Stephanie Fortunato | Director, Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism
1. What is the mission of the department? To ensure the continued development of a vibrant and creative city by integrating arts and culture into community life while showcasing Providence as an international cultural destination.
2. You previously were the deputy director. What have you changed since your appointment as leader? Many programs continue under my direction but with an emphasis on equity and transparency that we bring to new efforts, as well. In 2016, we began working with the first Art in City Life Commission to standardize the city’s public art policies. This led us to undertake a planning process to develop a citywide vision for public art. … Whether it is updating the city’s holiday tree lighting celebrations or growing PVDFest into a four-day, annual festival, we strive to collaborate with our communities in meaningful and innovative ways.
3. What public art installations can Providence residents look forward to in 2018? This spring, Mary Beth Meehan will rotate four portraits in her Seen/Unseen Providence series of large-scale photographs on downtown buildings. Anna Snyder and students from Alvarez High School will install Southside Stories in Trinity Square. And four temporary public artworks have been commissioned for PVDFest 2018. On April 26, we will launch the city’s public art master plan – look for new opportunities and installations to follow.
4. PVDFest seems to be growing each year. Is it the largest tourism attraction the city sponsors? Absolutely. ... Since taking office, Mayor [Jorge O.] Elorza has championed PVDFest as a platform for the creative capital to shine. Almost every city department contributes to the signature destination arts festival, which 75,000 people attended last year. More than 800 artists, 60 sponsors, 55 goods vendors, 32 food trucks and hundreds of volunteers made PVDFest possible in 2017. The event generated $2.6 [million] in economic activity. PVDFest demonstrates the unique pull of Providence’s rich artistic community, and the power of the arts to transform how we experience the city.
5. What is on your wish list for the year ahead? Providence’s creatives have an abundance of inspired, beautiful, provocative, sweet and powerful ideas that make our community a better place to live, work and visit. I wish for resources to more fully support these artists, culture bearers, institutions, neighbors and educators – the source of our city’s creative energy.