Sculpture Bay:

An unused alleyway, an abandoned brick building, a flat tarred rooftop. All these forgotten spaces have the potential to become reawakened by human activity. Sculpture Bay, a post-industrial beach front of concrete slab and refuse, is one of many sites PIPS is working collectively to revitalize. Sculpture Bay was discovered upstream from The East Providence Yacht Club and across the bay from Providence’s India Point Park. Geographically, this point appeared to be a kind of “catch all” for materials discarded in Rhode Island. Plastic bottles, milled lumber, used tires, cigarette lighters, and children’s toys are among the most common objects found. The extreme diversity in nature of objects allowed for the playful interaction of artist and environment. Objects were lost, found, reassigned value, grouped with others of the like, categorized, named, and photographically documented. This project proved to participating artists that abandoned land and items thrown away do not disappear but continue to exist. The experience of creating order out of chaos was gratifying. The first step to understanding more about the structure that surrounds our everyday was taken by several artists at Sculpture Bay.