Island center for arts

On an island where many businesses are seasonal, the HeART Space Community Art Center on Block Island intends to provide a year-round outlet for artists and residents.

Opened in March by Paige Gaffett and Felicia Cinquegrana, a weaver and jewelry maker respectively, the art center provides open studio space for artists, drop-in classes for children and adults, and a retail area in which artists can display and sell their work.

The business had a “soft launch” last summer, in borrowed space. It’s now open in leased space at 212 Water St., a more prominent location in the heart of New Shoreham’s center. While some of the activities are aimed at tourists who are visiting the island, many of the classes are attracting local residents, said Gaffett.

In the future, she hopes to begin offering workshops, which would be more intensive six-week introductions to various art forms, such as textile-making.

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The center also hosts artist openings, designed to feature the work of selected island artists, photographers and sculptors. •

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