Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic. – Oscar Wilde We let our eyes linger on a page. We brush across the strokes of a canvas. We stare out at the sea, an empty plain, the way leaves filter sunlight through the trees — our eyes spend a lifetime processing a wealth […]
Can artists separate their beliefs from their art? At first glance, it would be easy to dismiss this question. After all, art is subjective. Art often reflects the artist’s worldview, perspective, and unique style. While it may be easy to conclude they are inseparable, there are examples to the contrary. When commissioned, artists show they […]
Let’s face it. It’s been a whirlwind of headlines this month. It started with the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Then came the withdrawal of President Biden from the Democratic presidential candidacy. Now it’s the nomination of Kamala Harris as the new hope for Democrats in November. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for […]
It is believed by outreach workers that by the time any members of the Providence Police Department arrived at the two unhoused encampments cruelly evicted by Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, the encampments were empty. All that remained was the trash that Mayor Smiley refused to provide receptacles for, and whatever possessions those being evicted were […]
Despite months of student protest to demand divestment of the Brown University endowment from the Israeli military, the administration has tried to squash student activism through use of the criminal justice system. On February 12 and 14, 41 students were arraigned at the state courts in response to conducting a sit-in months earlier. Though the […]
Last summer, a statue of a bronze man sitting alone on a bench appeared in PVD’s Market Square. Although he can’t introduce himself, his bench bears his name: Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901). If you aren’t familiar with Bannister, you likely know the Providence Art Club, which he helped found. During his life, Bannister was considered […]
Since October 7, I have been glued to my phone watching video after video depicting the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Doctors are operating with sewing needles and without anesthetic, babies are dying because there is no electricity to run incubators. Journalists covering Gaza have been targeted and killed, and civilians are being bombed with white […]
In 1937, the federal government entered the world of public housing when FDR signed the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act into law. The law established the US Housing Authority, which created a federally funded public housing program that provided $500 million in loans for low-cost housing projects across the US to help house America’s most financially poor. […]
“The more normal something appears to be, the more ideological it is.” – Angela Davis quoting Wahneema Lubiano in the Black Women Radicals, “Black Feminist Writers and Palestine” webinar (via seedaschool.substack.com) The clocks have turned back, plunging us into darkness before 5pm. The air is getting colder. Seemingly, the hearts of those in power have […]
There is a new piece of public art a couple of blocks from my house, in the playground across the street from the Peace Dale Library. It is a fourteen foot tall, vaguely bunny shaped, abstract sculpture by an artist named Peter Diepenbrock. It was recently installed as part of the celebration of South Kingstown’s […]