WaterFire Arts Center

WaterFire Arts Center Home of WaterFire Providence. An unparalleled event space on Valley Street in Olneyville.

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day 🌎🌿
�Reflect on the beauty of our earth and visit the gallery this week before Spring Tide closes this Sunday, 4/26.

Join us for the opening of The Next Faire: Origin, Continuity, and Invitation — a group exhibition featuring Umberto Cre...
04/21/2026

Join us for the opening of The Next Faire: Origin, Continuity, and Invitation — a group exhibition featuring Umberto Crenca, Nancy Gaucher-Thomas, Tony Janello, Salvatore Mancini, Anthony Russo, and Jane Yacovone.

Developed in partnership with Providence Inner City Arts, this exhibition celebrates the layered histories, identities, and cultural connections that shape creative perspectives within Rhode Island’s Italian community.

🎉 Opening Reception: Thursday, May 7, 6 – 9 PM
📍 On view: May 7 – May 31, 2026
🌙 Don’t miss on May 21!

Free & open to all — come reflect, celebrate, and connect with Providence Inner City Arts!

Umberto Crenca, Divine Providence: 313, 2026
Nancy Goucher-Thomas, A Final Goodbye, 2025
Tony Janello, TWO ASPECTS OF THE GOD OF THE VINE
Sal Mancini, Falling Man, Nevada, 2010
Anthony Russo, The Wolf
Jane Yacovone, Sandrigo, Italy

Join artist, Aver Li, for a conversation on the ideas, materials, and cultural intersections shaping Spring Tide. Avery ...
04/08/2026

Join artist, Aver Li, for a conversation on the ideas, materials, and cultural intersections shaping Spring Tide. Avery Li and Joanna Cortez reflect on their practices and how papermaking, migration, and coastal ecologies inform their work, inviting audiences into an evolving process where identities shift and boundaries blur.

Artist in Conversation with Avery Li and Joanna Cortez
đź—“ Thursday, April 9 | 6:00 p.m.

Free and open to all

Spring Tide reimagines identity beyond fixed borders, weaving together Otomi Amate and East Asian papermaking traditions with coastal materials from Rhode Island. These works embrace contradiction, transformation, and the beauty of what resists definition.

Spring Tide opens on Thursday, April 2, from 6–9 pm in the gallery ! We’re excited to see you there.Featuring works from...
03/21/2026

Spring Tide opens on Thursday, April 2, from 6–9 pm in the gallery ! We’re excited to see you there.

Featuring works from Avery Li () and collaborators Ireoluwatoni Asojo (), Jude Bigboy (), Kayla Bryant (), Tony Torres (), and Yuqi Liu (), Spring Tide invites us to move past rigid borders and see how different parts can blend, creating new forms that feel both strange and familiar.

Timed to , the exhibition considers the shoreline as a site of transformation, where shifting tides reveal what is typically unseen. Li’s works are embedded with materials gathered locally: seaweed and coastal debris from , plus inedible fragments from communal and personal gatherings, grounding the exhibition in place while engaging broader conversations about ecology, resilience, and interdependence.

Where & When:
đź“Ť WaterFire Arts Center Gallery
🕓 Gallery hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 10 AM–5 PM + Thursdays until 9 PM
🗓️ On view Thursday, April 2 - Sunday, April 26
đź”— waterfire.org/springtide

Special Events:
April 2 (6–9 pm): Opening! Artist Reception.
April 9 (starting at 6pm): Avery Li in conversation with Joanna Cortez (), a printmaker, collaborator, and educator at Rhode Island School of Design ().
April 16 (5-9 pm): Part of , a citywide arts activation with trolley rides and self‑guided tours. Jump on a trolley from the WaterFire Arts Center, explore partner galleries, then return to see Spring Tide.

Works featured by Avery Li: Portal (jianzhi), 2025. The Reef, Shore, and Heart, 2025. Ray, 2025.

Admission is free and open to all. Donations encouraged.

OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS! WaterFire Arts Center invites artists to apply for America, Unfinished?!, a large-scale exhibition...
03/20/2026

OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS!

WaterFire Arts Center invites artists to apply for America, Unfinished?!, a large-scale exhibition taking place in our 15,000 sq. ft. industrial space, exploring America as an evolving and unresolved project. Themes include labor, migration, identity, memory, history, and shared place.

We welcome submissions across disciplines, including immersive installations, performance, sculpture, photography, soundscapes, textiles, and more.

⏳ Deadline: Sunday, April 12 at 11:59 PM
📅 Exhibition: July 2 – Aug 30, 2026
đź“Ť Location: Providence, RI

APPLY NOW to make your voice heard! đź”— in bio.

📸 EYE TO EYE: Photographs and Projects by Mary Beth Meehan (). 2021. WaterFire Arts Center. Photograph by Matthew TW Huang ()

đź’ĄHappening TOMORROW, Thursday 2/26 in the gallery from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - the closing reception of Murmurations! Join u...
02/25/2026

đź’ĄHappening TOMORROW, Thursday 2/26 in the gallery from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - the closing reception of Murmurations! Join us as we close out this amazing show celebrating the partnership between The Steel Yard () and the WaterFire Arts Center, highlighting community, placemaking and art in our neighborhood!

This gallery showcases the work of the 2025 - 2026 Steel Yard’s resident artists in a group exhibition shaped by interconnected movement, shared space, and collective making.

Featured works by:
🌀Chantel Bollinger ()
🌀Dominik Cunningham ()
🌀Prinshu Gautam (.studios)
🌀Kit Grindeland ()
🌀Nadia Nazar ()
🌀Alex Tum ()
🌀David Vuong (.eax)
🌀Decatur Foster

Can’t make it to the closing reception? Murmurations will be featured in the gallery until Sunday, March 1, 2026. The store + gallery will be open this weekend, Friday - Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm. 👏🏼

02/23/2026

RI VegFest 2026 recap 🌱✨

We’re so grateful to RI VegFest for bringing another incredible weekend of plant-based food, inspiring vendors, and compassionate community to the WaterFire Arts Center.

It was amazing to see folks travel from near and far to celebrate together.
Thank you, for choosing to host Year 6 with us! 🥕🌎

What an incredible night at yesterday’s artist panel featuring the 2025–2026 Steel Yard () residents! It was thrilling t...
02/13/2026

What an incredible night at yesterday’s artist panel featuring the 2025–2026 Steel Yard () residents! It was thrilling to hear the artists dive into their perspectives and creative processes, revealing the energy and intention behind their work. An amazing evening celebrating the powerful collaboration between the WaterFire Arts Center and The Steel Yard. 🎨🔥

Featured Artists in the Panel:
đź’ĄChantel Bollinger ()
đź’ĄDominik Cunningham ()
đź’ĄPrinshu Gautam (.studios)
đź’ĄKit Grindeland ()
đź’ĄNadia Nazar ()
đź’ĄAlex Tum ()
đź’ĄDavid Vuong (.eax)
đź’ĄDecatur Foster

In case you missed it, we welcome you to view Murmurations this weekend during our regular 10am-5pm hours. Murmurations, hosted by the WaterFire Arts Center in collaboration with the Steel Yard, will remain open until March 1st, 2026.

This panel is open and free to all. Check the đź”— in our bio for more information!

Please join us on Thursday, February 12, 2026, for an artist panel featuring the 2025–2026 Steel Yard Residents. The eve...
02/06/2026

Please join us on Thursday, February 12, 2026, for an artist panel featuring the 2025–2026 Steel Yard Residents. The evening will begin with a reception at 5:00 pm, followed by the panel at 6:00 pm. 🌀

Featured Artists in this Panel:
đź’ĄChantel Bollinger ()
đź’ĄDominik Cunningham ()
đź’ĄPrinshu Gautam (.studios)
đź’ĄKit Grindeland ()
đź’ĄNadia Nazar ()
đź’ĄAlex Tum ()
đź’ĄDavid Vuong (.eax)
đź’ĄDecatur Foster

By bringing The Steel Yard’s resident artists into the WaterFire Arts Center gallery, the partnership highlights the dialogue between making, community, and place that connects these two organizations across the Woonasquatucket River. 🤝

This panel is open and free to all. Check the đź”— in our bio for more information!

Can you believe this was 10 years ago? Since 2016, we’ve done some incredible things alongside our community.💥Through th...
02/05/2026

Can you believe this was 10 years ago? Since 2016, we’ve done some incredible things alongside our community.💥

Through the restoration of a historic former U.S. Rubber site, the WaterFire Arts Center has grown into a place for exhibitions, gatherings, collaboration, and experimentation.

While our vision was there from the beginning, time, change, and lived experience continue to shape it. We’re proud of how far we’ve come and we know there’s more work ahead to fully realize what this space can be.

We keep asking, together: what will the next 10 years bring? ✨

Address

475 Valley Street
Providence, RI
02908

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 9pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+14012731155

Website

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