AS220
 |
|
| Type | Nonprofit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Arts |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Providence, USA |
| Key people | Umberto Crenca, Susan Clauson |
| Website | www.as220.org |
AS220 is a non-profit community arts center located at 115 Empire Street in Downtown, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. AS220 maintains four dozen artist live/work studios, around a dozen individual work studios, four rotating exhibition spaces, a performance space, a black box theatre, a dance studio, a print shop, a community darkroom and digital photo lab, a high-tech fabrication lab, an organization-run bar and restaurant, a recording studio, and a youth program, AS220 Youth (formerly named the Broad Street Studio). Its mission is to provide a forum and home for the arts and the creative population of Rhode Island. The facilities and services are made available to all artists who need a place to exhibit, perform, or create their original artwork, especially those who cannot obtain space to exhibit or perform from traditional sources because of financial or other limitations. They also provide a Youth Studio which offers classes to young people in a variety of genres. Exhibitions and performances are unjuried, uncensored, and open to all ages.
Contents |
[edit] History
AS220 was founded in 1985 by Umberto Crenca, Susan Clausen, and Scott Seabolt as a space for artists and performers in the realms of visual art, music, dance, and writing to exhibit their work and be experimental. They sought to create a forum without the pretension or curatorial constraints of the traditional art world. AS220 began as a collection of seven studios, a gallery, and a performing center on Weybosset St. and Richmond St. in Providence.[1] In 1992, AS220 acquired its own 21,000 square foot building on 95-121 Empire Street, which it renovated in order to create a space for a mixed-use arts complex including resident artists, Groundwerx Dance Company, and the Perishable Theater.[2][3] Additionally, this was a large step in the creation of an Arts and Entertainment District in Providence. [4]
In 2000, AS220 established the Broad Street Studio. Between 2003 and 2006, they launched a Capital Campaign which raised $2 million to improve the Empire Street Complex, including the creation of the AS220 Bar and Restaurant.[5] In 2006, AS220 purchased the Dreyfus Hotel, on the corner of Washington and Mathewson Street in downtown Providence, from Johnson & Wales University. By May 2007, the 24,000 square foot building was fully restored and occupied. Today, it is home to fourteen residential studios and four work rental studios, as well as the AS220 administrative offices. The building's first floor commercial spaces are occupied by Local 121, an upscale farm-to-table restaurant, and the AS220 Project Space Gallery.[6]
In 2008, AS220 purchased the Mercantile Block, its third downtown building, locted at 131 Washington Street. The building, which has four stories and a basement, totals 50,000 square feet. The historic Mercantile Block is used for arts-related offices, work and live studios, and unique local retail and commercial spaces. Clark the Locksmith and The Stable bar, continue to operate on the renovated first floor, as well as local restaurant Viva Mexico!. The AS220 Labs and Printshop also relocated to the Mercantile Block, with expanded bi-level spaces which has introduced digital photography, studio lighting, and photo finishing to AS220 Photo.[7]
[edit] Notable Events
- In 1992, AS220 released an eponymous entitled compilation album, with songs mostly recorded at AS220 in order to raise money for the organization.[8]
- The late writer/actor Spalding Gray performed a monologue at a 1993 benefit to over 600 individuals.[9]
- In 1991, Bikini Kill performed with The Nation of Ulysses and Born Against.[10]
- In 2010, contemporary artist Shepard Fairey received the first AS220 Free Culture award.[11]
- In 2010, activist, academic, and author Lawrence Lessig participated in a forum on free culture, copyright, and public art.[11]
[edit] Buildings and Programs
AS220 offers a variety of performance, learning, residential, studio, and gallery spaces for the community.
[edit] Empire Street
The Empire Street complex at AS220 draws in an estimated 50,000 people per year. It houses the AS220 Performance Space, The AS220 Bar, AS220 Foo(d), the AS220 Youth Studio, a darkroom, three gallery spaces, and twenty resident/work studios for artists.
The Performance Space at AS220 showcases eight to twelve events each week, and features live music, performance art, poetry slams, fashion shows, figure drawing, film series featuring art house cinema, cultural performances, and more. It has an open booking policy which provides an uncensored and unjuried space for artists.
The AS220 Youth Studio provides a free arts education to individuals aged 14-21, with a special focus on youth under the care of the state. It strives to engage youth in a creative process which leads to positive education, vocational, and social futures. The Youth Studio works with the Rhode Island Training School and also provides mentoring and receives support from the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. There are workshops in creative writing, dance, music, visual arts, and photography. Approximately two dozen classes are offered weekly and free of charge.[12]
Empire Street houses three galleries, the Main Gallery, Open Window, and the Youth Gallery.
[edit] The Mercantile
AS220's purchase of The Mercantile in downtown Providence transformed the building into a space for live and work studios, courses, art offices, retail, and rehearsal spaces.[13]
AS220 Labs offers courses in digital software and hardware design, such as audio engineering and laser cutting. One can also take courses in photography, printmaking, letterpress, and bookbinding. The Print Shop in the Mercantile is available for public use.[14]
[edit] The Dreyfus
The Dreyfus, an old hotel in downtown Providence, was restored by AS220 to hold the AS220 Main Office and Development Office, fourteen work and resident studios, and the Project Space art gallery. The Project Space gallery rotates on a regular basis and primarily houses three-dimensional or installation-based art.[15]
[edit] Fools Ball/ Foo Fest
AS220, often aided by local sponsors, throws an annual block party and fundraiser for the community, often called "Fools Ball" or "Foo Fest". Since 1995, the festival has been known for its showcase of live local music acts and resident artists. A concert will oftentimes take place in the middle of Empire Street, flooding downtown with festival goers. It is considered a staple summer tradition which aims to help continue the revitalization efforts in the downtown Providence area by involving and uniting residents and local artists.
[edit] References
- ^ Cicione, Maryleen. The Echo, December 1988.
- ^ The Providence Journal. September 3, 1993. "AS220 arts center to make it official today"
- ^ The Johnson & Wales University Campus Herald. October 25, 1993. Angela Livingston. "A Bright Future for AS220"
- ^ The Quix Quarterly. Winter 1993, Robert Owen Jones, "The architecture column walking down AS220 boulevard"
- ^ "The Empire Street Complex"(2008-03-06). Retrieved 2012-1-13.
- ^ "The Dreyfus". Retrieved 2012-1-13.
- ^ "The Mercantile Block". Retrieved 2012-1-13.
- ^ The Providence Sunday Journal. December 6, 1992. Andy Smith. "AS220 releases compilation album"
- ^ The Providence Journal. June 4, 1993. William Gale and Andy Smith. "Spalding Gray to top bill at AS220 benefit"
- ^ King,H. (1993). "Alternative Space: A new Home for AS220", Issues Monthly, 23(1).
- ^ a b "[1]". Retrieved 2-14-2012
- ^ "YouthMaster". Retrieved 2012-1-26.
- ^ "The Mercantile Block". Retrieved 2012-1-26.
- ^ "Workshops". Retrieved 2012-1-26.
- ^ "The Dreyfus". Retrieved 2012-1-26.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 41°49′19″N 71°24′57″W / 41.821816°N -71.41595°E
