Inside Art with Michael Rose - Two Curatorial Visions Shape Providence Biennial

Inside Art with Michael Rose - Two Curatorial Visions Shape Providence Biennial

 

Curators are often the shapers of cultural discourse. Individuals who select artworks for exhibitions and shape the stories around them have much influence in how artists and communities interact. On view now through August 20 at the WaterFire Arts Center, the Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art is offering two curatorial views into the theme of commemoration. “Poiesis,” a show assembled by Melaine Ferdinand-King explores one vision, while “Remedy,” envisioned by Joel Rosario Tapia, offers another point of view. Between the two concurrent exhibitions, a plethora of local artists and makers are celebrated.

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The joint exhibitions begin with a two-toned wall that acts as the opening to two discrete shows focused on the same concept. Across both exhibitions, connected themes like community and memory emerge. Both shows are also very much focused on artists’ stories and utilize video and text to bring audiences and makers face to face-in dynamic ways. In video screens playing alongside “Remedy” artworks, artists like well-known painters and muralist AGONZA share their backgrounds.

 

 

Asked what it has been like to be part of the project, curator Tapia answers enthusiastically, “It’s been an honor, a privilege, a duty, and a pleasure to take on the onus and spirit of telling stories and creating platforms for some of Providence’s most notable artists and cultural practitioners through the opportunity created by The Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art’s ‘Providence Curates’ fellowship and ‘Curating Commemoration’ Exhibition. My presentation of ‘Remedy’ was created and curated to create conversations inspire collaboration and drive the process of ‘Poiesis’ giving birth to an understanding of our innate uniqueness value and noteworthy dynamic model of multicultural synergistic collaboration in Providence to help our city recognize its own abundance and serve as an abundant example for future generations in our city, our state and our world.”

 

Abundance is an apt descriptor for both exhibitions, which together feature artworks in many forms ranging from tintypes to large-scale mixed media work, video installation, fashion, craft, and much more. Rounded out by street photography, skateboards, and creatures from Big Nazo Lab, the two exhibitions examine throughlines across media and genre.

 

 

For “Poiesis” curator Ferdinand-King, the creative spirit is at the heart of her exhibition, which draws its title from the ancient Greek term for making. Her curatorial statement lays out her vision, reading in part, “Poiesis is an invitation to commemorate the world around us, treasure the transient, and see the potential for beauty and creativity in even the most mundane spaces. By highlighting the works of artists and creatives from the Providence metropolitan area, the exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on their own relationship to the local art scene and consider how art can help us honor and remember the past in new and meaningful ways.”

 

A large-scale tufted map of Providence by artist Savaree Hazard-Chaney is one of the featured pieces in “Poiesis” and is expertly juxtaposed with images of the city collected by gifted local photographers.

 

 

Founded in 2011, the Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art has produced a litany of exhibitions and programs over its history but its tenth installment is one of its most ambitious. Ferdinand-King and Tapia are both members of the Biennial’s Providence Curates program, which seeks to develop a new generation of curators. Their concurrent exhibitions at WaterFire Arts Center show off their creative and discerning sensibilities.

 

Speaking of what it was like to work with the two curators, Providence Biennial Founder and President Judith Tolnick Champa says, “Together with our organization's exceptional working board, the venture into a mentorship with Melaine and Tapia has taught me much about what it means to be involved in the community, and about the nature and commitment of art curating in collaboration. With thought and passion, each art curator came to define the commemoration theme, creating transformative experiences to propel us out of compartments of thinking/being. Crossing borders, identities and circumstances is what the Providence Biennial achieves through the examples of Melaine and Tapia. They show us how, in the here and now of Providence. It has been a privilege to watch their progress.”

 

 

To visit this thrilling joint curatorial venture is to see with renewed clarity the exciting community of artists that makes up the Providence region. There are so many artworks to explore that even seasoned art viewers are sure to walk away with a new appreciation for creators, their work, and their uniquely compelling stories.

 

“Remedy” and “Poiesis” are both on view through August 20, 2023, at the WaterFire Arts Center at 475 Valley Street in Providence. The show is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 am - 5 pm and Thursdays until 9 pm.

 

Learn more about the Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art and explore details on both exhibitions at www.providencebiennial.org.