If you broke down the reasons why us Providence folk love living in our city, you’d find that (along with Food, History, Architecture, and Academia), our great love of Art is a fundamental tenet of our experience.
As the days become shorter, and I have more time on my hands as the real estate season becomes a little slower, I’m always looking for ways to breathe and appreciate what we have surrounding us. Here are 4 great places to experience some of the amazing art in our city. Get out there and have fun while supporting local business!
The Paint Bar at The Avenue Concept
The Avenue Concept has been the driving force behind a lot of the public art and murals that you see on a regular basis in Providence. What you might not know is that they have 240 feet of legal wall space that you can practice your mural, or street art on. Purchase your paint on site and start creating.
https://theavenueconcept.org/programs/paint-bar/
Gather Glass
Providence has a long history of masterful works of glass blowing art, including Dale Chihuly, RISD alum. Gather Glass continues this narrative with the hope to create an experience that inspires others. Here you can take a one-time class with a master glass blower to create ornaments, paperweights, bowls, and glassware – OR you can take a 4-week introductory course on glass blowing.
https://www.gatherglass.com/glassblowing-classes
The Steel Yard
You may have been to The Steel Yard for an event or their (now famous) Halloween pour, but did you know that they also provide resources for workforce development, public art, and artist in residency programs? They have many classes to choose from. It’s not just welding, and blacksmithing – take a class on ceramics or jewelry-making here too.
http://www.thesteelyard.org/takeacourse/courses
AS220
No list of artistic opportunities in Providence would be complete without the leader in this space, AS220. Nurturing and hosting artists since 1985, the Providence arts scene would not be the creative powerhouse that it is today. Naturally, AS220 has a multitude of workshops for you to experience everything from Photography, Silk-screening, Digital Music Production, and Dance.
https://shop.as220.org/pages/about-workshops
*Robert Rutley with Mott and Chace Sotheby’s International Realty is a premier sponsor of the arts in Providence with active support of Waterfire, and the Avenue Concept.
