This 3 Questions Series offers the chance to learn more about board members, grantees, and longtime supporters of Rhode Island Humanities. In the coming months, we will continue to share these conversations as a window into the people who make up our unique network.
As you join RI Humanities’s board, what do you find most interesting or exciting about the Council’s work? Or what are you hoping to learn more about through your board service?
I’m very interested in the meta level thinking that RI Humanities is currently engaged in with respect to the role that arts and culture organizations play in supporting the civic health of a community. As a practicing mediator, one of the most effective conflict resolution strategies I employ is helping parties to identify wherever and whenever there is common ground. There is so much that divides us today. The arts have the power to bring people together like nothing else does. And there’s so much more going on in Rhode Island than I even know about! I’m excited to get a birds-eye view into the arts and culture scene in the state, and to have the opportunity to support the good work of RI Humanities.
How do you interact with Rhode Island’s humanities and cultural sector personally or professionally? Can you share a favorite program, exhibit, project, performance, screening, or other humanities activity you’ve participated in recently and what you took away from that experience?
I’m no artist, but as someone who did graduate work in urban planning and community development, I understand the importance of place-making and the role that the arts play in creating shared experiences and fostering a sense of community. When we first moved to Rhode Island, my husband and I attended a fundraiser for the Cultural Organization for the Arts in East Greenwich. There was a silent auction in which we bid on every arts, culture and food item that we could find, figuring we’d win a few of them. We won them ALL – spending far more than we had intended. But it opened us up to a full range of arts and culinary experiences in the state, and we were hooked. That’s how, for example, we became longtime patrons and supporters of the Gamm Theatre. In the last few years, I’ve become a huge fan of The Avenue Concept founded by Yarrow Thorne, a Leadership RI classmate of mine. The public art they create absolutely shapes my experience of the city, and I’m a huge fan of the guided walking/running tour of their installations. I’m also a big fan of Reading Across Rhode Island, both as an avid reader myself and as someone who just loves anything that creates a shared experience between people across different walks of life.
What is it about living in Rhode Island that you find compelling?
When I moved to Rhode Island in 2001 with my young and growing family, my Rhode Island neighbors often asked me where I was from. I would answer that I was born in Connecticut and raised in Pennsylvania, but I’ve lived in Washington, DC, Boston, Portland, OR and San Francisco. The reaction was almost always the same: You’ve lived in some really great places, why, on earth, did you move to Rhode Island?! That always surprised me. There’s so much I love about Rhode Island: the ocean, the vibrant and diverse arts and culture scene, the food, the airport, the strong sense of community, even the politics! Sure, it can be colorful, but I love being on a first name basis with everyone who represents me.
