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Art Around the Block
The Avenue Concept inspires BIPOC and female-identifying artists to paint utility boxes in Providence . By Amy Martin
Public art finds a canvas in the most unexpected places . The Avenue Concept ’ s Providence Utility Box Project , made possible in part by a Rhode Island Foundation Community Grant , features utility boxes painted by emerging local Black , Indigenous and People of Color and / or female-identifying artists in Upper South Providence and downtown . Student artists from ArTwerk , an interdisciplinary advanced design studio at RISD , also painted four more boxes at the base of College Hill , and artists Forrest Curl , Kobe Jackson and Rene Gomez painted three additional utility boxes in Biltmore Park this summer .
1 . Sara Breslin , Untitled Founding volunteer artist in the “ Beyond the Diagnosis ” exhibition , Sara Breslin painted a body of work exploring her own struggles and growth as a young woman , including life and death , womanhood and mental health . The work consists of a portrait of a woman surrounded by flowers and butterflies while a bundle of leaves frames her face .
2 . Arthur Cayo , “ City Life Utility Boxer ” Arthur Cayo started painting heart murals on boarded-up buildings in the summer of 2020 . For Cayo , art is an outlet to release energy in a positive way . The utility box he painted contains two pictures : one of a skateboarder performing a trick and the other of two people hugging in a dark space .
3 . Keira Gonsalves , Untitled Keira Gonsalves attends the University of
Rhode Island pursuing a bachelor ’ s degree in fine arts while also running her small art business , Stone Soup . Her body of work contains themes of pain and healing , juxtaposing the positive experiences surrounding healing and the reality of a painful transformation . Gonsalves ’ s utility box consists of a portrait on one side and a flower on the other .
4 . Lara Henderson , “ Prisms ” Lara Henderson is based in Providence , where she prints out of AS220 and runs her small business , Make Books . Her books are in multiple collections , including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and RISD . Henderson painted several rainbow prisms on her utility box .
5 . Natural , “ The Fighter ” Natural focuses mainly on the art of spray painting . He has created a number of murals
in the past with elements of flora and fauna . A gigantic purple betta fish takes up a majority of Natural ’ s utility box while a dark background complements the cool colors .
6 . YSANEL , “ La Broad de Mi Alma ” Dominican artist YSANEL is a multidisciplinary artist best known for her series , The Faces of Street Art . Much of her work emphasizes unique character and color play , and she often explores the relationship between modern day and history . On one side of YSA- NEL ’ s utility box , she painted a pair of legs walking across a crosswalk ; on the other , a yellow building with the Dominican Republic flag hanging from the side .
Download the Avenue Concept Art Tours app for your iPhone or Android device to take the Avenue Concept ’ s public art tours . theavenue concept . org / programs / wayfinding
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2021 17