When you think about seeing great art, you probably think about a visit to a museum or gallery – someplace like the RISD Museum or the WaterFire Arts Center. But, believe it or not, some really good art can be found at airports, including T.F. Green International.
So, where do you find it? When you enter the front doors – either on the top floor at check-in or the bottom floor at baggage claim – immediately turn to the right. You’ll see it. The airport works with the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, or RISCA, to choose artists to highlight every few months.
Morning Edition Host Luis Hernandez was at the airport recently when they were putting up work from three new artists.
“Whenever I’m in airports, the only thing I think about are the other airports I’ve been in, you know, it’s just like mania,” said Jeff Foye, gallery coordinator for the program. “I’ve been in a number of airports, you know, Reno, then in Chicago, I can think of Orange County, Los Angeles – [they] all have public art programs. And whenever I get to see the art, I’m in a different place. I’m not thinking about the airport. And suddenly I’m looking at the art, I’m engaging, I’m having a thoughtful moment. And it’s like, you know, it’s a meaningful experience, as opposed to just, I’m in another airport, I gotta get this thing done, I gotta get to the gate, I gotta get food, you know. You get to lift out of the logistics and look at something and think about it.”
The airport art program – which also shows artists at a gallery in the Block Island Airport – has been around since 2012. Any resident of Rhode Island can apply, so long as they’re not a student, and it’s open to artists in all media formats. Over the course of a year, anywhere from six to nine artists get to present their work on the walls on both floors.
“When I see art in an airport, it helps me differentiate that place from another place,” said Molly Dickinson, Public Art/Cultural Facilities Program Director at RISCA. “So when I go to Miami and I see the big installation of kaleidoscopes made out of different fish images, I always know it’s Miami. It’s very specific. So when you come to T.F. Green and you see art by Rhode Island artists, it makes it unique and helps you remember where you’ve been, and gives a sense of place and a sense of the state.”
Luis talked with the three newest artists about their work and what it means to show it at T.F. Green.
Painter Tiffany Mendez of Cumberland drew inspiration from flowers she photographed. “I created a body of work for the airport with this in mind,” she said. “I took some photographs of flowers at the Rhode Island Botanical Center and also flowers in my own garden. And I knew that they were all natives to Rhode Island. And I knew that this had to be a Rhode Island-based sort of theme.”
Another one of the featured artists is muralist Mandy Howe of Portsmouth, whose large panels feature Rhode Island landscapes. “These big panel paintings were part of an outdoor art project I initiated at a gallery in Middletown, Rhode Island, near Newport during COVID,” Mandy said. “Because all the galleries and museums were shut down. So we started a mural project outside. And these were all installed on a balcony outside. So people can still see art walking by or driving by. So that’s where this kind of group and style came from.”
The third artist is Providence-based photographer Izzy Rodriguez. “A lot of what I do and what I’m passionate about is trying to capture moments in history that we may never see again,” he said. “Essentially the photograph is the history.” Pointing to a photo of PVD Fest, he said “This is Washington Street completely full of people, you know, shoulder to shoulder … I don’t know that we’ll ever see this again.”
Izzy said it means a lot to him for his work to be featured in this place where some people are getting their very first impression of the local culture. “My art being at the airport when people are arriving is essentially saying, ‘hey, not only do we put art at the forefront, but this is one of the artists that we put at the forefront.’”
Their work is on display at T.F. Green International Airport now through early summer.
Providence Children’s Film Festival
The Providence Children’s Film Festival starts Friday night and runs through February 25th. It’s the 15th year of the festival, which showcases films for the whole family from all over the world. Artscape producer James Baumgartner talked with festival director Eric Bilodeau for this preview.
The following transcript has been edited for clarity.
James Baumgartner: Is there a theme to the festival this year?
Eric Bilodeau: There’s not a theme in particular. We have guiding principles and one of the major ones that we adhere to is “what you watch matters.” It’s food for the mind. And just like what you eat matters and we feel that what you watch matters. And so we really try to find the films that will feed your minds, inspire, and really develop young people’s imaginations.
Baumgartner: I saw that “tasty cinema” is part of the program this year. What is “tasty cinema?”
Bilodeau: To complement the features and the films being shown. Every day we pick a film that’s being shown and we represent a flavor from that culture. And this year we’re using soups to do that. And so every day we’ll have a different soup representing a different culture of a film being shown. And, so we have a whole lineup of soups. The names are so much fun, it sounds like a Dr. Seuss lineup. But it really was a popular thing last year that we enhanced this year.
Baumgartner: I also noticed that you called these dinner table films. What exactly did you mean by that?
Bilodeau: You know you’ve gone to a film that resonated with a child when they bring it up at dinner. And so we’re thinking, we’ve heard so many anecdotes from parents that are basically saying, “Oh, I couldn’t believe this, like one of the first films our kids ever brought up at the dinner table was a film we saw at your film festival, and they wanted to talk about it more without us provoking them, you know, let’s talk about this film, they brought it up on their own.”
Baumgartner: I know it’s hard to pick favorites, but can you tell me maybe there’s one that’s particularly for younger children that’s a standout? One for tweens? One for teens?
Bilodeau: Sure. Probably the youngest one: “Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia,” that is definitely for the younger crowd. But very enjoyable, beautiful animation from France. The opening night film is great. “Dancing Queen,” from Norway. It’s our opening and our closing night film. And, that’s wonderful for the, 12, 13, 14 [year olds]. And then, for the teens, “Scrapper.” It’s from England. It’s really a well done film that ‘s for all ages and for families of all ages.
Baumgartner: What’s “Scrapper” about?
Bilodeau: “Scrapper” is about a young girl who doesn’t tell anybody, but she’s raising herself. Her mom had passed away, and she figured out a way of just still staying in the apartment and living without any guidance. And then her father appears, whom she has not met before, and how they develop, redevelop a relationship.
Baumgartner: Are there any workshops or other aspects of the festival aside from screenings?
Bilodeau: There are. We have, stop motion animation, Three stop motion animation workshops that are happening with the Gif-O-Graf people. The Gif-O-Graf guys have developed these amazing machines made here in Pawtucket, that basically teach stop motion animation without having to slow down for technical reasons as other setups tend to do. Six, seven year olds could do this, up to 13, 14 year olds. I can’t stop playing with it myself. It’s so much fun. And, and you really get, you leave with a finished film. You download it to a phone or to some type of device and you leave with your film that you made.
Baumgartner: I understand there’s an “access for all” idea behind the festival this year. Can you tell me about that?
Bilodeau: Absolutely. That’s something we’re really proud about. This is the first year we’re initiating a ticketing system where we have a suggested donation, but we also have a ‘give what you can’ to attend the film fest, or give nothing at all. It’s really, nobody will be turned away, because of financial reasons. All of our venues will have that ‘give what you can’ ticketing system.
Got a question, comment or suggestion for Artscape? Email us at arts@thepublicsradio.org.
The Providence Children’s Film Festival is an underwriter of The Public’s Radio. We make our coverage decisions independent of business support.