PROVIDENCE – Mayor Jorge O. Elorza on Tuesday celebrated the installation of the city Department of Art, Culture + Tourism’s neighborhood project “Who We Are Now,” a public exhibit of five large-scale portraits that reflect the city’s multicultural community.
“These brilliant portraits allow us to see our neighbors and each other in a new light,” said Elorza. “I want to thank the five local artists who contributed their work to this project. We are the Creative Capital, and we will continue finding ways to turn our city into a canvas for art.”
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Five local artists, Kannetha Brown, Eli De Faria, Jeny Hernandez-Watson, Jonathan Pitts-Wiley, and Abenda Sohn were selected among 15 photographers by curators Marybeth Meehan, José Ramirez, and David Santilli. Each of the selected photos were made into large-scale banner reproductions that will be on display at 135 Washington St., 165 Washington St., one mural on front of garage and one on side facing 135 Washington St., 201 Washington St., and 46 Auburn St. through December 2023.
“The five photographs that we have chosen to display in downtown Providence are each, in their own way, beautiful, deep, intimate and moving, and represent important perspectives on our Rhode Island community,” Meehan said.
The title and prompt for the installation, “Who We Are Now,” asked the artists, and ultimately the viewer, to consider the topic of identity in 2022. According to artist statements provided as part of the project, the awarded portraits tackle subjects such as cultural pride, resistance, survival, joy and unity in diversity.
“I am so proud to see this important project come to fruition,” said Lizzie Araujo, director of the Department of Art, Culture + Tourism. “The wealth of artistic talent we have in this city can always be tapped in new ways, and this installation harnesses the power of portraiture in a way that reduces silos and brings us closer together.”
