Weekly since 2020, BCDC has showcased a Local Arts Hero that’s keeping the lights on in a challenging moment. This week we’ve chosen to make Providence part of our “local” umbrella once again by choosing AS220!
Planning to head up for reunion weekend? You might want to check in with this beloved institution, which operates as a creative hub and artists’ community, and works to cultivate opportunities for all people to realize their artistic potential.
It set up shop in 1985 as a small, downtown studio where artists and performers could exhibit work in an uncensored, unpretentious setting. It has since grown into a multifaceted, continuously innovative nonprofit that’s a colorful anchor of Empire Street. Today, its wide reach encompasses a main performance space (known for its inclusive, “no covers” policy), six art galleries; a dance studio; individual artist’s studios; and a restaurant slash bar.
AS220 Industries, a membership-based collection of community workspaces and resources that opened a decade ago, includes a community print shop, a media arts lab, and a “Fab Lab” focused on digital fabrication. And AS220 Youth, a free and nationally-recognized arts program, serves youth ages 14-21 with a mission to dismantle the pipeline to prison by empowering at-risk, beyond-risk and incarcerated youth through arts, culture and collective action.
AS220 closed down its in-person operations for much of the pandemic, but most programs are back to in-person as of this month! To learn more about what’s going on at AS220, and lend your support, head here!