Whether you are discovering WaterFire for the first time or stopping by to remember your WaterFire experience you will find a plethora of ways to relive the magic on our various social media channels. From video to photos and storytelling you find it here.
Don’t forget you can create new experiences by attending upcoming WaterFire lighting or events at the WaterFire Arts Center. Check out our Facebook pages for WaterFire Providence and the WaterFire Arts Center to keep abreast of the latest developments.
Explore more:
See our videos on the WaterFire Providence YouTube channel
2019 WaterFire Year in Review
Our latest uploads on YouTube
Check out WaterFire Providence’s Pin Boards on Pinterest
Follow our Instagram feeds:
It's August! It's time! Decameron, Providence: New Stories for a New Era. ⠀
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Together with @thewilburygroup we've worked on the reinvention of both theatre and audience to assure safety in the COVID-19 era; the event happens over 14 days August 9-22, and features dozens of performance artists and community groups in outdoor performances across the spacious grounds of the historic American Locomotive Company buildings and @waterfireartscenter in the Valley neighborhood of Providence.⠀
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With support from members of the @brownpublichealth and @ridohealth the group started with current best health practices and interpreted them theatrically, including adding Entr’Acte engagements that explain and reinforce the science and context of public health principles.⠀
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Decameron, Providence is inspired by the framing story of the 1352 classic by Giovanni Boccaccio – ten citizens of Florence gathering outdoors during the 1348 Bubonic Plague following the best practice of the day of social distancing in isolation for 14 days – days spent relating wry stories about the state of the Florentine Republic and their changing world. ⠀
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Our first priority in this project was reinventing theatre during COVID-19 in a form that would keep the public and the actors safe. The first thing to eliminate was the theater itself, with the presentations from August 9-22 presented outdoors on 10 stages and performance areas.
Visit the @waterfireartscenter today, open until 6pm, for the last day of the Beacon of Hope installation. All are welcome to take the flowers among the luminaria. The gladioli express strength of character from their upright and stalwart nature and are a symbol of remembrance of each individual.
The installation began in April with the single solitary brazier set inside the empty Main Hall of the @waterfireartscenter. Since April, every evening at 8:30pm we added a single luminaria candle lantern for each Rhode Islander lost to COVID-19. Today 104 days after our first luminaria ceremony we will retire 1,007 candles representing the 1,007 community members, loved ones, friends and family of RI.
"Art must be life — it must belong to everybody." -Marina Abramović
Support WaterFire + @gatherglass by purchasing an #Art4Impact Glass!⠀
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The orange and blue colors of this glass artfully represent the perpetual glow of the WaterFire flame and the flowing, deep blue of the Providence rivers.⠀
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Buy now! 🔗 in bio.⠀
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#GatherGlass #glass #handmade #handblownglass #localcompanies #WaterFire #buylocal⠀
Staff Story w. Nicole Nehiley!
Read @nehileynicole 's recommendations below +
Watch her video 🔗 in bio!
What do you do at WaterFire?
I am currently a part of the Development Team where I work with our other team members to help fundraise, work with our corporate sponsors, as well as interacting with board members and donors. I also previously managed the WaterFire Arts Center and am currently working with another team member to transition out of that role.
I’ve been at WaterFire for almost a year now!
What is something that people might not know about WaterFire that you think they should?
I think something people should know about WaterFire that they may not is our small but mighty staff. For a small staff, we sure do know how to make the impossible, possible. I mean we literally light the river on fire! There’s nothing that has proved this more than how we have been able to pivot during COVID-19 by venturing into virtual events and developing a new art installation. I’m super proud to be a part of such a smart and hardworking team during such a crazy time.
Recommendations:
First place you visited after the RI economy began to reopen?
The first place I ventured to after state-wide reopening was @plantcitypvd and the Pedestrian Bridge. I took advantage of their curbside pick up and enjoyed a delicious snack while watching the sunset behind the Providence Skyline. It’s now my favorite way to get out and enjoy the city while safely socially distancing!
What is a hidden gem in our community that you think people should know about?
@waterfireartscenter , obviously!
Name a place that you support that has inspired you with its coronavirus response.
I absolutely love how @frogandtoadstore has utilized the Governor’s now-famous phrase of “Knock it Off” to encourage coronavirus compliance while simultaneously supporting small businesses across Rhode Island, including their own! They helped make it cool to follow the COVID-19 guidelines in such a fun way with their t-shirts, masks, and even BBQ sauce. My “Knock it Off” tee is now a staple in my work-from-home wardrobe and Frog & Toad is one of my favorite places to buy gifts for my family and friends!
Stop in this afternoon (open til 6pm), all visitors are welcome to the flowers among the luminaria.
The gladioli express strength of character from their upright and stalwart nature and are a symbol of remembrance of each individual.
Today 104 days after our first luminaria ceremony we will retire 1,007 candles representing the 1,007 community members, loved ones, friends and family of RI.
Come support @waterfireprov + @gatherglass by purchasing one of our #Art4Impact glasses for your dinner table! ⠀
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The colors of this glass represent the spirit of WaterFire, with its orange flames shining brightly at night in the blues of the Providence rivers.⠀
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Buy now! 🔗 in bio!⠀
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#GatherGlass #glass #handmade #handblownglass #localcompanies #WaterFire
Visit the installation in-person for the last 2 nights, tonight + tomorrow, 8-9:30, with a ceremony at 8:30pm.
Tomorrow daytime hours, 12-6. On Saturday, August 1, visitors are welcome to come and take gladioli in memory of our fellow Rhode Islander's.
24/7 on our website, link in bio, until EOD Saturday.
Today @waterfirevolunteer s placed hundreds of gladioli flowers among the luminaria in a symbolic representation of each individual lost to COVID-19; the flowers express strength of character from their upright and stalwart nature and are a symbol of remembrance of each individual
We're stocked up on books from @symposiumbooks Knowledge is power. ✊ Peruse a wide collection of books combatting racism and promoting social equality!.⠀
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Buy now 🔗 in bio. ⠀
Shop + Support⠀
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The WaterFire Store is OPEN today until 6! Shop a larger collection of books and gifts in-person.⠀
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#shoplocal #socialequity #supportlocal #gettinginformed #blacklivesmatter #blackpower #socialjustice
Creating art isn’t just for artists, art is for everyone! Within each of us lies a spark of creativity.
Great Thinkers and Philosophers
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Plato believed that the arts were powerful shapers of character, able to stir up emotions and influence our behavior.
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G.W.F. Hegel saw art’s role as giving intuitive, sensuous benefits to the viewer by showing us what divine and human freedom can look like.
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See? Art nourishes the body and the soul while keeping you happy.
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Photography by Duane Brouillette
Art Makes You More Observant
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Leonardo da Vinci said, “Painting embraces all the ten functions of the eye; that is to say, darkness, light, body and color, shape and location, distance and closeness, motion and rest.”
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Photography by Laura Paton
Viewing Art Makes You Healthier
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The Nord-Strondelag Health Study shows a definite correlation between participating in cultural activities and having good health and satisfaction in life in both men and women ages 13 and up.
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Photography by John Nickerson
