The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is celebrating its 40th year of supporting our state’s individual artists with a celebration on Tuesday evening, February 20th, at Firehouse 13 on Central Street in Providence. Firehouse 13 is one of our state’s newest artist spaces.

The celebration honors those artists who have received fellowship grants from the State. This year’s exhibition will include paintings by Alfred DeCredico, professor of Foundation Studies at RISD; wire installations by CW Roelle who is rapidly gaining national attention for his intricate three-dimensional works; and drawings by Chelsea Heffner who is also the Director of the Hera Gallery in Wakefield – just to name a few. Visitors will also experience video installations that include the choreography of Mark Harootian, dancer and choreographer for Festival Ballet, and listening stations with music by internationally performed composer Evan Johnson and experimental composer Joseph Grimm.

The RISCA Fellowship Exhibition will take place at Firehouse13 in Providence from Saturday, February 17 through Wednesday, February 28. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Tuesday February 20 from 5-9:00 PM (special presentations at 7pm). The public is also invited to attend the Fellowship Writers Night on Thursday, February 22 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM, when literature Fellowship Award Winners will read from their most recent works

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts will hold workshops in Newport and Providence for individual artists, non-profit organizations and schools interested in submitting grant applications for the Council's April 2 application deadline. Grant workshops are free and open to the public.

The Newport workshop will be held on Monday, February 26, 2007 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the Newport Art Museum, located at 76 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The Providence workshop will be held on Monday, March 5, 2007 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the Atrium Gallery at One Capitol Hill, located diagonally across Smith Street from the Rhode Island State House.

Arts Council staff will be present to review current grant guidelines, and will be available to provide information and assistance to those interested in applying for support.

The Arts Council's April 2 deadline offers opportunities for the support of individual artists, arts organizations, educational and non-profit organizations under the "Project Grant" category, which supports arts projects and arts education projects. April 2 is also the deadline for grants to individuals in our Fellowship Program. At this deadline applications will be accepted from individual creative artists working in the disciplines of crafts, film & video, folk arts, fiction, poetry, playwriting/screenwriting, photography and three-dimensional art.

Click here for more information on grants, access to guidelines and application forms.

A new work of public art has been installed at the Rhode Island Judiciary's Traffic Tribunal Building in Cranston. Commissioned as part of the state's "Art for Public Facilities" law, this new work will be unveiled in a public ceremony sometime in March.

A glass tile mosaic by Portland, ME artist Joe Kievitt was selected through a lengthy call to artists and review process. Mr. Kievitt's work is influenced by Japanese prints and depicts the natural world. The selection panel chose his colorful, graceful forms with confidence that they would respect the formality of judicial proceedings, yet lend an air of relief and charm to the Tribunal's often stressful environment.

The new Traffic Tribunal building is located at 670 New London Avenue in the John O. Pastore Government Center. Edward Rowse Architects Inc. was commissioned by the Rhode Island Judiciary to design the new Traffic Tribunal building in order to provide the public with a user-friendly, secure, and technologically advanced courthouse. “The inclusion of Mr. Kievitt's glass tile mosaic will enhance the public experience of the building by transforming its most publicly accessible areas” explains Cristina Di Chiera, Director of the Rhode Island's 1% for Public Art Program. “Kievitt's glass tile mosaic will endure for the life of the Traffic Tribunal building, making it a lasting amenity for the state.”

The artistic talents of state employees are on display during the month of February in the Atrium Gallery at One Capitol Hill, a gallery space managed by the State Arts Council in cooperation with the RI Department of Administration.

The State Employees Art Show has been one of the year’s most popular shows in the gallery, since it showcases the often hidden artistic talents of state workers. Each year a different group of talented artists emerge, from agency directors to clerk-typists. This year’s show features 51 paintings, drawings, photographs, and even tapestries by 33 state employee-artists.

An awards ceremony, presided over by Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts and Director of Administration Beverly Najarian will take place during the month of February.

Shawn Wallace, Managing Director of AS220, took the State Arts Council staff on a tour of the nearly-completed Dreyfus Building in downtown Providence. This ambitious project will create 26 affordable studio spaces for artists, along with 16 residential spaces and 10 work spaces.

The excellent Art-in-Ruins website has a comprehensive look at the Dreyfus project. There are also plans for a restaurant on the first floor, and an expansion of the AS220 Broad Street Studio project.

Artists interested in acquiring space should (quickly) contact Susan Clausen at AS220. Click on the link below.

The Rhode Island Foundation is about to begin a series of public discussions that will shape the role this important organization will play in supporting our community.

It is important that the voice of our state's arts community be heard during these meetings. Click on the link below, and try and attend one or more of these public gatherings.

The Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island does many things well. One thing they do beautiful is throw a party!

Join the Arts & Business Council on Thursday, March 1st for its 17th Annual Encore Arts & Business Awards, held this year at The Plant at 60 Valley Street in Providence. The Plant is a new mixed-use development featuring affordable live/work studio and commercial spaces, as well as a community enterprise center. A great place for a great party.