Artist murals debut as part of Providence International Arts Festival

DOWNTOWN ART on a building on Snow Street near the corner with Washington Street in Providence. The image is from Mary Beth Meehan's Seen/Unseen: Providence collection and is part of the Providence International Arts Festival, which begins Thursday.  / PBN PHOTO/MARK S. MURPHY
DOWNTOWN ART on a building on Snow Street near the corner with Washington Street in Providence. The image is from Mary Beth Meehan's Seen/Unseen: Providence collection and is part of the Providence International Arts Festival, which begins Thursday. / PBN PHOTO/MARK S. MURPHY

PROVIDENCE – Larger-than-life portraits of Providence residents taken by photographer Mary Beth Meehan are popping up downtown as part of the Providence International Arts Festival, which begins Thursday and runs through Sunday.

Prints from Meehan’s “Seen/Unseen Providence” show everyday Providence people: A bus driver, a grandfather with his granddaughter, a mother breastfeeding her infant son, a woman who said she has been unsuccessfully trying to land a job. Meehan spent a year traveling throughout the city to make portraits of its residents.

Some of her photographs are inside the gallery at City Hall, where they will remain until July 20, while eight large-scale prints adorn outside buildings, including Trinity Repertory Co. (Empire Street side), 165 and 135 Washington St., 46 Aborn St., Biltmore Hotel parking garage walkway and 32 Custom House. The outdoor portraits will remain up until July 2016.

On June 11, Meehan, of Providence, will discuss her project at 4 p.m. at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. On June 13, an artist reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. at City Hall.

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All events are free and open to the public.
“Just like the Providence International Arts Festival, Mary Beth Meehan’s work celebrates our community and brings Providence’s diverse neighborhoods together in the heart of our downtown,” Mayor Jorge O. Elorza said. “I am excited that we could host her artwork in our gallery at City Hall and encourage residents and visitors to explore Seen/Unseen Providence installations throughout the city.”
Meehan chronicles the creation of Seen/Unseen on her blog, marybethmeehan.tumblr.com.

Seen/Unseen Providence is made possible by the city of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism, R.I. State Council on the Arts, Sign Design, AS220, iolabs, PopUp Providence, R.I. Council for the Humanities, Civic Center Parking Associates and RISD.

Elorza, the city’s Department of Art, Culture + Tourism and the Avenue Concept said they are pleased to present “significant additions” to the public art on Washington Street as part of the Providence International Arts Festival, produced in partnership by the city and FirstWorks.

There also are two painted murals on Mathewson Street – one by Polish artist duo Etam Cru featuring street artists Bezt and Sainer, and a second by Natalia Rak.

Etam Cru and Rak are represented by INOPERAble Gallery, a Vienna-based gallery founded by Providence native and Classical High School graduate Nicholas Platzer. These artworks also will remain for at least one year after the festival concludes, according to the mayor’s office.
“We’re really excited to have this level of public artwork be part of the Providence International Arts Festival,” said Kathleen Pletcher, founder and executive artistic director, FirstWorks.

In addition, the Providence International Arts Festival also will feature art, sculpture, music, food and other activities.

June 13 marks the centerpiece of the festival with events beginning on Kennedy Plaza at 4 p.m.

“From the largest stringed instrument on the planet, to the undisputed queen of African music, to the Grammy Award-winning ambassador of Mali, to visual transformations of city streets with murals, tape art and photography, the Providence International Arts Festival will light up Rhode Island’s capital city over four days and engage a diverse international audience,” according to the mayor’s office.

More information about the festival can be found HERE.

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