-PROVFLUX ARTIST-
REconstructing Providence:
Adaptive Reuse, Urban Revitalization &
Neighborhood Change
by Robin Amer
There are nearly 250 historic mill buildings in Providence, symbolizing the city’s glory days as an industrial powerhouse. In the next few years some mills will be converted into retail and condominiums, some will be demolished to make way for new construction, some will be reused by artists, non-profits, and small businesses, and some will burn down.
REconstructing Providence: Adaptive Reuse, Urban Revitalization and Neighborhood Change, a radio documentary by local producer and Brown University student Robin Amer, examines the life cycle of these mill buildings and explores the ways the city is trying to reinvent itself through them, from industrial to post-industrial.
The 60-minute audio documentary focuses on several contemporary local adaptive reuse projects that raise serious questions about the way the city is changing and who is participating in that change. REconstructing Providence tells the story of urban revitalization in Providence through the lens of mill redevelopment, and captures the sounds, stories and voices of a city in flux.
REconstructing Providence will have its premiere, including a live performance, on Monday, May 10, 2004 at AS220 at 6 pm. AS220 is located at 115 Empire Street in Providence. The live narration will be performed by the author and will feature original music by Alec K. Redfearn, performed live by members of the Eyesores and Fern Knight.
REconstructing Providence will also be available on-line at ArtinRuins.com starting this summer.
Support for REconstructing Providence was provided by The CV Starr Foundation, the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University, Preserve Rhode Island, Citizen’s Bank and the Olneyville Housing Corporation.
Robin Amer is an independent producer living in Providence, RI. Her work has been featured on BSR 88.1 FM, WRNI’s Focus Rhode Island, and ArtinRuins.com. She is currently an artist-in-residence at AS220 and completing a degree in Art Semiotics at Brown University.
