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Provoking new ways of seeing,
thinking and engaging with others.

The mission of the Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art is to generate curated exhibitions of contemporary art in Rhode Island that expose individuals and communities to transformative experiences, provoking new ways of seeing, thinking and engaging with others. As an effort to strengthen curatorial practices, experienced board members mentor emerging curators and artists in realizing ambitious, creatively conceived, frequently social and environmental justice themed exhibitions, installations or interventions.  

 

Statement of Purpose The core program proceeds from understanding art’s capacity to disrupt and transform conventions of perception and experience. Through close mentoring, opportunities are developed for the realization of distinctive and provocative curated projects. The guided collaboration identifies a network of resources to help curators initiate creative and strategic partnerships, while aligning with the context of varied host venues—whether institutional, nascent, or alternative spaces.

New in 2022: Providence Curates

New in 2022

Providence Curates: Cultivating a Transformative Experiment

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Image: Heeseop Yoon installing her Still Life #31, 2005, 1/4-inch black masking tape on mylar, for 'Nuanced,' Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, MA

 

The emerging curators of our program are individuals experienced with engaging diversity across race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, culture, ability and class. They are convinced of the specific ability of visual art to examine issues of social and environmental justice unlike any other form of creative expression, and through their inclusive, "counter-hegemonic" values (to quote art historian Linda Nochlin) eager to practice curatorial activism.

- DONATE - 
to support our curated contemporary art exhibitions and public programs

The Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Individual donations are a major source of funding and are fully tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Your generosity propels and sustains our work. Donate securely via Paypal.
 

Donations by check payable to the Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art may be sent to:

Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art
Attn. Judith Tolnick Champa
10 Exchange Court - Unit #502

Pawtucket, RI 02860

 

 

 

Fall, 2022 Podcast: ACT's PVDFest Ideas 2022
Beyond The Shallows and Into the Deep of CURATING

 

A forum for big thinking in public: We need big ideas more than ever.

This year’s theme invites artists, scholars, and community practitioners to go deeper.

 

Listen to the complete podcast here.

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Fall, 2021 Podcast: ACT's PVDFest Ideas 2021
EXPAND - IGNITE - INVITE

What Does a More Inclusive Art World Look Like?

 

Trending Globally partnered with the Providence Biennial to explore this question.

 

Listen to the complete podcast here.

These conversations are sponsored by PVDFest Ideas 2021 & 2022 an Arts and Ideas festival in Providence, RI. We are most grateful to the Providence Department of Art, Culture & Tourism (ACT) for its continuing support. 
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Additional funding was provided in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through the Rhode Island Culture, Humanities, and Arts Recovery Grant (RI CHARG) program, made possible thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts, via funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

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A generous thank you to our latest funders:

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Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art Board of Directors

 

Roya Amigh  |  Judith Tolnick Champa  |  Spencer Evans  |  Jeffrey Foye  |  Pamela Markham Heller  | 

Lisa Scull  |  Jonny Skye  |  Neal T Walsh

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