WaterFire is pleased to be partnered with Dr. Joseph Chazan in continuing his original project with Bert Crenca of AS220, in creating a new, permanent online resource for NetWorks Rhode Island. For the first time, the 113 NetWorks Rhode Island video portraits, most directed by Richard Goulis, are aggregated and presented in a cross- referenced, updated website. This new website serves as a living archive of the film, artists, artworks, and catalogues in the NetWorks series, the ArtRI series, and other related projects.
Check it out: networksrhodeisland.org
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, 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.
About the project, executive producer Joseph A. Chazan, M.D. says,”we all benefit from the presence of gifted and skilled working artists as creative catalysts in our midst,” adding “the NetWorks Rhode Island project celebrates the significance of what Rhode Island artists do as they toil daily, usually in a solitary way, seeking excellence as they strive to create.”
WaterFire Providence’s executive artistic director Barnaby Evans ties the NetWorks project WaterFire’s role in the larger community, “WaterFire’s mission is to inspire the State through art, so we are very pleased to partner with Dr. Chazan on making the amazing resource of these 113 films into a permanent, accessible, active, and current resource reflecting the strength of the RI arts community.”
The NetWorks Rhode Island website is live now. Visitors can also connect with NetWorks Rhode Island on Facebook and we are planning a monthly newsletter that will provide interested subscribers with updates from NetWorks artists.
About the author
I've worked at WaterFire Providence since 2003. For the first 9 years of my career, I worked in the Production Shop learning all of the details that go into the physical production of the event. In 2012 transitioned to the role of managing WaterFire's social media and web presence. I now head up WaterFire Providence's digital projects including, web, social, databases, and our physical IT infrastructure.
