AS220 IMPACT: Ruth Harvey

Ruth Harvey
Co-Director, Dunedin Fringe (Ōtepoti | Dunedin, NZ)
Former AS220 Development Director

AS220 Youth first brought me to Providence.  I was on a research trip and visited for just a day.  In that short time, I felt AS220’s radiant energy.  I saw enthusiastic collaboration, and a place that encourages personal and community growth.  I wanted more!  So my husband and I (eventually) moved to Providence.  Over the 6 years I worked there, AS220 and its beautiful, committed staff taught me what art really is — a way of life, a way of being in community.

Even though I live on the other side of the world now, AS220 is with me every day.  Not just in the Foo Fest posters on my walls, the cat sticker on my laptop, or the framed photo of Anjel, Shauna and I on my mantle.  It’s in the way AS220 taught me to lead (co-leadership forever!); to live by my values; to support others; and to hold loving, generous space for them.  It’s a true gift to be able to put the lessons AS220 taught me into practice in my own community.