A Summer of Interventions at Roger Williams Park
Still recovering from decades of industrial harm, Roger Williams Park, known also as the “people’s park”, constitutes 435 acres of green space along Providence’s southern border, playing an important part in the area watershed. And as one of our three PCL sites, it is proving to be a space that inspires ephemeral interventions and performances, as is evidenced by the many ways our PCL artists have been transforming this site.
In the summer of 2024, artist and federally licensed bird rehabilitator Sheida Soleimani organized an event releasing American Robins back into the wild after they were rehabilitated. As part of her PCL project, Soleimani has been using her experiences as a bird rehabilitator to inform her practice as an artist, considering what it means to be in community with the non-human.
Artist Linsey Wallace has also been producing a series of performance installations at the park since the summer. Having grown up in Providence’s Washington Park neighborhood, Wallace has been exploring memory in conversation with community through her performance work and events. Womb I and Womb II were the first in her series of interventions, situated at the Sycamore tree by Betsey Williams Cottage. Womb II notably featured beet blood (beets, sugar, water) – an important material component of Wallace’s practice – along with recycled plastic bags, tape, rope and razor.
“Beet blood has been part of my work for years. Here it is used as a symbolic reference to my birth. When my children were born their placentas were buried under trees, connecting them to the land and nourishing the tree and other organisms. The emulsion of sugar and mineral rich beets was a feeding for the old sycamore tree under which this gesture was performed.”
And finally, artist Raffini spent her summer organizing Loving Langston – an evening of poetry and music celebrating Langston Hughes’ connection to New England and his personal ties to Rhode Island. However, alongside celebrating the late great poet and philosopher, the night also focused on celebrating women and centering Langston’s mother, Carrie Langston, who gave birth to one of the most prominent poets of the century. The event was one of honoring the women whose stories have been long forgotten and buried by history.
Aside from these artists, the PCL also has resident writer Karla Alba working alongside them to produce critical writing around this site. Alba is a native of the South Side of Providence and grew up in the Washington Park neighborhood. Through her work at this site, Alba aims to honor the countless lives that have shaped its narrative and unveil untold stories of the past, fostering a deeper understanding of the city’s history.