on display at the Lemer Building.
A cooperative effort between Cornish Associates and Gallery Agniel is intended to inspire residents, entrepreneurs and artists to embrace downtown Providence as a place to live, work and create.
In October and December of 2001, Cornish hosted two weekends of multi-site events, including films and art installations curated by Gallery Agniel. The events’ success – more than 1,000 people attended the October event – has now evolved to a semi-monthly happening, with the next scheduled for the weekend of February 8 (Details are still being worked out.).
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"In July, Cliff Wood (Downcity coordinator at Cornish) called me and said ‘We’re interested in doing something in some of our buildings when the National Trust for Historic Preservation comes to town,’" said Sara Agniel, owner of Gallery Agniel.
Agniel has operated the gallery, working between Providence and New York, since 1998, and said there is a natural confluence between the city’s structures and its residents.
"There are a lot of people who live in Providence because of the architecture, and there are a lot of artists who respond to the environment," she said. "Cornish, as a developer, understands the component parts – art, architecture, retail. Providence is one of the few places left where you get a specificity of place – we have the luck of being in a place that has a history. There’s something about putting these contemporary art shows in these old buildings."
"We have the opportunity to develop a vibrant and eclectic area…the city deserves a cool downtown," Wood said. "A large part of that will be these creative endeavors. One of our goals, from a business point of view, is we want to permanently animate those spaces."
Animating the Lerner Building for the month of December was Substantive Scale, an exhibit of large format paintings by artists from Providence and New York.
Cornish Associates also owns several other high-profile buildings downtown, including the Burgess, Peerless, Smith and Alice buildings.
Agniel said the space provided a size-appropriate venue for the work and an opportunity to show off the breadth of the work created by artists from the area. "It was nice to get big format work in a venue that you could show more than one of them," she said.
Providence artist Ruth Dealy, who had four paintings in the show, said the exhibit mirrored her own passions.
"It’s really my obsession – getting artists and people downtown," she said.
A Providence resident and arts activist since she moved here to attend the Rhode Island School of Design more than 30 years ago, Dealy called the city "just the right size and shape for a perfect art community."
She added, "I can’t think of anything better."
Fellow exhibitor Monica Shinn, of Providence, agreed that such events are good for the city, and that she was grateful for the level of preservation evident in the downtown area.
"People were excited to be in this big building with all the big art. It was great," she said. "I’m amazed that no one lives downtown. I’m excited to see development going on."
"It’s all about stimulating the development of the city," Wood said. "We’re so blessed because we have a breadth of people and activities. As people come (to the events) who usually don’t come downtown, they’re going to start to get ideas."
Wood said that it is Cornish’s hope that the downtown art installations can fill a void.
"(Downtown is) a place to come together, to broaden your horizons," he said. "That’s what we need. That’s what we deserve. We have all the resources here. We’re just putting it together. (These events offer) a glimpse of what we want it to become."
