Welcome to Snowtown

The Snowtown Project is a collective research and interpretive project focused on the history and memory of this 19th-century multiracial neighborhood in Providence — they look at the inequity, the people, the shifting landscape of the neighborhood, and the context of its existence…and eventual dissolution. Join members of the Snowtown Research Collective and RISD students in Art, Design and Community Practice (Theory and History of Art and Design/Global Arts and Cultures) to hear about the history and life of the Snowtown neighborhood and arts- and design-based projects that commemorate it.

Where was Snowtown? Who lived there? Why was it demolished? How can we visualize a place that was rarely drawn or photographed during its life? How do we tell accurate stories about Snowtown when the historical sources are so faulty and biased (as all historical sources are)? RISD projects include an interactive three-dimensional digital model of the neighborhood, a zine, a suite of paintings and drawings, a kit to engage youth interested in the history of the neighborhood, a set of Snowtown postcards, and a song. Register on Eventbrite here.