basis for more growth and makes for a wise investment in our state. In addition to providing core industry jobs, the creative sector feeds innovation and entrepreneurship.
According to the release, Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed agrees. In a statement provided by RI CFA, she said:
]]>“Rhode Island’s creative industries play an important role in building and sustaining a strong economy. This annual report reinforces the importance of this vital sector to our overall economic health. Jobs are being created in the arts-related businesses, which are important to tourism and broader economic development efforts.”
In a smart move that plays to the state’s natural advantages, Rhode Island is using the arts as an economic engine.
“Let’s be clear: State socialism created the suburbs. That migration – of educated, middle class workers away from the cities and mill villages – limited tax revenues and job opportunities in city centers across the state.” – Daniel Lawlor.
Why is Gina Raimondo trying to undercut Gov. Chafee’s efforts to help out struggling cities and towns? Here’s why.
If Anthony Gemma took his candidacy for Congress more seriously so would the media. But, then again, if he wasn’t such a joke, neither would be his campaign.
It’s Marathon Monday in Massachusetts today, when the Red Sox play their annual 11 am home game in conjunction with the Boston Marathon, but it’s also Patriot’s Day, marking the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first actual military skirmish of the American Revolution, which Ralph Waldo Emerson dubbed “the shot heard ’round the world.”
It’s also the day the Senate is slated to take its first vote on the Buffett Rule … check out our coverage here.
This page may be updated throughout the day. Click HERE for an archive of the RI Progress Report.
]]>Based on the advice of my friend Lord Giovanni, we brought The Silks up to the shop to cap off one of those morale-boosting days, and they positively CRUSHED it. It’s not easy to please true-to-life factory types, ultra-genius engineers and, well, me. But they had 100% of the people smiling. The support card tonight includes The Atlantic Thrills, who will rip your face off and gave up a stellar performance at last year’s Wooly Fair.
The wider music scene in PVD also includes The Rice Cakes clever post-pop, The ‘mericans ‘mericana as well as RI Future’s own Alex Moore’s The Invisible Hours psychedelic pop and Reza Clifton‘s soulful hip-hop to name but a few.
Okay, enough with the name-dropping link bait. You get the point.
Next month will mark my 20th anniversary as a Providencean (with a few years as a Bucketeer), and right now is the best it’s been. I realize that RI features some particularly ugly statistics and that some, even many folks are having a tough time. But for me, this is the most satisfying life experience to date.
Why? It’s the cult-chuh!
Here’s the thing. It’s not like I moved here from South Carolina or the ‘burbs of VA. I’ve lived in Boulder, CO; San Francisco; Burlington, VT and East Jeezum, VT.
There’s obviously a pattern. I’ve always actively sought a liberal or progressive political culture and an active local arts scene. While I didn’t choose to move to Providence, I choose to stay because I really love it here.
It’s fashionable to bash on Rhode Island, and even I was pushed over the edge by my DMV-ing last week. But these negatives quickly fade away when I have so many stimulating and satisfying options from which to choose. When I hear people beef about RI, I really don’t get it. What do you want out of life, people?
Of course, Providence isn’t for everybody, and to each his or her own. I know that one frequent commenter is quite satisfied with the VA ‘burbs, although another person I know is positively hating it down there and can’t wait to come back. I’ve had family reasons to go to South Carolina many times, but I’m hoping I never have to go there again as long as I live.
To each his or her own. Fair enough.
If you’ve never been to a show at Machines with Magnets, you have missed a fabulous and unique experience. (GO TONIGHT!) MwM in Pawtucket is a recording studio, an art gallery and a performance space. And all the parts are strong. They’ve recorded both Battles records, local heros Deer Tick and a lot of other highly demanding artists. To call the shows in the gallery/performance space “intimate” does not express the immediacy of the experience. It is at once world-class, entirely approachable and actively supportive of the local scene. Where else can you cite that’s like that?
Wooly Fair, of which I am a part, is head and shoulders above any arts event I’ve ever been to. What makes Wooly so amazing is the complete and utter lack of support from anybody who’s not an artist or creative of some sort. There’s practically no corporate or civic sponsorship, and to date, it’s been almost entirely volunteer-driven. That leaves us free to create what no highly sponsored event can – total madness.
Lastly, Thee Red Fez is my favorite restaurant anywhere. Well, Bazaar in Amsterdam gives it a run for its money. It may be the ultimate expression of Providence-ness. Founded by a (married) couple of punks, it makes eclectic seem boring. The vibe is young and lively, and the menu is constantly changing with a focus on local ingredients. Chef Ed Raposa is a food genius. Breaded, deep-fried kim chee. Quod erat demonstrum. I’ve taken numerous clients there, and one – a true world traveler – paid it the ultimate compliment of photographing the menu and sending it to a friend as part of their ongoing best-menus game called “Where Am I?” None of the three guesses was “Providence”, and the revealed answer was met with complete incredulity.
This posting of some dozen-odd examples only scratches the surface of the outrageously rich cultural life that makes Providence such a great place to live. In conclusion, I like it here.
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