Jennifer Gillooly Cahoon - 21 Who Made a Difference in 2021

Jennifer Gillooly Cahoon - 21 Who Made a Difference in 2021

In East Providence, energetic community leader Jennifer Gillooly Cahoon has created a valuable and accessible center that is bringing visual art to a broad range of neighbors from her community.

Cahoon completed her undergraduate studies at Rhode Island College, where she also earned a Master’s Degree in Education. For nearly twenty years, she served as a public school art educator. Switching gears in 2017, Cahoon opened HeARTspot Art Center and Gallery in a building nearby to East Providence High School. The space is part art gallery and part educational venue, giving local artists room to show work and emerging artists room to learn about art.

Cahoon’s background as an art educator is integral to the model she has developed at HeARTspot. Of it, she says, “The most obvious way is how it prepared me to develop a variety of classes for our all-ages education programming and tap into wonderful local talent to help me deliver it. Bigger than that though, as a woman who spent nearly two decades as a public educator, I’m driven by the desire to open up the world of the arts to absolutely anyone who’s curious and interested regardless of their background. It’s my firm belief that anyone can benefit from embracing creativity whether that be as a student or one who learns to appreciate the beauty fine art can bring into their lives.”

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