2018 Sites and Stories Walking Tours
As a part of our ongoing Sites and Stories Explored Through Scholarship, Art and Community Engagement project, PPS hosted community walking tours of four selected Most Endangered Properties in the Fall of 2018. These tours enabled local artists and scholars to engage with community members, provoking conversations about the meaning of place, what happens when a site tells more than one story, and what kind of reparative work can ensue when a site erases some of its narratives in favor of others.
Paragon Mill Tour: This tour delved into the recent history of Paragon Mill, with participation from performance artists Rebecca Noon and Jed Hancock-Brainerd, and Dr. Evelyn Sterne, Associate Professor of History at URI.
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Parcel 1A/Riverfront Tour: This tour focused on the historical and current use of the Providence Riverfront, with participation from artist Deborah Spears Moorehead and experts on industrial history and water quality.
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Knight Memorial Library Tour: This tour examined the history of Knight Memorial Library, the people who created it and the people who use it today, as well as the art and architecture of the building and the challenges that go along with maintaining it. With artist Walker Mettling and community leader Channavy Chhay.
Knight Memorial Library tour content
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Broad Street Synagogue Tour: This tour explored the history, art, and architecture of the “Broad Street Synagogue”, originally Temple Beth-El, and the surrounding community with artist David Wells.
Broad Street Synagogue tour content
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This project is supported by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and private funders. PPS is currently seeking additional funding to support the project.