Public Art Around The Valley

What is public art? According to the Association for Public Art, “Public art is a reflection of how we see the world – the artist’s response to our time and place combined with our own sense of who we are.”

Public art enriches the community and is a part of our public history, part of our evolving culture and our collective memory. We invite you to check out some of the free public art in our Blackstone Valley Communities and whether you like it or not hopefully it will engage you to think about how we perceive our communal history.

If your'e in the area, be sure to include stopping by one or several of these locations.

CUMBERLAND, RI

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI

• Bunnie Sculptures - Wheelie and Uni and Racer by Artist Peter Diepenbrock: Riverside Square
• Sculpture Garden (Feather’s Three) by Artist Kirk Seese: Watchemoket Square, Waterfront Drive

PAWTUCKET, RI

• Roots of Pawtucket by Artist Helio Pacheco: Atrium on Main, 285 Main Street
• History of Pawtucket is located on the Dennis Lynch Arena Building, 25 Andrew Ferland Way
• Windows on Main features paintings by local artists on the windows of vacant buildings
• Gold International Machinery Mural by Artist Alan Guyett: Thurston Street and Newell Avenue
• Bike Path Mural and Memorial Garden by Artist Mimo Gordon Riley: Veteran’s Memorial Park, Roosevelt Avenue and Exchange Street
• Sculpture Garden: Lorraine Mills, 560 Mineral Spring Avenue
• Chapters by Artist Kit Collins: Payne Park, 225 West Avenue
• Esperanza (Hope) by Artist Gabriel Calle Arango: Slater Park, Armistice Boulevard
• Gold Spinners Artist: David Teng Olsen Location: 881 Main Street

CROSSING PATHS

Commuters arriving at the Pawtucket / Central Falls commuter rail station are greeted by a suspended sculpture. The six-foot sphere recalls a globe or ball of yarn. Its surface of hundreds of giant woven threads allude to the Conant Thread District’s industrial textile past, and echo the many crossing paths of commuters today.

THE POWER OF WORKERS AND WATER 

in Pawtucket forever changed the course of textile production and labor in America. Today, Pawtucket is again on the cusp of invention and innovation, with transit-oriented development, inter-modal connectivity thanks to the new Pawtucket/ Central Falls Transit Center, and the most artists per capita in Rhode Island.

This work "Spun" was commissioned by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts through the Allocation for Art for Public Facilities Act.

WOONSOCKET, RI

• Keep Woonsocket Beautiful by Artist Riverzedge Arts: Main Street parking lot
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial by Artist Riverzedge Arts: Mason and South Main Street