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WaterFire Arts Center Exhibitions

CURRENT

September 10 – October 11, 2026 | Gallery

Lost & Found: An Exhibition by the WaterFire Accelerate 2026 Cohort

The 2026 WaterFire Accelerate cohort includes Aja Delgado, Pamela Fernández, Leia Fifer, Yasmine Hassan, Amelia Rozear, and Rachel Turner. Working across photography, printmaking, wood marquetry, fibers, illustration, and mixed media, the artists explore identity, memory, displacement, mythology, history, nature, and healing. Each considers what is lost, what is discovered, and the unexpected places where we find ourselves again.

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UPCOMING

October 15 – November 8, 2026 | Gallery

Go, Figure!

Curated by Judith Tolnick Champa, Go, Figure! brings together six contemporary artists—Gabrielle Barzaghi, Leslie Fry, Claudia Olds Goldie, Zhexing Huang, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, and Entang Wiharso—who share a fascination with the human figure as a way of thinking through identity, memory, and unease. Working across pastel, stoneware, ceramic, mixed media, and layered silkscreen, each artist treats the body less as a subject to depict than as a question to sit with.

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Prior

July 2 – August 30, 2026 | Main Hall

America, Unfinished?!

America, Unfinished?! presents a thought-provoking exploration of contemporary American identity and culture. Through the work of innovative artists, the exhibition examines the unfinished narratives and evolving stories that shape our society.

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July 2 – August 30, 2026 | Gallery

Ascending: The Liberation of Native Art

Presented as a companion exhibition to America, Unfinished?!, Ascending: The Liberation of Native Art brings together Native artists from across the Northeast whose work reflects generations of cultural knowledge, creative practice, and self-determined expression. Curated by Brooke Waldron, the exhibition invites audiences to encounter Native creativity on its own terms: contemporary, expansive, and continuously evolving.

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June 4 – June 21, 2026 | Gallery

Of the Essence: a solo exhibition of artist Willa Van Nostrand

Of the Essence is a distillation of Van Nostrand’s multidisciplinary language. Her paintings move with rhythmic intensity, reading as gestural traces that run through her broader practice. Across canvas, writing, ceramics, sound, and botanical material, each medium functions within a shared sensory vocabulary where paint, voice, movement, and taste blur together.

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June 9 – June 12, 2026 | Main Hall

RIFT: A Sonic Environment
for Multi-Timescale Listening
by Yuval Gur

At the WaterFire Arts Center, Yuval Gur’s RIFT transforms the 15,000 sq. ft. Main Hall into an immersive landscape of sound and vibration. Visitors navigate a multi-sensory experience that blurs the boundaries between art, environment, and perception.

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May 7 – May 31, 2026 | Gallery

The Next Faire: Origin, Continuity, and Invitation
In partnership with Providence Inner City Arts

PICA returns to its roots with The Next Faire: Origin, Continuity, and Invitation, an exhibition featuring six artists from the Italian community in Rhode Island. Umberto Crenca, Nancy Gaucher-Thomas, Tony Janello, Salvatore Mancini, Anthony Russo, and Jane Yacovone come together to share work that celebrates the vibrant histories and cultural connections that define Providence.

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April 2 – April 26, 2026 | Gallery

Spring Tide: a solo exhibition of artist Avery Li

Spring Tide presents an alternative to harshly delineated borders and means of identification, displaying a world in which seemingly disparate parts may be recombined. It opens a portal to another world, populated by chimeras of a transcultural nature.

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March 5 – March 29, 2026

TIERRA FUTURA: Boricua Land Futures includes a solo exhibition by Shey Rivera Ríos and a group exhibition of 22 Boricua (Puerto Rican) artists from Puerto Rico and its U.S. diasporas.

TIERRA FUTURA brings together Rhode Island-based, national, and international Boricua (Puerto Rican) artists, strengthening diasporic networks while exploring ancestral knowledge, land-based memory, and cultural sovereignty as foundations for collective futures.

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January 29 – March 1, 2026

Murmurations, An Exhibition of Works by the Steel Yard’s 2025 – 2026 Residents

Murmurations brings together the 2025–2026 Artists in Residence at The Steel Yard in a group exhibition shaped by interconnected movement, shared space, and collective making. Working across ceramics, jewelry, and metals, the artists form a dynamic constellation—individual practices shifting and responding to one another as they change shape and formation over time.

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January 8 – January 25, 2026

Collective Archive: Works by Salvatore Mancini from the Joseph A. Chazan, M.D. Collection in Support of WaterFire

This exhibition brings together photographic works that explore place, memory, and everyday life in Rhode Island. Through the generosity of the Chazan Family, the exhibition also serves as an opportunity for visitors to collect work and support WaterFire Providence.

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2025

November 13, 2025 – January 4, 2026

BuyArt [small works holiday show & sale]

Back for the holiday season, BuyArt offers visitors a chance to support local artists by purchasing affordable small works. Featuring hundreds of original artworks by Rhode Island-based artists across a variety of media, this curated sale is perfect for holiday gifting—or for building a meaningful personal collection—while investing in the creative community.

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October 24 – November 9, 2025

Nothing Follows its Spontaneous Course

This conceptual exhibition, Nothing Follows its Spontaneous Course, curated by Sihan (Tara) Chen and Isa Makielski, imagines the gallery as a series of uncanny domestic spaces. Drawing inspiration from systems that shape our collective experience, the show confronts how machines and automation have redefined the idea of “home.” From absurdist functional objects to installations exploring industrial materiality, eight emerging artists invite viewers into paradoxical visions of domestic life. Featured artists: Xinchun Xie, Meri Sanders, Olivia Moon, Eun Yong Lee, Axel Anderson, Ankita Bhat, Isa Makielski, and Sihan Chen.

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September 11 – October 19, 2025

Family Business: An Exhibition by the WaterFire Accelerate 2024-2025 Cohort

Family Business is inherently private—kept within the walls of a home and passed down from generation to generation. In this collaborative installation, five artists from the 2024–2025 WaterFire Accelerate cohort invite audiences into a reimagined household, each transforming a room to reflect their personal connection to the domestic, the intimate, and the inherited. Through themes of lineage, nostalgia, reconciliation, and individual truth, the artists examine the intersections of memory and identity, grief and joy, comfort and confrontation. Wipe your feet on the mat, take a deep breath, and come inside. Featured artists: Elizabeth Alice-Isam Jweinat (Lizzy Sour), Dorian Epps, Caterina Maina, Sissy Rosso, and Ariel Tavares.

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July 10 – August 31, 2025 | Main Hall + Gallery

Growing the NetWorks

Building on the momentum of the 2024 NetWorks Rhode Island and the Chazan Collection exhibition, Growing the NetWorks showcases a new group of artists recommended by participants from the 2024 exhibition. Taking place in both the 15,000-square-foot Main Hall and the adjacent 1,500-square-foot gallery space, the exhibition celebrates the diversity, creativity, and connections that define Rhode Island’s ever-evolving artistic community. This large-scale summer exhibition will also feature artist talks and community-centered programming designed to spark dialogue and connection across disciplines.

This exhibition is made possible in part by the support of BankNewport.

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June 5 – July 6, 2025

Kate Blacklock: Inside Out Exhibition

In Inside Out, a solo exhibition by Providence-based artist Kate Blacklock, large-scale narrative paintings transform interior and exterior settings into dreamlike stages where memory, relationship, and time blur and intertwine. Animals and symbolic objects intrude upon these spaces, layering each scene with surreal, emotional resonance and visual mystery.

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May 1 – June 1, 2025

Mays Boyz Makin’ NOIZE: A Father and Sons Exhibition

Timed to coincide with the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, Mays Boyz Makin’ NOIZE is a bold and reflective exhibition by Don Mays, presented in collaboration with his sons, Zachary (Zac) and Nicolas (Nic) Mays. Through video, photography, and mixed media, the exhibition confronts systemic racism, displacement, and the ongoing struggle for justice with unflinching urgency and creative force.

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MaysBoyzMakin'NOIZE

March 27 – April 27, 2025

Metamorphosis: An ART inc. and Artscape Exhibition

Metamorphosis: An ART inc. and Artscape exhibition brings the vibrant storytelling of Rhode Island PBS’ ART inc. and The Public’s Radio’s Artscape from the screen and airwaves to the gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center. This month-long exhibition highlights the artists and creative communities featured in ART inc., a digital-first and broadcast series that pulls back the curtain on the people and processes behind art in all its forms—both traditional and unexpected. Alongside it, Artscape, a weekly audio series, delves into Rhode Island’s rich cultural landscape, exploring art, music, theatre, dance, and performance.

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February 13 – March 23, 2025

Graphic Voices of Latin America: Latin American Posters by Gráfica Latina & La Linterna

The Gráfica Latina exhibition at the WaterFire Arts Center Gallery showcases a powerful collection of Latin American posters that serve as both artistic expressions and historical documents of resistance, resilience, and cultural identity. Curated by José R. Menéndez and Tatiana Gómez of Buena Gráfica Social Studio, this exhibition presents graphic works from 16 countries across Latin America, spanning themes from political activism and environmental concerns to cultural storytelling.

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Graphic Voices of Latin America
PACHA: ancestral evolutions, Murals by Ccopacatty

February 6 – February 23, 2025

PACHA: ancestral evolutions, Murals by Ccopacatty in the Main Hall

traducción al español

“Pacha,” rooted in the Aymara and Quechua cosmology, refers to the concept of time and space as an interconnected whole. It embodies the relationship between the physical world, the spiritual realm, and human existence, offering a profound framework through which to understand Ccopacatty’s large-scale murals. 

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January 9 – February 9, 2025

GRIT & POLISH, an exhibition of works by The Steel Yard Residents

GRIT & POLISH is a group exhibition produced through a creative partnership between The Steel Yard and WaterFire Providence showcasing the work of current resident artists at The Steel Yard. The residents from diverse backgrounds and perspectives weave many personal narratives into The Steel Yard’s storied community space through their multimedia explorations in ceramics, jewelry, and metals. They invite you into their journeys in progress as beginning, returning, year-long, and short-term residents, embracing what it means to be refined and unfinished. The exhibition features work by Traé Brooks, Katie Han, Nyala Honda, Dana Heng, Anne Irving, Prinshu Gautam, Kit Grindeland, and Alex Tum. 

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Grit and Polish

2024

November 14 – January 5, 2025

2024 BuyArt [small works holiday show and sale]

The BuyArt show and sale encourages
visitors to support local artists by giving the gift of art for the
holidays. Thirty contemporary Rhode Island-based artists are showcasing their work in the gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center for the BuyArt small works holiday show and sale from Thursday, November 14, 2024 through Sunday, January 5, 2025

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October 10 – November 7, 2024

Yard Work, an exhibition of works by the staff and educators of The Steel Yard

Yard Work is a month-long exhibition produced through a creative partnership between The Steel Yard and WaterFire Providence featuring the work of The Steel Yard’s administrative team and instructors. This exhibition features the following artists: Addie Boyd, Alison Bruun, Anna Highsmith, Asaad Miller, Charlie Corley, Haley Peters, Harry Cassell, Howie Sneider, Isabel Mattia, Kit Grindeland, Lindsay Weitzman, Lyric Johnson, MJ Sanqui, Moy Chuong, Nyala Honda, Rena Rong, Seth Rainville, Ti Dinh, and Zooey Kim Conner.

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Evolution ! (Heh Heh) : Jonathan Bonner, sculptures and works on paper

September 12 – October 6, 2024

EVOLUTION ! (Heh Heh) : Jonathan Bonner, sculptures and works on paper

Evolution ! (Heh Heh) : Jonathan Bonner, sculptures and works on paper is a month-long solo exhibition, celebrating the career of the sculptor and draftsman. The exhibition highlights the inventive and technically sophisticated work of this contemporary sculptor. Bonner’s creations, ranging from sculpture and site-specific installations to works on paper, balance meticulous craftsmanship with playful, thought-provoking design.

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July 11 – September 1, 2024

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.

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.

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NetWorks Rhode Island Exhibition
When I Get Home exhibition

May 30 – June 30, 2024

When I Get Home, a group exhibition by the 2023-2024 WaterFire Accelerate Artist Cohort

When I Get Home, a month long group exhibition by the 2023-2024 WaterFire Accelerate Cohort, features the works of Kannetha Brown, Sydney Darrow, Emily Gray, Andrea Pascual, Adolfo Peralta, and Leiyana Simone Pereira. Ranging across a wide variety of media, these six artists are united by their collective interests in their roots, grief and growth. Exploring the human condition and connection, When I Get Home provides a space for all to commemorate the self, family, and loved ones. 

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May 2-26, 2024

Sculpting Silent Narratives: My Love Letters, a solo exhibition by Janice Lardey

A month-long solo exhibition by Janice Lardey in the gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center. This exhibition is a tribute to the resilience of generations of women in Lardey’s family, exploring themes of identity and belonging through art influenced by West African textile and print culture. Each piece serves as a love letter, celebrating imperfection and inviting viewers into the tender vulnerability of womanhood. Through interactive elements and collaborative storytelling, this exhibition sparks conversations about gender roles, empowerment, and unity.

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April 4 – April 28, 2024

ART is Everywhere: ART inc., A Rhode Island PBS Exhibition

The month-long exhibition, ART is Everywhere, brings the essence of Rhode Island PBS‘ short-video series ART inc. from the screen to the gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center. Delving into the heart of human expression, the series illuminates the transformative power of art—from its ability to soothe and inspire to its role as a catalyst for societal change.

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March 7 – March 31, 2024

SPACES ACROSS TIME: Gretchen Dow Simpson, A Retrospective

SPACES ACROSS TIME, a month-long retrospective exhibition, celebrates the illustrious career of Gretchen Dow Simpson, a painter, photographer, and artist who’s called Providence home for many years. In this expansive exhibition, which spans decades of creative exploration, visitors will be enveloped in the artist’s masterful command of shapes, light, and color. Dow Simpson’s art offers viewers a unique perspective on the world around us.

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5 Moving Bottles at the US Rubber Company Mill, a solo exhibition by Eli Tegu

February 8 – March 3, 2024

5 Moving Bottles at the US Rubber Company Mill, a solo exhibition by Eli Tegu

5 Moving Bottles at the US Rubber Company Mill, a solo exhibition by Eli Tegu, offers a dynamic viewing experience as five clay sculptures will be created within the gallery during the month-long exhibition.

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January 11 – February 4, 2024

4,489, A Solo Exhibition by Abenda Sohn

The month-long solo exhibition, 4,489, by Abenda Sohn explores the condition of being and belonging through themes of forced migration, memory, and the bond between a father and son.

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2023

November 16, 2023 – January 7, 2024

BuyArt [small works holiday show and sale]

Thirty contemporary Rhode Island-based artists are showcasing their work in the gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center.

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October 12 – November 23, 2023

DIVINE PROVIDENCE, an exhibition by Umberto Crenca

DIVINE PROVIDENCE was a salon-style month-long exhibition by Umberto “Bert” Crenca featuring a short documentary by Ashly Lemus and Chloe Rourke.

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Divine Providence Umberto Crenca

August 24 – October 8, 2023

“Don’t Worry, You’ll get used to the Smell” The History and Works of Tannis Root

The exhibition features a deep dive into the prolific career of the design team Tannis Root showcasing the lineage of the group’s career from early screen printing techniques to designing for some of the most iconic bands of the alternative and independent music scenes such as Redd Kross, Nirvana, Hole, and Sonic Youth. The exhibition will also feature contributions from Sergio Aguila of Nic Fit + Sonic Life Archive a personal collection of one-of-a-kind merchandise and ephemera. 

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Poiesis and Remedy at the WaterFire Arts Center

July 13 – August 20, 2023

[Providence Biennial for Contemporary Arts] Concurrent Exhibitions Poiesis and Remedy at the WaterFire Arts Center

In 2021, the Providence Biennial of Contemporary Arts launched Providence Curates, an initiative that focuses specifically on recruiting emerging curators and assisting them in developing exhibitions of contemporary art. Through a creative partnership between the Providence Biennial and the WaterFire Arts Center, concurrent exhibitions curated by two Providence curators, POIESIS and REMEDY were on view at the WaterFire Arts Center in the Main Hall and gallery from Thursday, July 13 through Sunday, August 20, 2023.

POIESIS: Street Culture & The Art of the City curated by Melaine Ferdinand-King and REMEDY curated by Joel Rosario Tapia explore the theme Commemoration.

Learn more about the Exhibition and the Curators »

June 1 – July 9, 2023

If These Walls Could Talk, a group exhibition by the 2022-2023 WaterFire Accelerate Artist Cohort

If These Walls Could Talk, a group exhibition by the 2022-2023 WaterFire Accelerate Artist Cohort: Denzel Amoah, Justin DeGraide, Savaree “Sav” Hazard-Chaney, Hannah Nahas, Rhue Nobre, and Elijah Trice.

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If These Walls Could Talk
Pencil Gun, One Gun Gone Project

May 4-28, 2023

Merge, A One Gun Gone Exhibition

Merge, the largest to date One Gun Gone exhibition, combines art and activism through the creation and sales of art made from disarmed guns. The exhibition included the unveiling of welded metal sculptures created through a new collaboration between the Princes 2 Kings, a Providence Boys and Girls Club program, and the Steel Yard, in addition to pre-pandemic visual artwork. 

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March 29 – April 27, 2023

Interconnected, an exhibition observing Earth Month, curated by Gather Farm

Interconnected, was a month-long exhibition in the WaterFire Arts Center gallery created in celebration of Earth Month through a creative partnership between Gather Farm, Gather Glass, and WaterFire Providence.

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glass mushroom in swamp 1200x900
Glass mushrooms by Gather Glass photographed at Gather Farm in Johnston, RI
Bubble by Scott Lapham

March 2-26, 2023

Vigilance, a solo exhibition by Scott Lapham

Vigilance was a month-long solo exhibition by Scott Lapham. The exhibition features work from three of the artist’s most recent bodies of work including “Vigilance“, “A is for Anthropocene“, and “Perfectly Preserved Sea Shore“.

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January 19 – February 26, 2023

Demystifying Process: A PVDPrintmakers Exhibition

Demystifying Process was a month-long exhibition curated by PVDPrintmakers. Despite the accessibility offered by printmaking, both in its ability to endlessly reproduce images and the direct process of creating an impression, the practice tends to have an air of mystery.

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Shelby at Beavertail by Carey Good
Carey Good. Shelby at Beavertail. copper etching with mezzotint and chine collé

2022

November 25, 2022 – January 8, 2023

BuyArt small works holiday show

Thirty-one contemporary Rhode Island-based artists are showcasing their work in the gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center for the BuyArt small works holiday show and sale.

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Photograph by Melanie Steinbrecher
Tender Cargo

October 13 – November 20, 2022

Tender Cargo, an exhibition by Taleen Batalian

Tender Cargo, is a month-long exhibition by Taleen Batalian. The exhibition explores how bodies hold and carry trauma across time and geography, drawing on artist Taleen Batalian’s legacy as the granddaughter of four grandparents from Western Armenia.

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September 1 – October 9, 2022

Portales: Reimagining The Future

PORTALES: Reimagining the Future was an art exhibition presenting the variety of ways that artists and organizers in Rhode Island have strengthened our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the movement against racial injustice.

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Ebb and Flow at the WaterFire Arts Center

August 5-22, 2022

Ebb and Flow a solo exhibition by Lois Harada

Ebb and Flow, was a month-long solo exhibition by Lois Harada. The exhibition features documentation from the artist’s ongoing campaign to encourage Rhode Island residents to rethink the naming of Victory Day.

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June 30 – July 31, 2022

This Must Be The Place – A WaterFire Accelerate Exhibition

This Must Be the Place, produced as a capstone of the inaugural Accelerate program, was a month-long mixed media exhibition of works from the five Accelerate artists: Julio Berroa, Kiara Costa, Sydney Sousa, Ysanel Torres, and Jared Winslow.

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this must be the place
Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge on Narragansett Bay and town of Ja
Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge on Narragansett Bay and the town of Jamestown, image courtesy of Envision Resilience Narragansett Bay

June 3-26, 2022

Envision Resilience: Designs for Living with Rising Seas

Envision Resilience: Designs for Living with Rising Seas was a month-long exhibition, curated by ReMain Nantucket, of adaptive proposals for sea level rise on Narragansett Bay. Explore the vibrant history of the Narragansett Bay region, its resilient communities, and the adaptive possibilities for its future.

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May 5-29, 2022

Faded, the gallery was a month-long exhibition exploring the lineage of graphic t-shirts from their earliest adaptations as a new medium for creative self-expression in the 1930s to the present day.

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March 19 – May 1, 2022

Planet Earth, The Environment and Our Future

Planet Earth, the Environment and Our Future was made possible through the generous support of the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Consortium; Kathleen and Barry Hittner; the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography; Brown University; and the Roger Williams Park Zoo. Refreshments and catering at the opening reception were sponsored by Plant City.

Featuring Luke Jerram’s Gaia, a massive 23’ diameter depiction of the entire Earth that creates a sense of the “overview effect” that has often been reported by astronauts who sense a “cognitive shift” in their perception of the fragile “blue marble” “hanging in the void” of space. Joan Hall presented her luminous, engaging, and massive work, Algae Bloom. Richard Friedberg had six of his astonishing and mesmerizing large sculptures of atmospheric phenomena from a tidal wave to a 21’ tall tornado. Judy Chicago, one of the founders of Ecofeminism, has recently returned to revisit this work with three bold, new editions from 2022. Dennis Hlynsky has created a new technique to capture birds in flight with wondrous results and much more.

Planet Earth, the Environment and Our Future also includes a visual overview of the roots and development of the climate crisis with scientific observations between 1826, when the use of coal was first foreseen as a possible threat to mankind, up to our newest efforts to solve the climate crisis, such as the national leadership in offshore wind power development shown with Rhode Island’s Block Island Wind Farm.

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Exhibition Catalog »

Visitors look at work in the planet earth exhibition at the WaterFire Arts Center
Visitors look at work in the Planet Earth exhibition at the WaterFire Arts Center
Firestorm, Oil Fire and Tornado by Richard Friedberg
Firestorm, Oil Fire and Tornado by Richard Friedberg
Lots of little things add up
Lots of little things add up, Julia Samuels of Overpass Projects.

February 10 – March 6, 2022

“Lots of little things add up” was a month-long exhibition of recent prints and their processes from Overpass Projects.

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January 12 – February 6, 2022

The Seeing: a video exhibition scored by Daniel Bernard Roumain

“The Seeing” is a month-long video exhibition produced through a creative partnership between FirstWorks and WaterFire Providence of six film works scored by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR).

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The Seeing: a video exhibition scored by Daniel Bernard Roumain. Photograph by Laura Duclos.
The Seeing: a video exhibition scored by Daniel Bernard Roumain. Photograph by Laura Duclos.

2021

Buy Art SMALL WORKS HOLIDAY SHOW in the Visitor Center Gallery. Photograph by Laura Duclos.

December 4, 2021 – January 9, 2022

Buy Art
[small works holiday show]

The Buy Art show is made up of work by artists: Sydney Sousa, Kiara Costa | OZMA, YSANEL Torres, Jared Winslow, Spocka Summa, Keira Gonsalves | Stone Soup, Rafael Medina, Madison Peck, Julia Dwinell, Laura White Carpenter, Maxime Jean Lefebvre, Julia Samuels, Lois Harada, Jeremy Schilling, Sara Breslin, Regina Teresa, Molly Horan | Creations by Fiore and Alexa Cahill.

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October 29 – November 28, 2021

Welcome to the Anti-Robot Club” by Spocka Summa

Spocka Summa is an emerging artist based out of Providence, RI. Through his artwork and collaborations with other artists, he has developed a unique way of storytelling. In this installation,  “Welcome to the Anti-Robot Club”, Spocka explores the idea of a world in the not-too-distant future in which technology has taken over and mankind is on the verge of extinction.

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WelcomeAntiRobotClub
Welcome to the Anti-Robot Club. Photograph by Laura Duclos.
Chazan Unfiltered in the Visitor Center Gallery.
Photograph by Laura Duclos.

September 15 – October 24, 2021

Featuring original artwork by Rhode Island based artist Erminio Pinque. Chazan! Unfiltered follows the path of Rhode Island superhero and nephrologist Joseph A. Chazan, MD, as he pursues his two passions – art and medicine – and explores how the two collide.

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June 30 – August 22, 2021

EYE TO EYE: Photographs and Projects by Mary Beth Meehan

An exhibition of work from all four of Meehan’s most recent in-depth projects – from Brockton, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island, to Newnan, Georgia, to her newest project and book on Silicon Valley, California. A collaborative installation, ANNYE RAYE PITTS: WITNESS an installation by Jonathan Pitts-Wiley and Mary Beth Meehan will be on display in the Visitor Center Gallery.

Exhibition Catalog »

March 24 – April 25, 2021

Down to Earth: Robert Rohm Sculpture, 1963 – 2013

An exhibition spanning fifty years of work by sculptor, Robert Rohm. Robert Rohm is internationally recognized for his sculptures with exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art; the Seattle Art Museum; and the Kunsthalle, Zurich, Switzerland. Rohm was a dedicated sculptor for fifty years as well as a professor of art at the University of Rhode Island for over thirty years.

Exhibition Catalog »

January 27, 2021 – March 7, 2021

Private Visions, Public Ideals – The Legacy of Howard Ben Tré

Howard Ben Tré is internationally recognized for his unique sculptures and large-scale works of art for public and private spaces. Ben Tré was a pioneer in the use of cast glass as a sculptural medium and his work is included in more than 101 museum and public collections worldwide. His breakthrough technical innovations extended his mastery of cast glass and allowed him to create monumental sculptures that can survive the rigors of outdoor installation.

Exhibition Catalog »

2020

December 9, 2020 – January 15, 2021

THE LET-OUT
Presented by THE VANTA GUILD

THE LET-OUT was an exhibit focusing on the joy, anger, and uncertainty of Black American experiences in Rhode Island as people grappled with the realities of pandemic-induced lockdowns, socio-political uprisings, and the struggle to maintain a sense of beauty, joy, and balance in the century’s most turbulent year.

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February 18 – July 31, 2020

Reflective Lenses:
WaterFire Volunteer Photography Show

A vibrant collection of photographs by WaterFire’s Volunteer Photographers featuring highlights of their WaterFire stories interacting together as an enchanting reflection of WaterFire. This group exhibition showcases the work of our local talent in Providence’s cultural tapestry.

The WaterFire Volunteer Photography Program brings together local artistic talents for an exploration of Providence’s culture and provides an opportunity for local photographers to share experiences and collaborate with one another.

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2019

July 9-28, 2019

To the Moon and Beyond: Celebrating the 50th-Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing with Art, Science, and Exploration

WaterFire Providence celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission and man’s first steps on the Moon which was co-sponsored by the NASA RI Space Consortium with support from Brown University. The exhibition featured Luke Jeram’s Museum of the Moon and included a series of exhibitions, lectures, and other activities throughout July 2019.

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Julia Samuels: Landscape in Relief
Photograph by Laura Duclos.

August 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020

Landscapes in Relief: Recent Work by Julia Samuels

“My most recent work has been depicting neighborhoods around Providence. I love how the maze of transmission lines acts as both a conduit for current activities and shows the legacy of growing through different types of technology. I want the viewer to feel a sense of interconnectedness- with the neighborhood, the city, and when we expand our view, an interconnectedness with all of America and the world. I want the viewer to consider our collective responsibility and personal implications as we think about the ever-looming threat of global warming.”

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2018

March 31 – June 3, 2018

Rosa Parks House Project

Ryan Mendoza’s “The Rosa Parks House Project” is an art installation that honors Rosa Parks and the struggles she faced due to her courageous leadership in the civil rights movement. The artwork was created with the support of the nieces and nephews of Rosa Parks and includes recreations of remembered details of her stay with them in that house.

To celebrate the last weekend of Ryan Mendoza’s The Rosa Parks House Project exhibition, the WaterFire Art Center hosted a Community Picnic Party and Concert on June 2nd, 2018.

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Photograph of the Rosa Parks House Project in the Main Hall at the WaterFire Arts Center. Photograph by Erin Cuddigan.
Photograph by Erin Cuddigan.