AS220 will be closed February 3rd – 5th (schedule below), for an all-staff Undoing Racism training facilitated by The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond of New Orleans, LA.

In May 2018, we launched the All Access campaign to improve the physical accessibility of AS220’s flagship Empire Street building. At that time, we weren’t fully aware of how the theme of access would resonate beyond the accessibility improvements we planned to make. Since then, our understanding of what it means to be truly accessible has deepened through dialogue with community members and accessibility advocates. We’ve committed ourselves to thinking about access in a more expansive way, and to improving how AS220 serves our diverse and evolving community to create truly inclusive, equitable, and accessible spaces.

Our vision statement speaks of “a just world where all people can realize their potential”. We believe that by putting racial justice at the heart of our work, we’ll be able to pursue this vision in a more meaningful way – to back those words with knowledge and action. Our staff will be more knowledgeable and sensitive when discussing racism, and better understand how it impacts our communities and our work, allowing us to better support equity in the arts.

AS220’s Executive Director, Shauna Duffy, states that “One of the most challenging parts of addressing race is often that people don’t have a shared vocabulary, never mind shared experiences, so we get stuck very quickly. We’re hoping this training will go a long way towards bringing folks together so we can get deeper into this work.”

The People’s Institute is recognized as one of the foremost anti-racism training and organizing institutions in the nation. We are excited that AS220 is able to participate in this valuable work. Special thanks to the Rhode Island Foundation and the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism for funding this effort.

We thank you for your understanding about these closures, which enable us to build a better AS220 for everyone!

Main Offices: closed Feb 3 – 5, reopening Feb 6

Youth: closed Feb 3 – 5, reopening Feb 6

Food & Drink: closed Feb 3 – 4, reopening for dinner at 5 PM on Feb 5

Main Gallery: closed Feb 3 – 4, reopening Feb 5 at 5 PM

Project Space: open on Feb 5 for normal public hours

Industries: open on Feb 5 for normal public hours

Main Stage: Life Drawing only at 5:30 PM on Feb 4, full reopen Feb 5

Dance Studio: open as usual