AS220 thanks you for FOO FEST 2018!
Dear AS220 universe,
Thank you all for celebrating this year’s FOO FEST with us yet again!
“Torrential rain aside, it was overall smooth from an audience perspective, thanks to you all, our incredible staff and a whole lot of residents, handling the challenges with aplomb. Our audience had a great time, artists had some fantastic performances and activities, and the the milkman marching band made it work even in the midst of a downpour, with a smaller parade under the tent. Huge thank you to the clean up crew in particular – we continue to impress people with how quickly and smoothly we wrap up, get everyone home and leave a clean street behind!”, says Shauna Duffy, AS220 Co-Director/Managing Director. “It’s also just an incredible feat to get through it with a happy community, engaged volunteers, and a staff who come together to pull off something so big!”, she adds.
This year, legacy musicians Rah Digga and Pere Ubu graced our outdoor stage as our co-headliners! Past headliners have included Psychic TV, Big Freedia, Andrew WK, Ssion, Lighning Bolt, Cakes Da Killa, Dan Deacon, and Deerhoof. And, the very first FOO FEST in 2009 saw Sun Rah Arkestra as the headliner!
Photos by James Lastowski HERE
The 2018 artists included:
On our stages: SHOW ME THE BODY / CHACHI CARVALHO / BOO CITY / DIRTY DURDIE / LA NEVE / RECTRIX / BLACK ACID PROPHECY / CONSUELO’S REVENGE / HARVEY GARBAGE + THE FLOWERS / LOOKERS / FINE. / AS220 YOUTH ZU-KREWE / THE VIENNAGRAM / SPACE HEATER / LE FEELING / THE DAILY NOTE PRESENTS FOOLISH HEART & MIZUCHI
Artist installations/activities by: Benjamin Lundberg-Sanchez, Providence Comics Consortium, KYLE B Co., K. Funmilayo Aileru, Brooke+Mara, Randy Bush & Friends (special s/o to former AS220 artist residents Justine Mainfield and Jason Curzake for returning to Foo!), AS220 Youth members, Kate Aitchinson, Leslie Atik, Carmel Dundon, Ian Gadreau, and Brian4ever.
Another special s/o to AS220 O.G. Richard Goulis and Sheryl Kopel, who ran a station to collect community stories as part of the “Unjuried / Uncensored: Making AS220” documentary!
And LIVE PRO(V) WRESTLING: An AS220 Community Curator, Live Pro(v) Wrestling prides itself on being open to and accepting of all people of all backgrounds, identities, and ages. Come to the monthly matches at AS220’s Black Box Theater, 95 Empire Street
This year’s Artist In Residence Keri Lyn King, made AS220’s Foo Fest interstellar with a pop-up space-themed makerspace, an awesome photo booth, an “ASK A SCIENTIST!’ table where a space scientist, bug scientist, and chemist hung out with us to share their knowledge. And Thames & Kosmos gave away some of their awesome science kits! Keri also hosted the “Space Shuttle Launch Parade” alongside the Marching Milkman Band! As the artist designer for this year’s FOO FEST, Keri honored the legacy of AS220’s mascot Fatso the Cat (now as Catso) and the AS220 Fool by turning them into space explorers!
Special thanks to AS220 Board Member, poet+artist Sussy Santana for once again hosting LA FERIA ARTISANS MARKET at AS220’s Foo Fest! LA FERIA featured artisans from over 20 countries! Élfido Morales Recinos– Guatemalan crafts / Carolina Arentsen– visual arts / Kate Sanders-Fleming – visual arts/mexican crafts / Helen Santana|Gianna Soares – flower arrangements / @Emilio Montilla – books / Laura Espinel – wood crafts / Evans Molina Fernandez– visual arts / Lydia Pérez – jewelry / Kianny N. Antigua – books, children crafts / Watta Police – t-shirts, prints / My Cultura – clothing+apparel / Norrin.radd / Taylor Warf / Jade S.
Our awesome AS220 Industries members and staff hosted tons of family-friendly activities, from 3-D Adventure Masks, to an interstellar photobooth, soldering L.E.D. constellations and glowing cat-eye wearables, button-making, and printmaking t-shirts, bandanas, totebags and more!
And AS220 Youth not only presented the next generation of their performance troop the AS220 ZuKrewe, but also created an “indigo garden” installation, a murals display, and had a merch marketplace selling their youth-designed and produced apparel brands!
And thanks to this year’s FOO FEST MC Ricky Rainbow Beard, the creator and host of a live theater production for children and their families called ‘The Rainbow Beard Show’. Held bi-monthly at the AS220 Black Box Theatre, it is equal parts spectacle and classroom. Audience participation is encouraged and each ‘show’ features special guests, recurring characters, minute-long dance parties, and a celebration of authentic feelings.
Big THANK YOU to our community partners and sponsors!
KIDOINFO // BLICK ART // THE STEEL YARD // GATHER GLASS // PROVIDENCE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM // RHODE ISLAND MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND ART (RIMOSA)
Providence Tourism Council // Revival Brewing Co. // Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island // McLaughlin & Moran, Inc // 95.5 WBRU // KiDOinfo // DBVW Architects // Pezzuco Construction // The Stable // Cornish Associates // Pinnacle Plumbing // Main Street Resources // Narragansett Brewing Company // Pella Windows and Doors // Hasbro // Regency Plaza Apartments // Blick Art Materials // DASH Bicycle // KLR // Nadeau Wadovick Certified Public Accountants // Barbara Sokoloff Associates // United Way of Rhode Island // The Dean Hotel // Waste Management // Nice Slice
And to Motif Magazine + the Providence Journal for their support and coverage!!
This year AS220 celebrates 25 years of Empire Street and has launched an ALL ACCESS campaign to support renovations throughout AS220’s flagship building, the Empire Street Complex! Read more about it HERE!
A bit of FOO + Providence underground arts history
