of Rhode Island's signature
events.(Courtesy of
WaterFire)
When I first created WaterFire in 1994, I never imagined it would become as popular as it has. When speaking to someone who has traveled to Rhode Island from Europe or Hong Kong to see the art installation I am astonished at the powerful attraction firelight has for all of us. A man told me he had driven five times to see WaterFire from Montreal. I met two strangers in a Tapas restaurant in Barcelona and both of them (one from Manhattan and one from San Francisco) had come to Rhode Island to see WaterFire. A family wrote in our guest books that they came to see WaterFire all the way from Chepachet! (They had such a great time, they are even talking about planning a second trip this year.)
I have met scores of newlyweds who first met at WaterFire or say that their love grew out of the conversations they had together sitting by the fires. Rhode Islanders have embraced WaterFire as their own and families now plan their weddings, reunions and vacations around the artwork.
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I first created WaterFire for New Year’s Eve 1994 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of First Night Providence. That first installation, called First Fire, consisted of only 11 braziers, supported on steel tripods, ranging from WaterPlace Basin to Steeple Street. We worked for months welding and fabricating and then spent three weeks on the water setting things up, breaking the ice on the river surface each morning. On New Year’s Eve we lit the 11 fires and the firelight reflected off the dark water while the sparks flitted through the cold night air — it was simple and beautiful, timeless and magical. Since that cold night, WaterFire has grown from 11 fires to nearly 100 while the audience has grown from hundreds to as many as 50,000 on a single night.
Since that first lighting, WaterFire has attracted over three million people to downtown Providence, many of them from outside the state. The Providence Journal declared WaterFire to be “the most popular work of art in the city’s 365 year history” and many people now consider it to be a symbol of the Providence renaissance.
In June of 1996, I expanded the work for the International Sculpture Conference held in conjunction with the annual Convergence Art Festival. I was hoping to create a work of art which would bring people to the new WaterPlace Park which was beautiful, but nearly deserted. There was an overwhelming response and many citizens and business leaders urged me to consider making WaterFire an on-going signature event for the city.
With the support of generous donors and dedicated volunteers, we continued the installation for the remainder of the year and WaterFire began to gain national and international attention. Each year since we have enlarged the event, expanded the season and added new venues. Last year we presented twenty-five lightings and added the Sovereign Plaza Ballroom.
WaterFire is entirely free and operates as an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) arts organization. The arts installation is made possible with the extraordinary support we have received from the entire community. Hundreds of generous individuals have made donations or volunteered their time to work on the project. The Mayor and the City of Providence, the Governor and the Legislature of the State of Rhode Island, and the Providence Tourism Council have all been tremendously supportive and helpful. The Rhode Island business community immediately understood the importance of WaterFire and continues to take a leadership role in sponsoring WaterFire.
Our major corporate sponsors have included the Providence Journal, Sovereign Bank, Hasbro, Dunkin’ Donuts, Verizon, Textron, Fleet, WJAR NBC 10, Citizens Bank, Providence Place, MetLife Auto and Home, CVS, Nortek, The Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Boston Financial Data Services and Robert Mondavi, among many others.
WaterFire has a tremendous economic impact upon the city and the state attracting conventions and millions of visitors, arts-lovers and tourists to our capital city where they eat in our restaurants, stay in our hotels, and shop in our stores.
WaterFire’s visitors create many jobs for Providence residents. Just last year they spent approximately $23 million during their visits to Rhode Island, generating close to $2.4 million in tax revenue for the state. Recently the noted urban theorist, Richard Florida, cited WaterFire as a perfect example of the sort of special event that motivates highly skilled workers and high tech companies to relocate to Rhode Island and stressed the importance of continuing these efforts if the state is going to remain competitive in the new economy.
Over the past five years WaterFire has helped make Providence a celebrated national destination.
The art installation has brought tremendous positive media exposure to downtown Providence with over 300 articles in both the national and international press. Just recently WaterFire got a rave review in Travel Holiday magazine and was a cover feature on the travel section of the Newark (N.J.) Sunday Star-Ledger. The crowds who gather downtown for the fires transform the city making it safe, exciting and magical.
Rhode Islanders have embraced WaterFire and they can be overheard along the river beaming with pride as they show the fires to their guests and talk about the rebirth of their capital city.
WaterFire is made possible by the hard work of a full-time staff of 12 people and the efforts of literally hundreds of volunteers. The staff does everything from sandblasting, painting and repairing the boats, setting anchors, placing braziers and transporting many tons of firewood to installing power cables, audio speakers, writing and printing the music programs and organizing the event. WaterFire also works to clean up debris and litter in the rivers, parks and streets of downtown.
The astonishing response to WaterFire is a testimony to the vital power of art and the intense need we all have to be a part of a larger spiritual community. The art installation celebrates the triumph of life over death, the power of creation over loss, and celebrates what makes us human. Each evening over one hundred volunteers bring light and magic to the many thousands of visitors — reclaiming the night and rebuilding our community — bonfire by bonfire, log by log, and person by person.
