The Pawtuxet Village Freedom Project



This project involved Pawtuxet Village residents in a year-long exploration of local history, based on concepts of freedom. Children, parents, artists, and scholars collaborated in a series of fifteen Saturday-morning workshops in the fall and winter of 2003-04 presented by folklorists Dr. Michael Bell and Dr. Winnie Lambrecht, historian Al Klyberg, anthropologist Dr. William Simmons, Narragansett Indian Preservation Officer, Nancy Brown Garcia and performing artists Melodie Thompson, Kate Katzberg and Jason Roseman. With visual artist Holly Ewald, each child created a collage image and text from the perspective of either a Narragansett Indian or an African American who might have lived in Pawtuxet in centuries past. The cards were mailed to village residents, who replied with images and text expressing concepts of freedom in their lives today. In early 2004, participants gathered at the library to discuss the issues of freedom raised in their postcards, including war, sovereignty, equal rights, land use, and civic responsibilities. The postcards are presented as inlays on a six-panel screen of monoprint on rice paper, designed and hand printed by Pawtuxet Village resident and artist Holly Ewald. The project was funded by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Verizon, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, The Cranston Public Library, and Voices and Visions of Village Life (a volunteer civic organization in Pawtuxet Village). The wooden frames that house the panels were built and donated by Residential Builders.

Freedom Screen The Process

One Space many Places



In response to the positive reaction to the Pawtuxet Village Freedom Project, Voices and Visions of Village Life offered a fall and spring nine-week program entitled "One Space, Many Places." Artist Holly Ewald and folklorist Michael E. Bell collaborated with educators, historians and community scholars to guide a group of children and a group of adults in creating collective maps to explore selected village sites in depth.

Three maps by each age group represented different time periods – the present, 1700-1950, and pre-contact -- using period specific materials to distinguish each map. Different forms of community engagement were used including the traditional classroom setting in the local library, onsite tours and scavenger hunt. Also, a large handmade map accompanied by paper and pencils was set up outside a local coffee shop with an invitation to the public to identify and describe a special spot on the map. Lastly, a temporary museum installation in an empty storefront exhibited residents' collected artifacts and memorabilia. The public participation provided resources for the mapmakers to create richer more informative maps.

The Final Maps
The Process

Present Day Map
History Map/Museum for a Week
Pre-Contact Map

Mashapaug Pond Procession



This procession project grew out of a commission from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts on behalf of the Department of Health (DOH) to create new signage around Mashapaug Pond warning against eating the fish and swimming in the water. Working with students at Charles Fortes Elementary School and Alvarez High school to come up with design ideas for the new signs led to eight permanent signs, with text in Spanish, Cambodian and English, fabricated by Department of Transportation and now placed around the pond. The students also used their design ideas to create nearly 100 silkscreen posters which they carried in celebratory processions through South Providence neighborhoods in 2008 and 2009, drawing attention to health issues of Mashapaug Pond. Fish costume making workshops were also held on Saturdays at the Buddhist Temple on Hanover Street with neighborhood children. Our procession began with a blessing by the monks at the temple, was led by What Cheer Marching Brigade and Big Nazo Puppets. It gathered participants as we paraded by the participating schools and neighborhood homes and concluded at the Boating Center at the southern tip of the pond with food and entertainment. Representatives from state and local government, the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and DOH, as well as students and community activists all spoke about pond conditions, current efforts to address pond clean up and related issues as well as goals and plans for the future.

2008
The Procession and Completed Signs
The Process
2009
The Procession
2010
The Procession
The Process

Languages of the Land: A Dialogue with the Downs



This project culminated with a traditional book based on an installation of life-sized book pages suspended in a 30' x 30' space with a soundtrack of voices telling stories about a cherished public park on the Warwick waterfront just south of Pawtuxet Village. The audio compilation and installation of black and white monoprint/collage landscapes on rice paper celebrated and honored the history of Salter Grove, known to old timers as The Downs. In developing this installation, I spent time photographing, sketching and writing at the park, researching and asking local residents about Salter Grove's past and their personal experiences there. I handed out disposable cameras to park visitors and asked them to photograph their favorite spots or views. During a weekend cleanup of the park, I asked participants to select a "treasure" from the items collected. These treasures were arranged on the walls of the exhibition space.

The suspended images of digital prints on Nepalese paper felt like thin hide, but moved like cloth. The thinness of the paper allowed the landscape and the silhouettes of timeless figures to be seen from both sides. Thus, the shadows of the past haunt the landscape. The movement of the large print collages echoes the fragility yet the constancy of this place. The handheld translation of this installation and project makes it accessible to a broader audience and will hopefully inspire others to look closer and dig deeper into the layers and shadows of their own places. The preservation of such places is vital to our souls.

The Installation
The Process