Rhode Island’s first feminist and gender-expansive cultural center has changed its name to The Alcove from Gather RI ,and moved to new digs at 189 Broadway from Atwells Avenue in Providence.
Why the change?
“We wanted a name that truly evokes the feeling of what we do,” said Amanda E. Strauss, the founding executive director of the nonprofit. “Also, an alcove is a respite, a pause, in the architecture.”
Khamry Varfley, the inaugural curator and program manager, agreed and added, “This is a space carved out in the community. And our hope for The Alcove is that it fills a need by being a safe, neutral place to gather with others and create community and all forms of art.”
“We want to build a collective momentum for women and gender-expansive people,” Strauss said. “It’s essential that we welcome everyone, and it’s really important that we have a space for women and gender-expansive people. It is essential because The Alcove does not view gender as a binary.”
As envisioned, The Alcove will be a place where networks are built, imaginations are sparked, projects are thought out and worked on and completed, and where groups can be formed. “Think of it as a gathering spot of all points of connection,” Strauss suggested.
According to Varfley, their two-story building will be a repository of collective wisdom. For instance, along with artworks, there will be storytelling. “We want to center dialogue and mutual exchange, not just talking at an audience, but engaging with people in ways that truly resonate, she said.
The first floor of The Alcove houses the portrait gallery and the biographical library, and is open to the public. There is a dedicated member haven on the second floor, which includes a nook with comfy chairs. Outside is a gated patio and garden, and there is a rooftop terrace. Fittingly, a few alcoves are sprinkled here and there throughout the building.
The Alcove held its grand opening on Saturday, January 10, followed by an artists’ reception on Thursday, January 15, for the nonprofit’s inaugural exhibit, Founders and Inventors Who Shaped Our World. Dirt Palace, a feminist collective, helped administer artist selection and oversaw commissions for the thirty portraits of the show.
Done by Rhode Island artists, the portraits are of women in the fields of science, medicine, education, design, art, and activism. There are some curated reproductions among them.
Strauss sees The Alcove working closely with Dirt Palace. As she put it, “We wouldn’t be here without them.”
After walking through the portrait gallery, which Varfley calls a “visual library,” visitors enter the nonprofit’s biographical library of women and gender-expansive people who made many contributions, but by-and-large were neglected for years by the history books.
“We want people to be inspired by what is on our shelves,” Varfley explained. “These are books about women in the trades and in skilled labor, women in business and entrepreneurship.”
The books document the lives of more than two thousand women, from the neighborhoods of RI to the international community.
It’s a great place to find a role model and, equally important, get you thinking about how you, too, could make the world a better place.