Best of Rhode Island 2020
While the pandemic changed life as we knew it, we’ve still got a lot to celebrate. Check out this list of do-good Rhode Islanders with whom we are lucky to share this place we call home, plus the results of our annual readers’ poll.
Photography courtesy of the Avenue Concept. “Misty Blue” mural photograph by Damian Meneghini.
The Avenue Concept
Fostering love for public art through safe, self-guided outdoor tours.
When museums closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Avenue Concept created a plan to promote its outdoor self-guided public art tours in downtown Providence and the South Side/West End. The tours are a perfect social-distancing activity for people to observe and learn about art from mastermind muralists and sculptors. Online maps pinpoint dozens of murals and sculptures in the area, and each location has a QR code that participants can scan for more info about the works while they’re at the site. Here are a few must-see murals on the public tour, but you can check out all of the art at theavenueconcept.org/programs/wayfinding.
“Misty Blue” by Andrew Hem
Hem is the son of refugees who escaped from Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime. The artist reflected on the local Cambodian community to create this mural while working from a photo of a girl he met in Cambodia and placing her against a dreamy background. 118 Orange St., Providence
“Dear Urban Females” by Angela Gonzalez/AGonza
AGonza’s art “is based on feminism, socialism and issues within urban communities.” She painted four individual panels on the rear-facing downtown façade of the Providence National Bank building with the image of the same powerful woman donning an earring, each one representing the flag of a different country. The center panel combines the female symbol with a raised fist to demonstrate the impact of the “strong urban female” in a state with a predominantly female population. This work is currently being replaced by a mural painted by Boston-based artist Sagie Vangelina (@rastagrandpa), who will pay tribute to singer and activist Nina Simone through art. 35 Weybosset St., Providence
“Still Here” by Gaia
Gaia’s mural was created in collaboration with the Tomaquag Museum in Exeter and features a contemporary Indigenous woman holding the portrait of Princess Redwing, a Narragansett and Wampanoag elder, historian, folklorist and curator, surrounded by native flora. It’s a powerful statement on Rhode Island’s Native American community.
32 Custom House, Providence
“Like a Buoy, Like a Barrel” by Steven Siegel
Editors’ note: Unfortunately, this sculpture was destroyed by fire last month after the magazine already went to press. Please share your memories of the sculpture on social media using the hashtag #AvenuePVD.
This piece by the world-renowned American sculptor confronts our need for consumption and our wide use of single-use plastics. The artist commonly uses a mass of everyday objects — in this case plastic containers collected by schoolchildren — to create a statement on the world at large. Wexford Science and Technology Center, 225 Dyer St., Providence —Jamie Coelho
