NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection: A Half-Century of RI Artistic Patronage

WaterFire Providence presents NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection: A Half-Century of RI Patronage at the WaterFire Arts Center (WFAC) a large-scale exhibition featuring over 100 NetWorks Rhode Island artists. This exhibition celebrates a dynamic community of innovative artists living and working in Rhode Island and their champion, Joseph A. Chazan M.D. The exhibition is made possible by the support of BankNewport.

NetWorks Rhode Island, initiated in 2008 by Dr. Chazan in collaboration with Umberto Crenca, documented and celebrated the work of 113 Rhode Island artists through video and photographic profiles created over a 9-year span, 2008-2016. This collection of video profiles provides a window into the lives, practices, and cultural contributions of artists who have played vital roles in shaping the contemporary visual arts community in Rhode Island. In 2017, WaterFire Providence in partnership with Dr. Chazan, gathered these documentaries into an accessible website, networksri.org, with the aim to create a digital home for them that could be a resource for people to learn more about these Rhode Island artists and their work. The videography and editing of the profiles is by Richard Goulis and photo portraits by Scott Lapham, Lucas Foglia, and Miguel Rosario.

This summer exhibition is in the WaterFire Arts Center’s 15,000 square foot Main Hall and gallery spaces from Thursday, July 11, 2024 through September 1, 2024*. All are welcome to an opening reception on Thursday, July 18 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

In addition to the opening night, visitors are invited to Artists in Conversation nights on Thursdays throughout the month, TroopTop Thursdays a summer time rooftop bar, as well as the 11th Providence Fringe Festival presented by Wilbury Theatre Group happening throughout the neighborhood from Sunday, July 14 to Saturday, July 27. Visitors are invited on the third Thursdays of the month, July 18 and August 15, for Gallery Night Providence; when the WFAC and other art spaces throughout the city are open late and trolley tours are available. There is a closing gathering on Thursday, August 29 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

This exhibition features artwork from Dr. Chazan’s collection together with additional works by the NetWorks Rhode Island artists. NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection is a collaboration between WaterFire Providence, Dr. Chazan, and Candita Clayton, owner of the Candita Clayton Gallery and Collections Manager for the Dr. Chazan Collection.

“The WaterFire Arts Center is the ideal site for an exhibition that’s all about the excellence of Rhode Island artists. WaterFire has hosted the NetWorks archive (networksri.org) for several years, and WaterFire creator Barnaby Evans is himself a NetWorks artist. This large exhibition will provide even greater exposure to the extraordinary richness of the visual arts in Rhode Island. This was my motivation for creating NetWorks Rhode Island.”

Joseph A. Chazan M.D.
Founder of NetWorks Rhode Island

The WaterFire Arts Center store + gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to all, donations encouraged.

*The exhibition will be closed for a private event on Thursday, June 25.

About NetWorks RI

NetWorks Rhode Island, a visual arts project, was initiated in 2008 by Rhode Island arts sponsor and collector Joseph A. Chazan, M.D. Conceived with Umberto Crenca, the then artistic director of the alternative arts center AS220 in Providence, Rhode Island, NetWorks Rhode Island proposed to document, celebrate, and foster the richly creative and diverse professional visual arts community in contemporary Rhode Island through profiles of individual artists and their work. Seventeen profiles were produced that first year. During each subsequent year through 2016, additional profiles were produced, eventually forming an archive of 113 video and photographic profiles supplemented by museum and gallery exhibits, five printed catalogues and panel discussions. Each fall, RI PBS broadcasted the newly released profiles and has frequently re-broadcasted profiles from previous years, providing broad access to the content.

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