Arts Exchange at Providence's Burnside Park

Arts Exchange at Providence's Burnside Park

On Saturday, July 31st musicians, artists, crafters, DJs, and choreographers will gather at Burnside Park in Kennedy Plaza for the third annual IndieArts Festival, a free celebration of independent music and arts. The IndieArts Fest spans throughout Kennedy Plaza including the Bank of America Skating Center, The Red Bull Music Academy Tunnel, and Burnside Park. It’s the perfect opportunity to check out some of the region’s best bands as they play live music throughout the day and into the night.

In the midst of all the music, Burnside Park is transformed into the Arts Exchange, featuring more than 80 artists offering their artwork, locally-designed jewelry, clothing, handmade crafts, prints, vinyl records, vintage clothing, and books. Rebecca Siemering, coordinator for the Arts Exhange, gave us a sneak peak of what we can expect at this years Arts Exchange. 

What is the Arts Exchange? How did the idea come about and how does it fit into the vision for the festival?

The Arts Exchange showcase independent crafters, artists and non-profits from not just Rhode Island, but from the Southeastern New England region too. All represent high-quality work, including silkscreen, pottery, jewelry, photography and clothing. Many have a high end DIY aesthetic that has swept the nation in the last few years among the 20's-late 30's set. In the beginning, we wanted to focus on creativity going on in this age group. The Exchange is so

successful, it appeals to all age groups now and is considered a successful outdoor art sale to be a part of. We also keep the price down to participate to help newer artists to the field have a chance to sell their work and make money. Some art festivals are really pricey, which is a hindrance to people starting out.

What is your role in the Arts Exchange?

I have been coordinating the Exchange form the beginning, making sure that all areas of art making are represented, and a few non-profits that are arts related are invited to participate and have participatory projects. One is the Peace Flag project, where anyone can make a flag at the booth and it will be displayed later this Fall on International Peace Day. The Hive Archive, a feminist arts group, will be creating a billboard on site that will be hung at their building.

How many vendors can we expect to see at this year?

We have about 80 different vendors. The park will be filled to capacity!

The IndieArts Festival is in its third year, who are some returning vendors we can look forward to seeing? New vendors?

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Red Thread Belting. MonkeyChow, Kristen Crane, Desiree Doll to name a few. We have a lot of new vendors too, and a few from outside the state who heard how great the festival is.

What is your favorite part about the Arts Exchange?

So many different styles of work! It is great to see how many people create, and create wonderful items for wear and use in RI. It's wonderful to see Burnside Park so active and people enjoying themselves.

Is there a place where we can we learn more about the artists?

You can go to www.indieartsfest.com and there are links to each of the artists and then on the IndieArts/ri Facebook page, there are albums of work posted.